Blind Mini, looking for tips.

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

Long story....years ago one of my first Miniatures was a blind mare, I brought her home with my pinto Canyon. When I had Koko she could see shadows/light, and she was used to living in a herd. When I started to get more serious about breeding I leased her to a forever home, and thought she would be there for her lifetime. 8 1/2 years later, circumstances changed and the leasee couldn't keep her anymore. I picked Koko up last Saturday. She is the sweetest and most trusting equine I've ever met! She is now 20 yrs old and completely blind. I couldn't let her end up anywhere else, so she is back home here for retirement.

I am finding myself with more questions this time around. When I owned her 8 years ago, if I walked her around the perimeter of a pasture or paddock, she then had a good sense of where the fence-line was, and acclimated very quickly only occasionally bumping into fences. This time she is much more handicapped, I have several paddocks that open into pastures and two pastures are also connected, there are a lot of openings for her to learn. I am wondering if there is a way I could "mark" the openings to help her find them faster? She's been turned out in paddock/pasture for 2-3 days, and she can navigate them, but it does take her a bit to find the opening to get back from pasture to the paddock. Anyone have experience or suggestions?

Right now I have her turned out with one of my four mares. Koko is not used to being in a herd anymore or being with horses that want to establish pecking order. I did put a bell on the mare I turned out with her. I was hoping to eventually have Koko out with all four mares, when she is navigating the pastures/paddocks and knows the fence line. I think introducing one of them at a time would be best?

I felt really bad at first for taking Koko away from a familiar environment, she was shaking at different times the first day. But again I am truly touched by her ability to trust someone she hasn't known for 8 years, and also to adjust to a new environment! She is completely comfortable in her stall now, and knows the steps up and down into the barn and stall.

I would appreciate any tips or advice for acclimating a blind girl to a new environment.

 

[Barnmother]

Try putting a bell in the mane of a companion horse. I had a mini that I rescued that was totally blind and another that wasn't. They lived in a stall together and I braided a swiss cow bell into his mane, a pretty big one that was easy to hear. I led them around together in the arena where she could touch him and know that the bell was coming from him. They were always stalled together. When they went out in the pasture she learned to follow his bell and would always stay very close to him. She never ran into a fence. We made sure that the paddock that they went out in was free of any obstacles that might cause her a problem, large rocks, trees, etc. ditches and creeks. This arrangement worked very well until the day that she died.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

That is so sad. I have no experience to offer, but you and the horse have my sympathy.

 

[bevann]

Many years ago my first Mini mare went blind.She was out with the other mares and they made sure she came in when it was time to be fed,.You may find that she will develop friendships and her buddies will care for her.If you have a mare that is an excellent mother she would probably be the most likely to care for her.Try having a good talk with the mare you pick as caretaker.,I think our animals understand far more than we give them credit for.Just make sure the blind mare knows where the water is.The bell on another mare is probably a good idea too..Keep us posted on her progress.

 

[miniponyparties]

I'm so sorry!!! I wish you all the luck!

 

[AngC]

Our stallion (15-18 yr old) suffered permanent eye damage when lightning hit one of our cedar trees. While at the hospital we learned he had cataracts (so his vision is reduced/gone in the other eye.) According to the vet, he "may" be able to see shapes; I'm dubious because I watch him head across the pasture in the general direction of the water tub and then I watch him miss and finally find it with his nose.

I was coddling him (alot!) when my trainer told me... Horses don't think like that; he's not spending his days lamenting that he used to have vision and now does not. And she was right (I believe); he may be vision compromised but he's still full of vim and vinegar. Initially I was looking to find him a companion gelding but just was not finding the right one.

We have him alone in a pasture that's maybe a half acre or so with free access to his stall. His pasture is fenced with white wood type fencing. We can no longer allow him in pastures cross-fenced with electric wire. ...tried it once and despite numerous flags on the electric wire he ran right through it. He can "hang out" with the mare and his baby at several spots where the fence divides the pastures and their stalls are adjoining so he can hear them/smell them. He runs and bucks in the center of his pasture and seems to know where he can go; I've tried to reinforce that by doing things like always lunging him in the center of his area. (...and leaving his water tub, salt block, etc in exact same place.) Compared to locking him up 24/7 I think letting him loose is giving him a better quality of life. He does run into things--trees, stall walls, me--but so far he has not hurt himself.

Regarding your specific questions.... We have not thought of a way to mark things and simply have allowed him to figure things out for himself. We don't have steps up/down into stall so footing is good for him, but as I mentioned he does sometimes run into the stall wall when, for example, entering the stall. But he has seemed to learn to slow his pace when he is unsure.

For more ideas, Google blind horse... There's a few websites that may give you more ideas.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Is her hearing really good? What about using a wind chime to target some areas for her. Did that for an old blind dog once to help them find the house. They sell really small ones you could rig up in the fence some how. Could rig it into a wire basket like a bird suit feeder so they wont eat the wind chime.

