The light to dark question is why I suggested enucleation if the horse has damaged vision and isn’t blind in that eye.
You have to remember that because of horse vision, all horses are blind to the jump within a certain distance even if they see perfectly.
[QUOTE=vineyridge;8339508]
The light to dark question is why I suggested enucleation if the horse has damaged vision and isn’t blind in that eye.
You have to remember that because of horse vision, all horses are blind to the jump within a certain distance even if they see perfectly.[/QUOTE]
Which isn’t a good thing to be thinking about on your approach to a coffin combination in the shade! :lol:
My guy lost his eye to ERU and returned to eventing and moved up a level before retiring due to soundness issues. He was better with one eye than with partial vision in one eye.
He always had an innocuous “spot” in one eye that was not a problem. Until it was.
I would not buy a horse with a known eye issue already, but I am always optimistic when someone has an already going horse who ends up with an eye problem.
But we all know eyes are tricky, problems can pop up overnight and there is nothing you can do to keep them from happening if they’re going to happen.
Rode a horse that had lost an eye, took some lessons on it, jumped around a 2’6" course at a little show but it was a 3’6" Hunter at AA level before it lost the eye and still leased out as a 3’er. Moved down to 2’6" eventually to make it easier.
Mostly fine BUT NO way that horse could do a roll back to a fence on the blind side. It was great as long as you had a long approach, occasionally something would distract it on the blind side and it would try to swing the head to look or it might stumble a little in mud or something and shift attention away from the fence. If you were close, you got a stop. It won a lot but you had to keep it focused on you and plan your track carefully coming off corners.
Far as as on the ground, was hand grazing my own horse with several other ladies after a very tiring lesson on a hot day. The group included it and it’s current leasee. Kid was playing with a dog, came around the corner chasing something probably 30 yards away. None of the other horses reacted but the kid and dog were on its blind side and it came unglued, jumping right into the horse next to it…then it went like dominoes as they all spooked. Mine knocked me down and put me in the ER.
While the fact I was just hand grazing and not standing at right at my horse’s shoulder, had too much lead rope out (so horse could graze) and was wearing stupid, but very cute, shoes (backless clogs with cute tapestry) contributed to me getting knocked over? Not a single other horse batted an eyelash until that one blew.
The leasee felt terrible for forgetting the horse’s limitations and putting its blindside towards the barn where people would be going in and out instead of being sure the horse faced it as well as having too much lead out to control it. But can’t blame leasee, we all were being complacent.
I just would not buy one unless it was an experienced packer. Even then it’s special needs and everybody around it needs to stay aware…as we all proved. Don’t know about teaching one to jump let alone navigate complicated, trappy obstacles and terrain at speed likely in Eventing if it’s got no background there.
If it’s never Evented or had any schooling and you want to Event at any level off the very Novice? I would pass.
Always wonder about depth perception too. The one I rode sometimes missed at in and outs, one reason they took it down to 2’6" Hunters where they are not allowed in my area. Obviously Jumpers was out as was serious Eq with the short turn to a fence on the blind side not a good idea.
As with others, I would not hesitate to keep on with a horse of my own that developed issues (we have a one-eyed horse in the barn now that belongs to a boarder, he’s a joy) but I wouldn’t buy one knowing it has this issue. So many fish in the sea.
You do have to give a little special consideration on the ground, for sure, in that you need to be aware of it and talk to them when approaching on the side with no vision. It’s not a big deal, just basic horsemanship and common sense. However, I’m very careful with my kids around the one-eyed horse because I don’t always expect them to remember, they are little and they could easily startle him. So they aren’t allowed in his paddock when he’s loose.
Most of the ladies in my spooked group did not know the horse was blind (it had a prosthetic). You can’t always be surrounded by those who know. I knew but it was not foremost in my mind every second I was around that horse, after all, it’s not mine and I was not handling it. It’s alot of responsibility if you do own or are handling one in a group setting.
[QUOTE=findeight;8341255]
Most of the ladies in my spooked group did not know the horse was blind (it had a prosthetic). You can’t always be surrounded by those who know. I knew but it was not foremost in my mind every second I was around that horse, after all, it’s not mine and I was not handling it. It’s alot of responsibility if you do own or are handling one in a group setting.[/QUOTE]
No, when you have a blind horse and you have it out around others, the onus is on you to keep it in mind and take extra precautions I think. However, sometimes horses will still spook anyway, it happens, they are horses. Accidents happen. Hopefully she learned an important lesson about letting her guard down with that horse, too bad it came at the cost of sending you to the ER!
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