rocky progress

[cirocco]

Ive had sleepless nights and bitten off most of my nails. Awful, frustrating and sad.

Ive been given some good advice from different people who have experiences simlar to mine with horses that were seemingly not taking to their loss of an eye.
I decided that if we were ever going to get to where we were, then id have to jolly well get out there and tackle the problem head on.
One guy said that his horse had taken 6 months to accept the road work, rearing and plunging whenever it heard anything coming up behind!. Rocky wasn't that bad, he dances and tries to spin, but never reared.

I got in touch with the woman who rode him when he was first broken. [She's married to the bloke who bought all the horses, he 'broke' rocky when he was totally untouched and wild.]
She told me that even at his worst he never did anything worse than dance around or try to spin out.
It sounded just like the sort of thing that he was doing now with me. If that was all he was going to do, and if I could control the direction that he wanted to go, then perhaps I could get him out long enough and often enough for the scary things to become less scary.
Another person told me that clicker training might help, or to re introduce things that he would remember that would give him comfort.. And to take his mind off scary stuff just before they scared him and brought the reaction to escape.

So on Monday I thought right chum, time to practice. So I re introduced treats from both sides right from the start of the ride.
As we set off and walked out of the farm onto the road I asked him if he wanted a toffee, the reaction was for him to stop,turn his head and Id pop in a mint. This was repeated for the whole ride of around thirty minutes.
Each time we got to a situation where he was getting tense I offered the treat. It soon became obvious that he was relaxing.
He had been reacting quite alarmingly to motorbiles [always been a problem] and so whenever I saw one coming id offer the treat.
On thursday we did an hours ride with a return along the main road meeting six motorbikes, some coming up from behind some in front, he had no reaction whatsoever even without a lure.
We were passed by huge lorries and he had to stand at traffic lights while a troup of school children passed under his nose, all went well.
As we passed some houses I saw his reflection in the windows, he was head down, totally chilled. He always tootled along with his eyes half closed, and that was how he was that day. I have to say I was on cloud nine, so happy.

I know its only early days, but there is hope in my mind that perhaps in time we can resume lessons.

For about the past four years whenever we got back from a ride I would 'park' him next to my car and take off the saddle etc then put the tack in my car and give him a treat before taking him back down the lane to the field. While I stripped him down he would just stand there waiting, he never tried to wander off to the field until I was ready to go. After the accident he hadn't been happy to stand there at all so he had to be tied up. Thursday he 'chose' to stand next to the car. I was really pleased, [another milestone passed. ] I had to 'ask' him to come with me back to the field, so funny. And all in the space of just a week.

Ive noticed also that he's different in the field, he's going off on his own, 'leaving willi behind', or he will let willi go off without him. And ive seen them galloping and play fighting, so its coming.

The dot is still there in the middle of the 'blind' eye, he still doesn't flinch when I wave my hand next to the eye, but this morning I was taking pictures of them in the field, I got right up to his face and took the picture, the flash went off and he lept into the air!.... Can he see something???????

The vet said that there was no chance of the sight returning, but might he be able to 'see' bright lights. No one knows how much he can actually see  or not see so I suppose its a wait and see thing..

[Taliessin]

  for you and Rocky 

[thegaffer]

Well done,

For just getting on with it.  Sometimes it's all the boost you need.

Good luck

[Greybaby]

That's sounding really promising   

and another 'well done' for getting on with tackling the problem 

Fingers crossed that he continues to adjust well with your support 

[Wendy]

  Sounds hopeful! Well done for getting out there and having a go, it must be such a relief to see him improving so much.

Good luck 

[VR]

That does sound really promising  Well done both of you, great to hear such positive impovements already 

As an aside, whilst I am not a horse (!) as someone who lost their sight in one eye at the end of last year (now thankfully regained curtosey of an op, phew!) I can tell you that although "blind" in the one eye, I too could see light and dark etc so whilst I could not focus at all I was aware of some movement, shadows etc in that eye. Also the body is quite an amazing thing and you will find that the other eye and the brain in general will compensate for the loss in one eye so he should get by pretty well. You may also find perhaps that whilst he will never regain his focus in that eye, he may with time have a degree of peripheral (spelling  !) ) vision return which is what started to happen with me, (though once more I stress - me no horse and me no vet  ) again it is the body readjusting and things settling etc.

[cirocco]

Well we have just made our 22nd trip out into the world and I have to say that he is wonderfully [ almost] back to the horse he was pre accident.
On a hack locally he mostly isnt any different at all, he accepts leg aids really well and seems to take 'courage' from my legs and voice lots more than before. The only things that he seems to get worried about are odd noises coming from behind, but day by day these worries are getting less.
Im seeing this as training. Its a learning curve for us both.

On thursday we went for a lesson, rode through the dreaded road works, [my worries not his,] he ignored a grab dropping stone into a hole, and assorted other mechanicla stuff going on. Tarmac being laid and men in flapping coats....Nothing, he didn't even look.
We rode up the bridleway, 'bootless' and even managed a reluctant canter through some deep mud... 'he's such a wuss'..

The lesson was brilliant. We started off doing some walk trot walk halt then rein back. All on a really long rein so that he could stretch down...He has remembered that when we halt and I ask 'back he reverses. It was one of those ooh moments... A pat and a mint then we went into some trot work.
He didn't wobble at all, we did sepentines and loops, with 'almost' perfect circles.
He was happy to canter circles which he wasn't just a week ago, so we are progressing.

He seems to have got the hang of the indoor school now, which is a bit small really, he preferes the outdoor, but it was very windy and wind seems to effect his blind eye so Ill avoid it for now. I hope to be able to fit him with some sort of eye patch for the summer to protect the eye as much as possible. Ive been fiddling with some designs that I can come up with that fit to his bridle via velcro loops...

I use my thighs more now, where as before he would go with little touch from my leg [ this came from him freaking whenever I put my legs on] Now he seems to understand what my legs mean and he doesn't scoot off at the slightest touch. As an over reactor id to be really careful what I did with my hands, body or legs, anything at all would send him off zooming away from my leg if it gave even the titchiest signal.
The more he learned the worse it got.
He constantly tried to out think me. This has become quite a lot more evident now.

I would say that he is the border collie of the horse world.

Thursday we went through a novice test where he was asked for medium trot over x. He remembered the test like it was yesterday, as soon as we turned to go across the school he was off. He came up in front and was on a mission. What a good boy.

I dont know how much he is remembering and how much he is accepting what we are doing now. He is so much more sensative to me and my movements. That was what made him difficult to ride before, now its so much worse, not in a bad way, no, in a really good way, he is so quick, that sometimes ive only to 'think' something and he's doing it.
Like I 'think' im going across the school, thats enough, off he goes. Or ill 'think' walk, he walks.

ive never ridden a horse that is so in tune with my brain. My trainer says its because he was a stallion for so long. which is why he is so sensitive.

Id like to hear from anyone else who might have a horse who is the same.

Today I tried to take willi out to walk him on his own, rocky freaked.... totally over the top, rearing at the gate, racing round, shouting, so there's no way he's going to be left. So next week its going to be another first since before christmas, im going to have to ride rocky and lead william.. So more worry and no nails.

[shoveltrash]

honestly, Rocky sounds better than alot of 'two-eyed' horses i know

[Hammie]

He sounds like a very brave horse .

[DollysMum]

Sounds like fantastic progress!