Would you take a chance on this horse?

Question

One of the little girls at my barn is looking for a new horse. She is currently trying a 7 yr old imported Oldenburg gelding. He is an AMAZING horse, takes care of her, sweet as can be, hack winner, jumps with his knees at his chin, totally wonderful. His current owner paid 6 figures for him as a 3 yr old. However. Shortly after the current owner got him, he had to have surgery on his right eye. It was not properly taken care of afterwards and he is now partially blind in that eye. The first day we rode him he stopped at a tunnel jump we have. I let him sniff it and tried again. He stopped the second time, but then walked up to it and jumped it from a walk (without encouragement - I figured he was going up to look at it!) Then we put the kid on him and he's been jumping it, but always looking at it. And the other tunnel jump we have doesn't seem to phase him a bit, but now, even a week into it, he's still a little cautious at that one jump. BUT, he's a hunter, and how often is he going to have to jump a tunnel? It's just boxes, gates, and flowers in the hunter ring. Plus he should get used to jumping the tunnel if he's having to jump it at home all the time, right? And he's been showing with the eye problem and has a fairly decent show record, so we assume he goes around. So the kid is completely in love with him, the owner is going to let her take him to a show next weekend and try it out. If it were you, would you overlook the peeking issue since everything else seems perfect? She needs a horse thats going to go in the Children's Hunters and hold his own at HITS and WEF, and this horse could be that and his flaw makes him within her budget (yes, the price was significantly adjusted and seems reasonable) Thanks for your input!

Answer 1

he is fine, but you have to be careful not to lead him on the right side.

i know a mare that is blind in one eye, and she goes in the lvl 3 jumpers in lots of competitions! if he jumps it with the little girl on his back, and they just met, than he will gain trust in her and he will jump it without question, just have patience, and it will work out.

Answer 2

It can be very dogey buying a horse with past injuries!(voice of experience!) In the end it is much more sensible to buy a healthy animal, something can be sweet as hell but If it's got eye problems like you say is it worth risking an out of action horse that's only going to loose value and cost money?

If it has eye problems jumping it could be both dangerous and unfair for both horse and rider because the horse will loose confidence in himself and its dangerous if he can't see properly. for a young girl he sounds highly unsuitable!!!

you should never buy a horse just for the reasonable price! I once found the perfect horse for me, the Right size, jumped, good price needed a bit of schooling but nothing drastic, but I discovered that in the past he had had an operation on a suspensory ligament and I was forced not to buy him. even though he was sound at the time. i'm afraid when it comes to horses you you have to be a little harsh, their animals NOT pets!!!

I hope your friend gets on ok, although I don't advise buying a half blind horse- I don't no the severity of the injury. but I would say that happy hacking would be his best chance!! besides hunting can be rather hard on their feet! showing might be ok!?! If they are serious they should have him for two weeks trial!!!

Answer 3

If the horse has ideal vision on the one eye, I guess the question would be how limited the vision is in the second. If he had no vision at all in that eye, his peripheral vision is going to be severely limited. This probably would be a minor issue in a horse that was going to be shown on the flat or trail riden on fairly level surfaces as many horses learn to compensate well with only one eye. But jumping takes many fast assessments for a horse - they have to evaluate the jump height, the footing, and many other things in a few seconds and then jump accordingly. A horse with limited vision in that eye is going to have a much tougher time evaluating all these things.

Obviously this horse has some vision in that eye, but it sounds as though you don't know the extent of it yet. Does he have a blind spot and the rest of his vision in that eye is fine? Is his vision blurry everywhere in that eye? How bad? I would really want him fully evaluated before going further, and obviously you are doing that. I'd also want to know if there is any chance that the vision will continue to deteriorate down the road.

Also, I guess it would depend on the difficulty and type of jumping he is going to be required to do. There is a vast difference in jumping in a level hunter ring, and then jumping a tough cross-country course. And a horse that's jumped alot is going to be able to draw on past experiences and manage a lower course easier than a tougher, higher course that takes more precision.

Also, there are some safety issues with a horse with limited vision in one eye. Some become more defensive on that side. Owners have to be careful to not startle them when walking up on that side of them. And some horses can become more defensive around other horses since he can't see them on that side. Those types of horses can become more likely to kick before thinking when startled on that side. This obviously is much more likely on a horse that's totally blind. One with some vision will be able to see someone coming, even if they can't see all their details clearly.

The previous owner already knows the answer to this question. This horse's price would not be greatly limited if the pervious owner did not realize that it was going to influence his career. So this horse will likely not go to the top level. But that doesn't mean he wouldn't be a wonderful mount for a lower level rider. Only you, the vet and the new owners can decide whether this horse is worth the risk, or not. I do know that many youth would be better on a wonderful horse with some soundness/health issues than on a miserable but sound horse! You just need to be certain that this horse is going to be safe for the new girl and for himself as he tries to cover new hunter courses at shows.

Answer 4

you need first to have eye looked by an opthomologist to make sure that there is no further damage to the eye. Second, you need to check the guidelines for rules about showing horses with imperfect vision in the ring. I know that with Appaloosas, we are not allowed to use a horse for show if eyesight is not perfect.

Sounds like more work to be done before confirming use of this horse

Answer 5

A good friend of mine had an Arabian mare who was totally blind in one eye from an accident, and partially blind in another. She used her for lessons and trail riding, and never had a problem with her. She was a very smart horse. I had taken her out on the trails many times and encountered a small brick wall. We would tell her to "easy up" and she knew it was an obstacle for her to step over. We took our time with her and she would get herself over it. Once she got her first leg over it, then she knew where it was and then would just continue on. It would take her about ten or so minutes to get over the obstacle, but she would do it. She was a sweetheart of a horse.

Answer 6

He is having problems with depth perception. He would be perfectly safe to ride flat but I do not recommend jumping him. Sooner or later he will misjudge and hurt himself or his rider. That said I have seen misdiagnoses with horses diagnosed as having glaucoma and being partially blind in one eye clear up and be able to see fine. So see what your vet says if you want to jump.

Answer 7

If the horse is sound then their shouldn't be a problem. Another thought though is their something different about the first tunnel then the second one? It could be something really stupid that is throwing him off.

Answer 8

One of my horses is completely blind in his left eye and as his trust in me increases he is getting better and better as a trail horse( which is what I do). I would strongly suggest buying this horse if everything else checks out as horses have a great ability to overcome handicaps!

Answer 9

I have an Oldenburg Warmblood too!

Came over from Germany when he was 3.

The best thing that has ever happened to me.

WE OWN AT DRESSAGE ;D

Answer 10

I say buy the horse, he sounds great, even if he has some eye trouble.

Answer 11

i would take him to the show and your right hunters don't jump tunnels.