The Legend of the One-Eyed Horse July 6, 2008
Posted by kimayars Uncategorized
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Zandee is a horse that Sherene and I both share care for. He’s a retired lesson horse, 24 years old, and has one eye. I’ve had a few people ask if he REALLY does have one eye. Yes, he only has one eye:
The “eye side” (isn’t he cute?):
The “non-eye side”:
Seriously, it’s a little creepy but you get used to it. He’s totally rideable, an awesome trail horse, and has a really sweet personality. Sherene and I have been able to watch him relax, play, and just be a horse while on her property. We enjoy his daily HEMI-sounding nickers and his slow, easy-going way about him. His “scream like a girl” squeals when he thinks he’s going to get his butt kicked (which never happens) always make us giggle.
For both Sherene and I he holds a special place in our heart because this is the horse we learned to canter on. He’s a conformational nightmare, yet is able to stay sound. We know that he came to Sherene’s to live out his final years, and that’s a hard one to swallow. But in the mean time it’s a joy to watch him be a happy and healthy horse.
Comments
Ok, I want to say “aw shucks… that’s so sweet”….
But I just can’t bring myself to…
Because… That IS SOOOO CREEPY!
I bet Karl is going to have nightmares of a one-eyed horse chasing him down after looking at this blog post!
He is one lucky horse to have you two take him in! So many horses, no matter how much they have done for their riders, end up in not great circumstances when they are too “old”, particularly if they have one of those.. ahem… unsightly blemishes. You and Sherene are great people to do that for him.
So now the million dollar question - how’d he lose his eye?
I think that is so great. I was on a trail ride once (maybe gosh, I think I was about 15 or 16) and the horse in front of me jumped a small log and got a branch in the eye. They ended up putting the horse down after a few days. It is nice to see that a horse CAN be a happy horse with one eye. And have people that love and care for him!! Thanks for the story.
very cool thing for you and sherene to do. as an owner of a kind of dog people want to put down just for being a certain breed (pit bull), i’m all about taking care of those that are unwanted.
i think he looks awesome, his non-eye side makes him look like one of the 4 horses of the apocalypse!
He sounds like a sweet guy who is a real trooper. It’s wonderful that he has found a place in your hearts for the rest of his life and that you two are so kind to him.
hey kim–my daughter had a horse that lost an eye due to a freak accident. it was her left eye–which required a bit of retraining for mounting and leading but she did fine. i also cared for a horse that actually performed at FEI levels with only one eye (he was in our barn here in college station before moving on to houston–he lost the eye to a fungus). it is good to see there are other one eyed horses fulfilling some ones dream. i posted a blog with some interesting pics of the critters on our trip to peru–check it out.
Oh great. So now I have this to have nightmares about…
And that left-side profile - have you thought of re-naming him Binky?
Actually, despite my completely logical fear of horses, he looks and sounds like quite a sweetie. My inlaws used to have a one-eyed dog (Nelson), who despite being a huge boisterous lump was also one of the daftest and most fun dogs to play with. He and I spent many a happy afternoon hiding while the women on the farm kept us safe from the cows (almost as bad as horses). His only trouble was going past obstacles on his blind side - he just froze, and needed a responsible human to get him out of the situation!