Horses with vision problems

[talkofthetown]

Tell me about it. DH and I are on few-month plan to wrap up some financial “stuff” and then I have the go ahead to bring a horse home. I have been window shopping very casually, just to see what’s out there and to get a good feel of what I am looking for.

I came across an OTTB that I like quite a bit. He has recently lost most of the vision in one eye due to a previous medical issue, but the vet has estimated that the eye will not get worse or have to be removed. Horse is still being ridden with no problems.

My question is, from an eventing standpoint, how much of a big deal is this? I have no experience with this type of problem. I realize that the limited vision could cause some challenges, but I also feel like he has adapted just fine since he is still in work with (seemingly) no problems.

Is this one of those “pass, there are other fish in the sea” situations? Or is this something that is no big deal, like an old cold bow…it’s not ideal but you’d be willing to live with it? Not even sure he will still be available when I am truly ready, but if he is…I don’t want to bother considering him if it would be unwise. Thanks!

[Highflyer]

Most horses adapt very well. Sometimes limited vision is worse than no vision if it makes them spooky. The other issue is that some horses tilt their heads a bit in order to see the fences with their good eye, so that can take some getting used to. I’ve known horses that went on to compete or foxhunt very successfully with one eye.

[Blumeroo]

My mare has lost her sight in one eye. Not too sure what the root cause was. I had many vets and specialists look at it, and no definitive answer. We had competed in hunters before and were taking a break at the time.

She was definitely a different horse for about 6-8 months but eventually was back to her old self once she grew accustomed to the vision loss. I am riding her like a normal horse now and we very rarely have any issues. Like the PP said, she does tilt her head or bend/counter bend if she’s checking something out. We have been able to resume jumping and I have not had any issues with her. She seems to be able to approach the jump and consistently find a good distance. I usually just try and stay out of her way and not micro-manage her so she can do what she needs to do.

I think it’s definitely a possibility that this OTTB will adjust and be able to enjoy some eventing!

[talkofthetown]

Great to hear! Thanks for sharing your experiences. Did you find them have any special needs while handling them on the ground?

[vineyridge]

In one small scale scientific study of show horses who had had eyes removed, approximately 80% were able to return to their former levels of competition.

I’d talk to a vet opthalmologist. IMO, having had a horse with limited vision in one eye who would spook at things like shadows on the side and one with one eye, the one eyed horse copes better–she doesn’t spook at shadows on the blind side. You might want to consider prophylactic enucleation on that side. My one eyed horse went from silent leptospirosis causing blindness in that eye to recurrent uveitis. Since I’d had experience with bi-lateral ERU in an Appy that ended in blindness, we removed the bad eye to stop the ERU in that eye and in hopes of keeping it out of the good eye.

Eyes are very peculiar where the immune system is concerned. Once the immune response starts in an eye, it’s very hard to turn off.

[Beam_Me_Up]

Sample size of 1. I had an OTTB with a detached retina (misdiagnosed as a cataract with no effect on vision). So he probably saw little in that eye, maybe shadows.

When I was training him for eventing, not knowing about those issues, he was extra careful jumping, and a spooky horse normally, but not outside of the norm. In retrospect, there were a couple of stops/moments he had that in hindsight were related to him not seeing out of that eye (angled jumps mostly) but I didn’t put it together.

One day, at his 6th prelim, he had a strange misread of a jump, slid into it, and was never willing to go x-c at any level again. He did do a lot of lower level jumpers happily. I didn’t find out about the sight issue until I sold him as a jumper and the buyer vetted him–then it all made sense.

On the other hand, my horse was not terribly bold (not sure if it was the eye or just his temperament). I have read about 1 eyed horses eventing even at high levels successfully.

Based on my experience I would probably not risk it again (also I just worry about the safety element) but I’m sure there are plenty of horses who successfully event with 1 eye and I don’t mean to be too negative. Sample size of 1 is just that.

[cayuse]

My horse is partially blind in one eye. She has adapted well. I always stay aware of her issue in new situations. I have seen her once or twice bump into things that were in her “blind spot” and once she bowled me over running up to me out in the field. I am positive she did not see me until the last second. She tried her hardest to veer.
I rode her lightly after she had the vision loss and she was fine. I personally would not consider jumping her after the incident of her not seeing me, as I am a pretty big target. But our jumping days were long over anyway. However, I did see her clear the paddock fence several years ago and she handled that just fine.
All in all, she copes well.

[Clair2014]

I’ve had two horses with vision problems. I guess I’m going to play devil’s advocate and say that I would not jump a horse that was blind in one eye. The first horse I had with vision problems had his left eye removed due to uveitis and I continued eventing him for a while. He seemed fine at first but he seriously mis-read cross country fences on several occasions and we were just plain lucky to not suffer serious injuries. The final straw was when we tried to jump a preliminary-level roll top and he jumped on top of the jump instead of over it. Once on top, he panicked and then slipped off backwards. Neither of us got hurt but I never jumped him again after that.

My second horse with vision problems had significantly reduced vision in both eyes. He was very timid and frightened by his inability to see and I never asked him to jump. He has been a fantastic dressage horse and I’ve owned him for 13 years.

[vineyridge]

A one or two time winner of the Hickstead Puissance or Derby (I forget which) is one eyed and just recently did a British HT.

[hldyrhrses]

I only have experience with horses that have had some vision issues, not blindness, but I would think for eventing, I personally would not ride a horse that couldn’t see with one eye. I would imagine in the hunter ring or dressage ring where everything is much more organized they can manage well enough. In eventing, where there are all sorts of shadows, unfamiliar terrain, unfamiliar jumps, etc. - I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a horse that wasn’t 100% in the vision area!

