My horse is already blind in one eye, she is slowly going blind in the other. Any suggestions for riding?

Question

She is Blind in the left eye and always veers right. What to do?

She is only 15.

Answer 1

why would you want to ride a blind horse? leave her alone take care of her and dont ride her she cant see!

Answer 2

teach her voice commands and get her to trust you the most she can. When you lead her make sure she's acting like a proper lady. try putting her in a seperate pasture before she goes completly blind with gravel 15 feet around the edges. Also when you do put a friend in with her that is the bomproofest horse you have on your farm.Also bomproof her because without sight she will panic at strange things. Teach her to walk over things now , by saying step or up so she learns to lift her feet over the log, railroad tarcks. You can still work her( read blind colt) and she will still be the excellent mare you had before she was blind. Just make sure that if she spooks for unknown reasons, shes seeing shadows from her eye. You may then have to make her surgically blind. Good luck with your mare

Answer 3

If she is miserable, then you should put her down.

If not, ride her to go on joy rides.

I personally would sell her to a beginning rider who doesn't need to go very fast or very far. Your horse would be well taken care of becasue a new owner wouldn't ever want to leave her!

Answer 4

there isn't a way to stop it, but in the mean time while she can still see get her used to many different sounds and textures.  If you have a strong relationship going blind shouldn't hurt her to much.  i've ridden blind horses before and you just have to be extra careful, if you get her used to all kinds of different things while she can still see she should be just find, make sure that there a different textures near fencing so that she knows when to stop if she decides to run in the pasture.

Answer 5

Hey, i know this horse, first of all, Quarter Horses live up to 30 years old, and She knows how to ride, why stop riding her, she can jump, just relate a word to jump. People why say to slaughter her are cruel, she still has half of her life left.

Answer 6

15 is very old for a horse i hope you no..!!

i think you should just let it retire...do not put it down!! Please!! i hate wen ppl do dat for no reason...it is possible to train a horse that is blind but dats usually since foalhood...

my heart goes out to you.. but i think it would be cruel to ride...it wouldnt no wer it is going! have you ever been guided by someone blindfolded? not a nice feeling!....

I had a horse that was blind...a bit clumsy...better in d stable to find water etc...but once a day lead her out to a patch of grass and let her feed on it...let her no your there by talking to her and petting her...but not sudden noises or movements..it could startle her...

15 is old for a horse as iv said...

hope this helped and good luck wit her!

Answer 7

Most of these ppl are totally wrong my friend has 3 blind horses 2 blind in just one eye and the other blind in both eyes. She doesnt cut there whiskers because it helps them feel around so that it one tip and she also rides him a lot but only in an area he is familiar with. You should work on some trust exercises uch as join-ups and such so she will learn that you can be her eyes. Good luck and i hope all works out. Give her a chance before you think about ever putting herdown. I also agree wiht the person who wrote this statement..........

but first,

A NOTE TO ALL WHO HAVE LEFT RUDE REMARKS:

riding a blind horse is not cruel. it's a great thing, because the horse learns to trust it's rider completely. some of the best horses out there were partially or completely blind. it's all about how the horse and rider respond to one another.

Also use many word cues and things so when you work with her the things you are used to doing in actions she can understnad with words.

Try this websites aswell http://www.blindhorses.org/

Answer 8

Well, WHY is she going blind?  You can definitely stop or slow down some causes of blindness.  I have a 14 year old who is blind in one eye, and just 2 weeks ago his good eye was half closed and weeping for a few days.  I had the vet take a look and he gave me atropine to dilate the pupil and avoid adhesions, a steroid eye cream, banamine for a few days, then bute in a gradually decreasing amount over 2 weeks.   He responded to the banimine immediately and is down to bute once a day before we try taking him off it completely.

Anyway, for your riding question, you'll have to use more of your aids to ride this horse because she will need to rely on you more.  For the veering to the right problem -  use more leg to push her back to the left.  I would also use a lot of consistent voice commands, as they would really help a lot if/when she becomes totally blind.

Answer 9

well if the horse has cateraces like a human it can be fixed whith laser surjery .

well on riding  go slow  make sur the  horse recon nizes you well before you get on and take to it while riding on flatt land only

Answer 10

Okay...15 is young.  Good timing--Don't let it get too late.  See a doctor, and if they find it out and cure it, fine.  If not, then there are glasses specially made for horses.  Get a prescription and use it.  If you don't want to spend that much money, then use a patch.  Put it over the strong eye, and the weaker eye will slowly strengthen.

Answer 11

errrrrrr.... DON'T RIDE HER

Answer 12

Cover the other eye and ride and then by the time it both are blind it will be natural.

