Riding a blind horse is safe. A girl in my 4h club has a horse that has no eye in one socket all together. My instrustor has a horse that is blind in his left and is going blind in his right. They both are completely safe to ride and are a very good experience. A good thing for riders riding blind horses is that it teaches them to trust there horse, give clear calm aids, and it also makes them listen to thier horse a lot better.
if you feel safe on him, and he listens to your commands, there is no reason why you cant ride him in my opinion. and possibly in other areas besides an arena too. i rode for 9 years on a horse that couldnt see the broad side of a barn to save his life. i had been riding for 2 yrs when i got him, thunder. a year after getting thunder he got cataracts (at age 5), also he had uveitus, (he was an app/cross) the lenses in his eyes detached and then the pressure was too low in his eyes and they shrank in size. he may have seen a hint of shadows, or he may have gotten to the point of near or complete blindness, im not sure. we rode up many steep mountains, over different terrain, and weaved around mudholes. there was hardly anything that stopped us. plus he rarely spooked. he was probably the calmest horse ive ever been on. we rode at a walk trot and canter, and sometimes a gallop depending on the area/terrain. i rode him by myself too. i hardly ever had anyone to ride with. my mom was worried constantly about me being gone on him all alone, but i always told her my route and how long i would be gone. plus she knew i trusted him and he trusted me. i was constantly aware of where his feet were going and what was around us. he tought me to be an alert rider. it was amazing how intelligent he was. we spent so many hours together, we learned each other up and down. and i think being by ourselves made our time together understanding each other easier, cause he wasnt destracted by other horses. i even put him in some barrel classes at a local show just for fun. yes, we (he) was limited, but we had so much fun together. in the 10 years having him, we had one bad accident, which was the one that caused him to be euthanized. yes, it was because he couldnt see, and he didnt listen to me for some strange reason cause he always did, pulling on the reins and saying whoa to stop him. i feel i let him down, because i was his eyes, but at the same time accidents can happen to any horse with or without site. he may have been "handicapped" but it just made our bond greater, and it didnt keep us in a stall or paddock. people were shocked when they found out he was legally blind! im not trying to say ignore what was said in the answer to your question, this is purely my opinion and experience only. you and your parents are the only ones to make the final decision on what's best and safest for you and your horse. good luck! thunder's profile is page 167212, if you would like to see him, and if you would like to talk i would be happy to.
ps. if i knew thunder was going to lose his site, and if i would have known we would have a horrible accident, i would have gotten him all over again. he tought me so much, and i may never have a bond with another horse as close as i did with him. being on a horse with site, now, i am yet to feel as safe as i did when i was on thunder. i am thankful he was mine. i miss him dearly, and there will never be another horse like him.
My sisters horse as moon blinded but was a great horse to ride because he trusted us to make sure he wouldn't hurt himself or us. may he RIP.
Our blind mare, could run with her nose sweeping the ground to "see" if anything was there. Of course her area, has nothing that she could get hurt on.
It depends on the horse itsself. What I mean by that is the fact that I once competed against a horse without eyes (who ironically won that day) and it had so much trust and love for his rider that he did *anything* for that young man. Am I upset that I lost? heck no. I'm proud to say that the blind gelding has changed my opinion for the mythical "rider/horse bond."
Great story. My gelding is blind in one eye & has been for at least 8 years, his hearing is very accute and yes he does relie on me to keep him safe, it has taken two years for him to totally trust me. We now can ride safely anywhere & even started doing Endurance Rides this year.
I train reining horses and was given an 8 yo blind gelding who lost his sight 14 months ago. He was an incredible cow horse when he had his sight and the owners were contemplating euthanizing him due to what was thought to be his loss of purpose when they approached me and once I got on him- I gladly took him in and now, after 5 months of connecting, he is in training to be a competition reining horse. (I actually have taken him to a SHOT show and placed on him...) He has blessed me and my training techniques in so many ways, especially in patience, consistency, and accuracy in giving commands. He is the epitome of faith, and trust in me as his seeing eye human. His spirit is willing, and you can feel his enthusiasm when he gets to lope - especially fast circles(most likely because when he's under saddle, it's the only time he feels safe to do so) His hearing and smell is incredibly sensitive and accurate and I do exactly as the articles mention; save the muzzle hair, and I also keep his ears trimmed closer, plus, his eyes weep a bit so he has a fly mask on all summer when he's outside in the pasture. It has humbled me in knowing and accepting that I have been blessed with an animal that takes special attention, living arrangements, and more so, that I was chosen to be his keeper. Thank you God for the blessing of watching over and working with your special one... drperfhorses.com