I was just wondering if anybody knows anything about horses. Our eighteen yr. old horse seems to be going blind and I was wondering if anyone ever ran into the same problem and what did they do.

doggie_poopie

This is not uncommon in blindness to happen to many animals as they age. However, my horse is 20 and has no porblems. Many times blindess can be caused by a lack of vitamins.
Here are a couple of places for info and support
http://www.eyeclinicforanimals.com/
Here is a Blind Horse Discussion Group that should be useful for anyone trying to help a blind horse http://www.smartgroups.com/message/l...90018&ref=send. Good Luck

caesars charm

Thanks Doggie_poopie, you've been very helpful.

Panamaa

What breed of horse are you dealing with? have you contacted a vet?some horses get along just fine blind as long as they are in familiar surroundings.

caesars charm

The horse is a Newfoundland pony. She's doing ok in her surroundings now but in the summer we put her out to pasture which is going to be a problem. Right now she has another horse with her and it's unbelieveable how he leads her around. Guess we'll have to keep her at home from now on. The vet says there's not much that can be done with her at this stage. Thanks for your reply

Tuscany

I had a Paint Pony that went blind. We could not change her surroundings, but she got around just fine. It is just very important that those around your horse use there voice all the time. If not you run the chance of spooking your horse and possibly causing injury to yourself or the horse.

Or vet suggested getting a fly mask (one that covers the entire face with mesh) not for the flies, but to help dull the glare of the sun. Or vet told us that as horses go blind the harsh glare of the sun is actually more painful for the horse. I would think that the reflection off of the snow might hurt as well. Just a suggestion.