 

[Suzie]

We have two blind horses here and a blind dog too. The bell is the best idea. Horses do use smell, so if you have a way of marking boundries with a special smell it might help. My vet gave us the same advice as above. Horses don't miss their sight like humans. They just adapt and move on. They live in today, not yesterday and not tomorrow. I think from my experience with non-sighted animals here, just like humans, when one sense goes, all the rest get super-charged. Our dog uses my footsteps to walk beside me like a normal dog. I just use hard soled shoes so she hears it clearly. Most people never know she is blind at all. She has adapted to me well and trusts me not to steer her wrong. Like the rest here, she was a rescue from a shelter and a great one at that.

Be careful choosing a companion horse. Some horses do view the handicapped as being dangerous to their well-being (attracting preditors) and reject a handicapped horse from the herd. Thankfully, I think you live on a big enough farm, you should be able to find a suitable mare. If you can't find a suitable mare, let me suggest a donkey. The smell is different and therefore easy for her to discern from the rest. Also, donkeys tend to bond for life and are great protectors. My old quarter horse is losing his sight and he has a companion donkey now. That donkey protects him better than Fort Knox. The old QH stands and sleeps in his stall with that donkey at his back protecting him from anything. Those radar ears will pick up any danger. We were not sure at first, but it has worked out wonderfully for us. Also I don't think donkeys are as weird about their "space" as some horses. We had a problem with the blind horses getting in another horse's space by accident and that can cause problems too.

Kudos to you for taking her back. I know lots of folks wouldn't. You have a great heart and good luck to all of you on getting this worked out.

 

[Foxhaven]

Bless you for caring for your baby!

The ideas about bells, chimes, and scent make a lot of intuitive sense. The idea I had was, a radio buried dog fence. The collar sensors have a proximity tone to warn the dog he is getting close to the perimeter, and happens long before the shock. For that matter, you can tape the probes so there won't be a shock.

She would have a warning that way that she was about to bonk a fence.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

Thank-you to all who have replied!

She's not having any trouble with the fence line, she is navigating the paddock/pasture really well on her own. But finding the opening between pasture/paddock takes her a bit to find it, she walks hesitantly and searches for it. She has not run into any fences since she has gotten here, just bumped a few times. The scent and chimes is a good idea. I was thinking if I could have a "cue" for her to find the opening, it would be easier when I introduce her to the next pasture/paddock. She felt confident enough in the pasture to leap to the side when her companion mare came trotting to me for a treat (bell jangling like crazy). She is not used to the sound of a bell, is very uncertain of it right now. She is very aware of new sounds, kind of like a sighted horse with objects.

I was thinking of putting a line of gravel down at all the openings, she is aware of changes in terrain, she walks confidently down the driveway to go to and from the barn (my pasture is not close to the barn, unfortunately). I can't tell if she hesitates on the grass because she isn't sure of the way, or just wants to stop and graze like any normal horse!

My two mares that will be her companions were here when she was with me before, and they accepted her with limited vision in the past. Even if they remember her, my mares are always bossy for the first 2 weeks when I introduce a new horse, after that they are one of the herd and accepted without any issues. I expect it to go the same with Koko. I am going to put different bells on the different mares, so they all have their own sound. Could be interesting for the yearling.

I am very happy I brought her home, she really is so very sweet. She is settling in really well and is comfortable here now, it's obvious she feels at home. Hope to get some photos added here tonight, but haven't put them on my website yet.

 

[wildoak]

I have a 21 year old mare who is going blind. She was out on 15 acres with varied terrain, creek to cross, etc until about 6 months ago and seemed to do okay as part of the herd. I brought her up as she was having some soundness issues, and when I realized how far gone her sight was made the decision to keep her up in a 1/2 acre level lot. There are some steep banks down to the creek in places and it wouldn't take much for her to get run off. She's with another senior, very passive mare, she is still the boss lol, and they are pretty good together. I feed them both at the gate, so she has no trouble remembering where it is. In your case, the little wind chime on the gate is a great idea... should give her a sound reference for it.

Going to have a pasture full of geriatric horses before long lol...

Jan

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

Any tips on how to attach the bell to the companion mare? I used dental floss to make a loop to put a peice of the braid (hair) throught the loop. But it got lost in the pasture yesterday. I have to find or go buy a new bell. I have a feeling one of the other pasture mates might have "helped" to remove the bell.

Here are some photos of Koko and a link to her webpage: Koko's Page

She has a very sweet face!

 

[Rhondaalaska]

She looks so sweet.

 

[Suzie]

How about braiding a braid in the companion mare's mane and braiding in a red ribbon with bell attached? This time of year with mutual grooming, they may rub it out but at least the bell will have a red ribbon to locate it in the pasture.

 

[AngC]

Koko is quite the pretty girl. She looks nice and fluffy, and I love her long tail!

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

I ended up getting a large dog collar and attached the bell to it for the companion mare. I know it will pop open if it gets caught, and it's easier to remove if needed and easier to find if it does get lost in the field.

For an update, Koko now has access to all paddocks & patures and is out with all four of my mares/filly. She is doing great, for the most part they ignore her, but they do allow her to graze nearby and I think it's more Koko moves away if she hears them come close. I'm really pleased with how easy a transition she has made, she is very sensible and just slowly moves/circles around until she finds the opening or the where she wants to go in the field. She's been here almost 2 weeks and has progressed/adjusted much faster than I thought she would manage when I brought her home.