Whoa~! Rein 'em in here and show your horse! 2026

[DobieDesire]

Yes, did Tevis 1998 and 2000, started and finished both times. I REALLY wanted to do the Hole in the Wall Ride, but never had the chance. I study things upside down and backwards. I was very lucky, where I lived at the time was right next door to a 'wilderness' area. ALL the trails were up and down steep hills, I could ride right out my front gate to the trails. It was a cool place, I could do a 6 mile loop, a 20 mile loop, or a 60 mile loop. Ahh, the good old days.

I was also lucky, living in the San Francisco Bay Area at the time, there were at least 2 endurance rides within a 2 hour drive from me, every month.

 

[MyBuddy]

I'm glad he's recovering well and hopefully he'll be fully recovered before you know it. I think most of the U's are pretty good so you brought him to the best possible place. Thanks for the update.

Sorry, I'm just getting back to this thread! Thank you for all the well wishes! And Jan you're right, the University's do a great job! I just wish there were more of them!

he's looking great. I think it's going to be fine

Thank you, so far, so good! He is healed up well and the eye has sunken in a bit. Giving him a somewhat ghoulish look lol but he's out of pain, which is most important. And I feel like he might even see better. Trying to see out of that eye that was not quite in focus and painful, made him more skittish. I'm actually looking forward to getting on him again. I'd like to see how he reacts.

found pics so you can tell Stilts he's not the first one to go through this

Beautiful pictures! Yes, he's not the first! I actually found out after his surgery that my farrier has a horse that had to have her eye removed! I never knew that and I've been with the same farrier for many, many years! He also said his horse had a tilt to his head. So far I don't see that on Stilts. Time will tell!

You know how horses can wheel & spook so just be aware that he can run over you without meaning to.

Don't I know it!! Yes, I try and be careful walking up on his blind side. Always talking and touching him. Sometimes you forget though! It will get to be commonplace after a while.

You sure have some beautiful horses! My girls wanted to plan a family vacation to a Dude Ranch. Funny thing I immediately thought of you. Your spread would be big enough for us and we could work for the room and board all the while enjoying the great company!

I wanted to go to a dude ranch myself! This ain't no dude ranch, that's for sure. You want a place where you can actually ride the horses! LOL And hike some mountainous Terrain, build a campfire and have someone cook for you a real dude ranch meal! I've looked up places in Wyoming that are awesome! Some are pricey but the ones that include everything are pretty sweet! So many places to ride, with a horse for everyone at everyone's experience level. Now THAT would be a vacation!!

I didn’t see it in your post but what is the eye condition called? Why do they have to remove it? At first I thought of macular degeneration since it started in the center but seems as if the entire eye became rotten/infected and had to be removed?.?

At the moment I can't find my darn paperwork from the vet! But it started out with uveitis. Do a Google search on,  Uveitis in horses. I've been treating him with eye drops for a few years now. He slowly went blind in that eye. And then something started to change. If I remember right, the paper from the vet at the University said something like a melting cornea? I don't even know what that means! My regular vet only saw him at this stage through pictures. She immediately told me the eye needed to come out. She thought that was the lens coming through or something. I don't know. It was damn weird that's all I know. I knew by looking at it there was no saving it.

Also look up Appaloosas and uveitis. Is very prevalent in the Appaloosa breed. It's a shame. But just like our Dobermans, every horse breed has something I guess. I'm just hoping that it doesn't go to the other eye. My girlfriend had her Appaloosa go blind in both eyes. One six months after the other.

 

[MyBuddy]

Had a random impulse over the weekend to bring out my saddle and give her a glow up

You need a horse to go with that saddle!

 

[MyBuddy]

Since having my horses eye removed, I've been even more aware of protecting their eyes. Especially his other eye! I've always put fly masks on them as soon as fly season comes around. I hate seeing flies on them. But I was looking into other masks that protect the eye but also allow more vision. Some of the gray ones we've had seem awful hard to see through. And I always worry about how much they can see at night if they're still out in the Corral. I just was looking into different styles that I've never bought before.

I found this one and the thing I liked about it was that the eye area had good Vision through it. And the mask wasn't ON the eye. I've never had a stretchy, pull on type like this and I wondered if my horses would even allow me to put them on. It's like trying to put a coat on a dog sometimes. You put it over their head and they start to panic LOL They look goofy, more goofy than the other ones I have! I said they look like ants. Big ants! But I really kind of like them! They went on very easily and they didn't Panic at all. I like that they can see through them better. I don't know if the material will last as long as some of the other ones I've had. But I was looking more for the eye protection and the eye visibility. All of them look Goofy on a horse so you can't get away from that.




Here's the original ones.

