We noticed her going blind in one eye when we were breaking her to ride at 2 yrs. old. She had never shown any signs of not being able to see, until we started bringing her into the barn every evening. One night, she ran into the wall instead of going to the stall, & we started looking at her closer. You couldn't see anything different, just a little blue color, but being Paint Horse bred on her sire's side, I didn't think anything of it until she walked into the wall.
We finished breaking her, and donated her to a friend to use her to teach handicapped people to ride. She was always very calm & we had ridden her at rodeos & used her to work cattle. Nothing seems to phase her, not even when other horses ran into her at the rodeo. She did excellent as a lesson horse.
We had her checked at A&M, they said they could do surgery, but the outcome was not favorable, & it would be VERY expensive. She has cataracts in both eyes. We don't know from what, the vet said it was not hereditary.
She was bred to the same stallion for a foal for last year. She was in a large pasture, & when she had the foal, it got under a gate going to a hay barn, & never got to nurse. When they found them, too much time had passed & the foal had never nursed. He didn't make it.
After that foal, she came here to be re-bred & we noticed her losing site in her other eye. After that, she couldn't be used for lessons anymore because of legal issues, so I got her back. We bred her, & got this lovely filly.
She is very good without her site. She still rides, you just have to guide her, and just walk. She knows where everything is here, & we only move her back & forth from 2 different pens, so she knows her way around.
Our 9 yr. old GD rides her. She says she is hard to ride cause you have to watch everything so close, but she still rides her anyway. She responds to voice commands very well, both when you are riding & when she is just loose in her pen. When I say whoa...she freezes. Then I tell her easy, & she will nose her way around obstacles.
She is very well bred. She is Doc Bar & Leo San Siemon.
DH said if you were to crack her head open, cows would fall out! She really would work cattle, even with only sight in one eye.
She will just stay here & raise babies for the rest of her life.
She is only 6 yrs. old.
The stallion is Zippo Pat Bars & Top Bullet. He is a dead shot western pleasure horse, but we used him to turn back stock at rodeos.
This filly should turn out to do what ever we want her to.
Now, I will have to find a different stallion to breed her to, we sold "Goose" last month. The only other stallion we have is a full brother to her. He has no problem with his sight at all.
We will start breaking him next month. He was 2 in January.
Thanks for all the compliments. We are very happy that Mom & baby are doing so good.
Jean
