My vet came out and checked him and seems to think that he may have "moon blindness" and be very sensitive to light. BOTH of his eyes have a whitish film or cloudiness about them with a small white speck in the bottom quarter of his eye. He told me that it is a progressive thing, and if he DOES have it, it's not something that will cost us thousands of dollars, because there's not much they can do for it.
Do you have any experience with this? Is it painful for him? Are there any other things that I can check? I would like to give this pony a good, loving home with us, and can probably deal with the fact that he may go blind at some point. Right now, the vet thinks that he can see shadows and that he's NOT totally blind in his right eye. Do you have any opinions about what I might be in for? Equine Recurrent Uveitis: Information for the Horse Owner
The Horse Interactive - Periodic Ophthalmia (Moon Blindness)
Periodic Ophthalmia or Recurrent Equine Anterior Uveitis
Anterior Uveitis, Recurrent Uveitis, Periodic Ophthalmia, and Moonblindness
Was the vet who examined the pony an equine practitioner? If not, you might want to have him examined by a specialist. It is not at all uncommon for older horses to develop ordinary cataracts, though moonblindness is the most common cause of loss of sight in horses.
Q. I am just getting a 1st pony as a companion to our 11 yr. old thoroughbred. He's a little appaloosa, about 20 years old. The girl that owns him (has only had him for 1 yr) said that she thinks he's blind in his right eye.
A. Rather than copying all of the information in my vet books regarding moonblindness onto this page, I've dug up a few URLs for you to check out. The first one in particular is an incredible resource.
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