[Snugglerug]

If I had a horse that I loved, who I had been eventing, who lost sight in one eye, I might give it a try. Maybe. Would I buy a horse with vision issues knowing I wanted to event? Oh Hell no. But that’s me, and I’m an admitted chicken. I’d rather stack the odds in my favor than buy trouble.

[vineyridge]

I foxhunted the first horse that I talked about who had limited vision and was spooky. He wasn’t any harder or easier than any other horse I’ve foxhunted.

[EventerAJ]

I have known two event horses who successfully competed at preliminary with limited vision in one eye. Both of them were at the level before the eye problems, so they already knew the job.

I worked with a one-eyed OTTB, who was born missing his right eye. He was very spooky and cautious about his blind side, but as he grew to trust me he became more confident. I was skeptical about teaching him to jump, not knowing how good his depth perception would be. However, he took to it quite well, just like any other young, athletic horse. He was easily schooling BN and had no issue with straightness or finding distances.

Unfortunately, he suffered a fatal freak accident while hacking back to the trailer after schooling at the KHP-- he spooked at a gust of windy leaves and stepped on himself, severing his collateral ligament. Did his blindness cause the accident? He was prone to spooking, yes. But it was a freak injury that could have happened to any horse, on flat ground, while walking on a loose rein. He was a really cool guy, and despite the sad ending, I would not let the loss of an eye turn me away from a lower level horse.

[talkofthetown]

[QUOTE=EventerAJ;8335332]
I have known two event horses who successfully competed at preliminary with limited vision in one eye. Both of them were at the level before the eye problems, so they already knew the job.

I worked with a one-eyed OTTB, who was born missing his right eye. He was very spooky and cautious about his blind side, but as he grew to trust me he became more confident. I was skeptical about teaching him to jump, not knowing how good his depth perception would be. However, he took to it quite well, just like any other young, athletic horse. He was easily schooling BN and had no issue with straightness or finding distances.

Unfortunately, he suffered a fatal freak accident while hacking back to the trailer after schooling at the KHP-- he spooked at a gust of windy leaves and stepped on himself, severing his collateral ligament. Did his blindness cause the accident? He was prone to spooking, yes. But it was a freak injury that could have happened to any horse, on flat ground, while walking on a loose rein. He was a really cool guy, and despite the sad ending, I would not let the loss of an eye turn me away from a lower level horse.[/QUOTE]

So sorry about your guy.

I don’t have any desire to go above Training (well…maybe Prelim. One day. Maybe.) so riding something that could only go lower levels is fine with me. If he’s still around when I’m Really Shopping, I think that I would be tempted to try it based on everyone’s replies. Plus he’s super cute. :yes:

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

You are in Florida? Confer with the excellent vets at the eye center at the U of FL vet school. They have even done transplants there.
They can tell you what your horse’s limitations and expectations are, and can tell you if anything can be corrected.

[Hilary]

If the horse was already eventing I would be a lot less concerned -that’s sort of the case with any sort of issue I suppose.

I had a horse with a vision issue and he was weirdly spooky, (dressage flowers were nightmares) but jumped anything you pointed him at.

I figured out the spook was due to vision because he didn’t care about noises and was generally a laid back guy. He routinely spooked at things coming up on his right side. If he was turned far to the left so his right eye would see something else, no problem. If he turned his head so the left eye could look at the offending object he was fine. Also, once his head passed the object he stopped caring.

Left to his own devices if there was a spooky object up ahead on the right, if he was allowed to move his head around so his left eye could see it, he’d be OK. Didn’t work very well for flowers at the dressage letters though b/c he had to just go by them. Dressage was a mess, in part b/c of this.

[INoMrEd]

My friend’s mare lost her eye due to recurrent uveitis. Once she was used to not seeing she had no problem jumping. To that mare it was no big deal.

[kcmel]

[QUOTE=Snugglerug;8335323]
If I had a horse that I loved, who I had been eventing, who lost sight in one eye, I might give it a try. Maybe. Would I buy a horse with vision issues knowing I wanted to event? Oh Hell no. But that’s me, and I’m an admitted chicken. I’d rather stack the odds in my favor than buy trouble.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. Don’t buy other people’s problems.

[Ready_To_Riot]

Thanks to the wonderful person I so trusting leased my beloved mare out to, she has lost most of the vision in her left eye. We are just now getting back to work after quite some time off and she seems to have adjusted very well. I have yet to get on her back, but ground work, free jumping, and the sort have been going very well. She hasn’t seemed anymore spooky than normal and hasn’t lost a bit of her attitude. I also used to event a horse at prelim who only had one eye. He was a safe old school master who ran advanced with his owner. Still with one eye. I don’t know at what point he lost his eye, but it never stopped him.

I probably wouldn’t purchase a horse who already had a problem unless I didn’t want to go higher than novice with the horse. I had to ride the prelim horse a little bit more than I’d like up to a fence. Not much of a 5th leg because he just couldn’t see.

I’m curious if my mare will still have her sure footed ness when we return to competing…
Good luck on your search!

[Lady_Eboshi]

As per all the above very interesting and positive stories, many times they adapt very nicely. However, you’re still talking about tackling solid fences, some of which are intentionally built as optical problems (light into dark, etc.) on a horse who is working at a significant physical disadvantage–and is not trained to event.

If I had a horse who had been eventing safely before the eye problem, and showed me he had adapted successfully, I might keep riding him BUT I would definitely not BUY a horse FOR eventing who was compromised with this already. You’d be stacking the deck against yourself to a significant degree, and possibly compromising your safety and his.

Too many nice ones out there . . . stalk CANTER.