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Discussion on Filly Born With No Eyes
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - 1:48 pm:
Just curious about this. A friend of a friend has a mare who delivered a foal with no eyes. Other than a slight heart murmer, the filly was healthy, nursing and running around when they found her.
The owner checked out some ranch that is dedicated to giving blind horses a home, but the ranch wasn't accepting any more horses at this time. So the filly has been put down.
It was out of an Arab mare who had been bred to a Morgan stallion.
Anyone ever hear of this happening?
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Member:
zarr
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Posted on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - 6:03 pm:
It happens in dogs and cats I've seen it! Please if someone hears of this again don't give up on the little one they are FINE as far as they are concerned. There is bound to be some crazy old lady like me that would be glad to have them as a friend. Cindy
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 8:39 am:
The condition is known as "anophthalmia". I have not seen this in a foal though have seen a calf with this condition. In other pages on this site, David Ramey says this is a unreported condition in the foal though I can find other ophthamolgists who report it, I think he may have been talking specifically about anterior segment dysgenesis (ASD) in Rocky Mountain horses. I cannot find a case study in foals however. The cause is often unknown though increased incidence is noted in highly inbred lines of dogs. In this case the unrelated nature of the two horses suggest that, if there is no history of developmental eye problems in either parent, this is not a genetic defect of the adults but some other cause for the failure of proper organ development in the fetus.
DrO
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Member:
canyon28
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 11:41 am:
My late stallion, Peppy, sired a foal with only one working eye, the filly also had some other problems and was put down immediately. the mare owner bred the same mare back and the next foal was perfect. So I agree with Dr O, that it was something during the developmental phase of the fetus that happened to the mare or something that just didnt connect.
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 5:37 pm:
Thanks DrO for giving it a name. My first thought was "did they give WNV shots?" based on all those pictures that were floating on the web a few years ago when the vaccine first came out. Which of course was never proved. I still don't know the answer to that or any other info, like if this was the first foal out of this mare, or the first with this mare/stallion combo.
I'll post an update if I get any more info.
Just so sad.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 7:04 am:
Angie what has been proved is that the WNV vaccine is safe and efficacious to use in areas where WNV is prevalent.
DrO
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Member:
boomer
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Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 11:24 am:
I agree with Cindy.
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Member:
skye
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Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 12:04 pm:
I agree with Patricia and Cindy. The foal knows nothing else, and the ability of animals to adapt is astonishing.
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 4:46 pm:
Here's a little more to the story: The mare who had this filly was in a seperate pasture when she foaled. By the time the filly was found, she was up and running around, in a different pasture with 2(?) other mares. She had gotten in there with them and one of the mares, a mare my friend used to lease, was "baby sitting" this blind little babe. For some reason her parental instincts had kicked in and she was doing all she could to keep the filly safe, protecting her from the other horses and the fence.
My first thoughts too were that she would adapt. My girlfriend disagreed, saying that horses that have sight for years and go blind adapt and this wasn't the case here. The owners were thinking like my friend I guess so we'll never know.
DrO,
I did vaccinate for WNV this year and every one is alive yet, so I do believe it's worth it. I don't believe everything I read or see on the net, except for your advice of course.  The questions I asked myself choosing this years shots were: Will the horse die from .....? Suffer long term problems from...? insert disease names above. I am changing my views on what I give and how often, based on current information and financially of course.
A little off subject I know.
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Member:
hpyhaulr
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Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 10:17 pm:
I have heard of that ranch.... I would imagine their waiting list is impressive. The universal ability to adapt is astounding. When Walt was a kid, his family bought a farm which came with a team of horses for plowing. It was a couple of weeks before the family even figured out that one horse was blind. The other had adapted and compensated so well, they worked just fine together. Not only adaptation, but compassion. It was a strong life-lesson for Walt and his siblings as well.
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