 

[MyBuddy]

My boy, Stilts, has healed up quite nicely with his eye removal. He's really the only horse I can ride since the other two have health problems. So now that he's healed up, I was kind of anxious to get on him again. Last time I rode him was probably, gosh, 2 years ago maybe? He seemed very skittish and I'm sure it was because he was losing sight in that eye. Now that it's completely gone I figured he's got to be better. I figured even though you only have one eye, if it sees clearly, it's better than having one good eye and one that's kind of foggy and you're wondering what the hell you're looking at! LOL

So I saddled him up a few times now. Actually started him out in the pasture, fenced in and feeling a little more secure for both of us. But then once we did a walk, trot and canter in there, I took him out and we just walked around the back property. I thought it did very well. He certainly remembers all is training. He's so good!

Yesterday after dinner I took him out again and I had Annie with me. She's used to being around the horses so it was no big deal. Until I got up on him. LOL Then she was like, what the heck is that? What are you doing? She looked at us and gave a little bark. I'm like, don't scare my horse! I gave her a little vibration on her e-collar and she quickly went away. My husband was out and he called her and took her out front.

When they came around the back again and she saw me, she barked again. Just once. Just one little bark but I corrected her and she was fine. I'm sure it looked rather bizarre seeing me on top of these animals that she has been around all her life.

Anyway, it was good riding him again. I was wishing I had a picture. But you know how it is when you're the one that takes the picture all the time. Nobody takes it of you. And then I remembered! I have a camera in my barn. I went and looked at the videos it was taking and took a few still shots off of it. So here ya go!


He also remembers just like my mare, Cheyenne, to stand while being untacked. When I come back I just stop right there, take off the bridle, put it away, come back and take off the saddle, put it away... all the while they stand there and don't move. He did so well! I was so proud of him. Such a good boy!

 

[Ravenbird]

Great to see this, thanks for posting it!

 

[Brioddy]

I have been waiting for years to be able to contribute to this thread.

From the ages of 5-25 horses were my life. Then life happened and I was unable to own any due to time and finances. Now twelve years later I am in a stable position to once again have a horse, and I chose a five year old off track Thoroughbred gelding. I’ve had him almost two months now and I am in love. He was in pretty poor condition when I got him, but he is really blossoming under proper care and turn out now. His job will be trail horse extraordinaire, but I wouldn’t mind dabbling in some hunter paces or shorter distance rides in the future. I named him Nacho! He is a very sweet boy . First photo is when he originally arrived and then to most recent! Also included a video of him gallavanting around the pasture . So beyond the moon about having a horse again!

 

[LifeofRubie]

@Brioddy I'm so excited for you! I dream of an OTTB one day...

Did he come to you started with any training besides racing or do you know his racing history?

 

[LifeofRubie]

@MyBuddy what a good boy, Stilts!

 

[Brioddy]

@Brioddy I'm so excited for you! I dream of an OTTB one day...

Did he come to you started with any training besides racing or do you know his racing history?

He was a slow racehorse and out of three starts came in last in two and second to last in the third . He was bred and owned by the same person his entire life and didn’t start racing until he was a four year old. The people I bought him from got him off the farm in October, and I’m not so sure I would call what they did “re-training” . They’re Brazilian, the wife didn’t have anything to do with horses but the husband wanted to rope cows. He would come out once a week and cowboy on him, sometimes every other week. Other than that he was kept on a dry lot where he was bullied by the other horses (he came covered in bite marks and scrapes) and fed what the cows ate, sweet feed cracked corn and tifton. He was ridden in a huge shanked bit and was quite nervous. Hard to catch. I saw potential in him and decided he was for me, plus he checked all the ticks for what I was looking for. Not too young, shorter for a TB (he is 15.2), FL bred (many northern horses don’t acclimate well here), sound with no previous injuries, and while color is of least importance to me I do enjoy the redheads.

 

[JanS]

What a handsome boy!

 

[Ravenbird]

So happy for you - keep us posted in your journey together!

 

[MyBuddy]

@Brioddy !! I'm so happy for you! He is so handsome! What a beauty! I think you got him out of a rough situation and he is just loving it. His coat is glistening with good health! Have fun, be careful and be sure to include us in your Journeys!

 

[LifeofRubie]

Holy cow what a Derby race!

 

[Ravenbird]

Holy cow what a Derby race!

It was over the top! I always make a bet on paper, but haven't made a real money bet in years because nothing local.

I had him for my long shot bet, along with others that "should win", but I always have to choose a long shot in addition to the logical choices. I chose him because his sire is Curlin, plus I have always had faith that one day a female trainer would win the Derby. It was about the most exciting finish I've seen in a long time and so, so happy that a woman broke that glass ceiling.

 

[JanS]

I got to go do a behind the scenes tour there some years ago. We weren't there for the race but it was pretty interesting for sure.