**Need input ASAP - Anyone ever had a blind foal?

[AppyLover2]

Saying a prayer for your filly and anxiously awaiting good news after her examination.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Glad to hear your adorable little filly is feeling fine and acting like a normal little foal!

I'm anxiously awaiting the report from the vet.

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

Also saying a prayer for your little foal! I hope the Vet has good news.

 

[Maxi'sMinis]

Sending prayers for your beautiful baby girl. She looks so perfect. Hoping everything will be Ok.

God bless

 

[sidessaddleacres]

Is there any news?

I hope all will be well with your little one.

Good luck

 

[Charlotte]

What a beautiful filly. She will be in my prayers for a good outcome like some that have been mentioned here.

Charlotte

 

[backwoodsnanny]

I was very late seeing this but do know that Jodi my daughter PM'd you regarding Helen who will be 2 in August. She is our little miracle and though she doesnt have as much room as our sighted horses do and I wish I could find a place for she and her mom where she could have more room she is thriving in fact right now is really a little too fat. We have all learned so much from her. Her first heats were an education in themselves since she wanted to visit the boys and of course has had to be kept from them. She is just fine and though not NORMAL by all standards is an inspration to all who see her and most dont even know she is blind until we tell them. Oh and she can have temper tantrums just like sighted horses. She has bitten me more than once when I was trying to get her to do something she didnt want to do. lol. The spinning described by I think it was AJ is what they call mapping they will spin and do increasingly bigger circles until they bump into something. Helen lives in a paddock with her mother and has an attached stall where they are closed in at night. Interestingly enough we recently have been thinking of making her paddock bigger and I have been doing some reading and think I have it figured out how to do that in a way that she can map a bit at a time. There is no doubt that she is totally blind since she has no eyes. Her lids are sealed unless pryed open as was done by the vet on her first exam. She is a wonderful little horse and our lives have been enriched by having known her. If we can be of any further help just PM me and we will try to help. The panic at first is the worst. It gets easier.

Nita

 

[horseplay]

I have been thinking of you and your beautiful little filly all day.

 

[Cowgirl Up]

What a pretty little girl! I hope the vet gives you good news about her.

And even if she is blind, don't give up on her. Many, many blind horses do just fine.

I've heard of a few things to do to help blind horses get around.

One is having a companion with them that has a bell on their halter so they can locate them easily. I am sure the mare could do fine with that.

Another is to line the edges of the paddock along the fence and objects like trees with different, noisy footing, such as gravel or mulch; something a horse can easily hear when they step on it. I've heard that if you do this, they quickly figure out when they step on that a fence or tree is there and avoid it.

 

[shelly]

Lisa,

I am sending prayers your way for your little foal

She is very precious and I hope everything works out for you!

 

[Connie P]

Sending many prayers for your precious little filly.

 

[Bluewater Minis]

Hello everyone,

Sorry to keep anyone on pins and needles waiting to hear about our vet visit. I thought we were going to see my second favorite vet, but NO, it was a newer vet that saw Lacey. (Not too happy about the substitution, but I was desperate by that time...the recheck will be with the preferred vet at this clinic, or else). LOL

Anyways, it is the opinion of this particular vet that Lacey has congenital cataracts that are obscuring her vision BUT her pupils are also not dilating properly. Her irises are clamped down tight and are not letting any light through her pupils, so of course she wouldn't be able to see in that case either. The vet couldn't even look into the back of her eyes to see if there was anything else going on. So we have her on Atropine ointment in the eye 2x/day to try to help her eyes dilate, and then we'll get her back in for a recheck to see if there's something else going on. The way she tilts her head over to one side slightly makes me wonder if she has some minimal peripheral vision. My understanding of human cataracts (based on my grandfather's experience) is that sometimes the cataract obscures only their direct line of vision. So we're in a wait and see mode, but tomorrow I plan on making some calls to some of the vet schools to see if there might be other options. I don't even know if they do cataract surgery on horses like they do on humans. She was also running a low grade temp, so she's on probios and Tribrissen to help clear up whatever bug she may have. Lacey is still acting normal, except for running into things. Her dam is now wearing a bell, and that seems to help Lacey keep a closer tab on where momma is, although she is still an independent little thing. The remainder of today was spend trying to "child proof" her paddock. Due to our attempts now through medication to dilate her pupils, she cannot be in the sunshine/daylight, so she is confined during the day with her dam, and can go out into her paddock at night.

So, if anyone knows anything about equine cataracts, I'd love to hear from you. Thank you again everyone for your kind thoughts and prayers. I'll continue to post updates as we have them.

 

[dgrminis]

Not sure if it is really any help but I wanted to say I know they do cataract surgery on dogs at K-State because my aunt has had it done on one of her huskies twice although in his case he will still eventually go completely blind because of some other issues he has... But I would think if they can do it on a dog that they should be able to on a horse as well..

Wishing you the best of luck...

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

Thanks for the Update Bluewater. I'm hoping and praying things will go well for your little filly. Please keep us updated.

 

[Bluewater Minis]

Just thought you'd want to know that little Lacey has been on her meds for just over 30 hours. She is either really smart and is amazingly quick at figuring out the boundaries of her paddock last night and this evening OR she is having the slightest little teeny-tiny improvement in her vision. Before the meds, she'd just run smack into things. This evening I repeatedly observed her swerving at the last second to avoid potential obstacles (fence, tree, her dam). I am sooooo hoping that this means that the ointment is working at dilating her pupils to let some light in, and that perhaps with time (as others on LB have advised me), she may regain more of her sight. I'm really hoping that it's not just wishful thinking that her vision is coming back! I have a call in for an opthalmic specialist when he returns from vacation on Friday, but hopefully, we'll see improvement with each passing day. She's quickly putting on weight, and is a bold little gal. Please keep Lacey in your thoughts...

Thank you again to all of you -- your support has meant the world to us.

Lisa

 

[dreaminmini]

I'm Glad to hear she seems to be improving. I'll keep praying that she gets more sight back. Hopefully the drops work or that the eye specialist can help her. She sounds like a tough little thing, not much will stop her.

 

[Joanne]

Thanks for keeping us posted Lisa.

And thank you for sharing this adventure with all of us.

 

[crponies]

I did read on thehorse.com that they do surgery for foal cataracts. It was an older article too (2002 or so) so I'm sure they've made more progress since then even.

 

[Miniv]

Working on time, prayers, and meds will be working for you! Thank you for the update!

 

[qtrrae]

Lisa,

That is great news - it sounds so much like Naomi - it was a gradual improvement and then suddenly one day she was completely all right and she has never, ever had any problems since.

We will continue to keep your precious Lacey in our prayers - the people on this LB Forum are so wonderful, they will help you and Lacey get through this.