Answer 13

When you ride her, here are several suggestions that may help.

but first,

A NOTE TO ALL WHO HAVE LEFT RUDE REMARKS:

riding a blind horse is not cruel. it's a great thing, because the horse learns to trust it's rider completely. some of the best horses out there were partially or completely blind. it's all about how the horse and rider respond to one another.

now;

as for helping you.

i suggest working a lot on the ground before you ride her. grooming and tending to her is a great way to build a bond. even just hanging out around her helps. treats are alright, but not too many,you want her to learn to trust you, not see you as a food bin.. once you haave her to the point where she seems to pay a lot of attention to you, follows you around and whatnot, then i suggest begginning to ride. you'll need a firm left rein, and loads of right leg to keep her straight. blindfolding her is another way to help gain her trust. just basically play around until she's comfortable with you on her back. take your time, and by the time she's completely blind, you'll have one of the most willing companions in the barn. also, since she's going blind, remember that in order to help herself survive, her hearing and smelling instints will become stronger. i suggest in order to keep her from becoming spooked easily, keep music on near her stall for several weeks, or get one of those desensitizing cds and leave it on during the day and night. she needs to learn that those sounds, though stronger than before, are not something to fear. before long, she'll be confident enough to do almost anything.

and just a note, for people she doesnt know, make sure that when approaching her blind side they know to say her naem or whistle, since her hearing will be able to detect where they are. scaring a blind horse can result in a very dangerous situation.

i hope this helps some!

Answer 14

Just because she goes blind in one eye dosn't mean she forgets her training. Just make sure to connect a word with actions. With my horse i make sure to always say hup when jumping or just walking over a log. You still have time, do this before she goes completly blind.

People who say she should be put down are stupid and dont understand blindness.

Answer 15

Sorry,  it's time to sell her for dog food.

Answer 16

Your hose may find it hard to know where it is going so I suggest you don't ride her. Next time your house needs to see a vet ask their advice on wheather you should carry on riding him/her. Take care of your horse. I am sure you love her.

Answer 17

If she really does trust you, you can still ride her. Teach her to not veer, and to put her trust in you as you will not let her hurt herself.

Only ride her in familiar areas that are flat and open. Any that have big hills and lots of trees that may startle her when riding won't be good.

If she is suffering, I suggest you stop. It's not fair on her. But if she trusts you, she won't be, and that bond will be amazing.

If she is having trouble learning to respond when she can't see, lead her around, and teach her to respond to your voice, tell her to go left and right, to walk and halt. If she learns on the ground she will listen out for your voice commands and will be fine when you are on her. With no eyesight, she will rely on her other senses a lot, and will be keen to listen to what you are saying.

Good luck with your girl. Don't listen to people who say you shouldn't ride. Unless she is suffering, or is panicking while you are riding, she'll be fine if she really trusts you. :)

Answer 18

Why on earth would you ride her? How would you feel if someone got on YOUR blind back and made you carry them around?

Geeeesh!

Answer 19

Start training her using voice commands like "up" so she knows when to lift her feet or which way to go. She'll have to really trust you. I know a few horses trained this way and some of them even show in flat classes.

Answer 20

she veers to the side she can still see in.  Take your time with her, and know she has limits and needs you to guide her.  

Her career as a working horse will be over when the other eye goes blind.  Until then, ride her with a stable buddy, keep to smooth ground, and familiar places until she  adapts to having one eye and trusts you

  I've seen a totally blind school pony  that was so relaxed inside the school that he could carry beginers and knew the size, shape and structure of the ring.  He would listen for the trainer and do what she asked on voice command.  IF the rider pointed him at something all she had to do was tell him whoa and he would stop.

Good luck with her.

Check out  http://www.blindhorses.org/  they have alot of info on blind and going blind horses

Answer 21

found this on the net, hope it is helpfull:

http://www.voicenet.com/~sstrauma/Blind_...

and to the ones with the bad attitude: stop being a waste of oxygen! I've spent time blind. Did that mean I had to be put down?

Answer 22

well maybe you should teach her to trust you when she does go blind so that you will be able to ride while she's blind. maybe put something over her eyes and practice.

Answer 23

As far as reversing the blindness... only a vet can answer that.

You can keep riding her. Make sure you use solid leg and voice cues. If she trusts you like you say she does, then you shouldn't have any problems in her balking when you ride her.

If you pasture board her, make sure she has a solid pasture mate that can help lead her around. There was a completely blind horse at a camp I worked at, and he had two great pasture mates that never would have let him down. He was the best buggy horse we had too!

It is not cruel, as long as you have a sound rider and a sound place to ride.

Answer 24

theres no way to stop the blindness. but cover the other eye and ride, so that way, she will be used to it. don't jump or do poles. only flatwork. good luck.