Blindness and Breeding

[Primordial]

Greetings All. I don't know that this is the best place to post this... but certainly ought to get read by many... and perhaps someone who can offer some input...

I have a wonderful TB mare. A black type winning mare of over $200,000. A Seattle Slew granddaughter, being by Lord Of All. While she is still gaining some weight, she is a big, beautiful mare. Wonderful conformation to match my stallion. And a joy to handle.

She was blind in one eye when I got her. And going blind in the other due to Moon Blindness. She was completely and utterly blind within a week of my getting her. I have had her several months now.

The folks I got her from offered to come get her back and bring my gelding home (who I didn't want back!). But they were not going to put her down... return her to the sale they bought her from, and I didn't want this wonderfully sweet mare who has earned a right to die peacefully, ending up on a truck to Mexico. Scared to death. And probably would get injured. So I opted to keep her.

She has adjusted to the blindness well. Still has irritation in the recently blind eye. I have not had it removed yet, due to the fact that I will have to build a ramp to get her safely into my trailer for the trip.

I have known Arabian breeders who have successfully bred blind mares and raised their foals just fine. Little bells around the neck of the baby, and everything is cool. But I wonder about how often they cycle normally, due to not being able to "see" the sunlight? I think that a lot of the good of the sunlight is absorbed through the body... but I wanted to get someone else's opinion on this.

She is easily managed. Trusts me to lead her anywhere. She is out grazing in a large pasture as I type. I can see her out my window... and she is the only one in there.

My family and I have come to love this mare. I don't want to put her down, though letting her lead a confined life with no way to really exercise... seems mean.

I appreciate all thoughts on this subject...

Sincerely,
Robin L. Weeks

[Crystal]

Robin, what would be the goal for this breeding? Are you planning on racing the foal? Or do you just want a foal out of this mare. If so please re think that reasoning. Winning over 200k is very good, but unless she did it winning stake races she has not earned any black type and would not be considered commercially appealing.
Have you researched her pedigree to see if she, her dam or grandam have produced any stakes horses or just hard knocking runners?

Please let us know, or maybe provide the folks on here her name so someone can pull a report for you and help you out.

Post a picture of this nice lady too!!!

Crystal

[Primordial]

Dear Crystal,

Thanks for replying! No. The foal will not be for re-sale. I am very realistic about that! I understand that the marketing value is not much.

I have studied her pedigree and really like her phenotype. She is one of the best mares that a poor person like myself has had in possession... so far. She is by Lord Of All and out of mare named Tea Crozie. Her name is Lamah. She is still needing some more weight.. and actually has gained quite nicely even though her eye has been hurting her, since she has been here. I will take some photos after we have a bath in the next few days...

I don't plan on running anything for the Triple Crown. Something decent enough to take to the Fairgrounds at NOLA would be fun. But I also have an Anglo Arab breeding program. And as Lord Of All has sired some nice Dressage type horses... I think her blood would be a great addition.

So, no. I don't plan on selling the resulting foal. It would be for me.

While horses are a dime a dozen these days, this mare possesses qualities that I really like.

Thanks for your input!
Robin

[Crystal]

Hi Robin. Lord of All came from Seattle Slew out of a very hard knocking mare which according to the PQ produced 3 stake horses. He was actually a disapointment at the track, but may have done well as a show horse or like you said a sire of dressage horses.

This mare does have some nice old fashion blood way back, but nothing that recent to run. Do you know if she has been bred before?

If your vet says she is sound for breeding, you may just want to go the show horse route. It would be very costly to get a "maybe" to the track. With her being blind and if you were just breeding her to a show horse you could think about shipped semen or embryo transfer. If you were breeding her to a TB, it would have to be live cover, and the use of a nursemare would be recommended if she couldnt keep up with the foal.

So tell us the story with Lamah. Where'd you get her? Lots of folks on this board do a lot of work with rescue and OTTB's. So if you ever have questions about getting a horse to gain weight, they would be a great resource.

Crystal

[soft hearted]

Get a blood test done for Leptospirosis BEFORE you attempt breeding. If she's gone blind (a common reason for moonblindness) from a Lepto infection - she will abort. And pass the lepto on and on and on. Please don't inflict that on anyone else.
It *is* a cattle antibody test, but you need to address the cause of the blindness before you begin your journey.
JMHO.

[Primordial]

Lepto was a consideration.... I do believe there is much about Moon Blindness that we do not know.

[Primordial]

My computer was acting up and I didn't think any posts had been submitted!

[Primordial]

If anyone has ideas on the problem of moon blindness.... I am willing to listen.

[soft hearted]

There are many causes for moonblindness, but Lepto is one of the main ones. And planning on breeding, the MAIN one for your concern.
Having weathered an abortion storm, followed by family placed in ICU over a Lepto outbreak, then finding a year later that one of our best hopefuls as a showhorse was going blind from moonblindness (at the time, the connection was not known, even by vets) I don't find it a laughing matter at all.
I wonder that you do?
Or am I misreading your post(s) somehow?

[Karie]

I had a quarter horse mare when I was a kid that had Moon blindness. It came and went.. There were times she could see and times she couldn't.
We placed her with someone that had better more proper fencing than the wire we had.
I would not remove the eye unless it was infected and needed to be removed.

[BenB]

I do not know if it is the same, but there is a kind of blindness that is caused by an illness seen in rats.
An standardhorse got it overhere.
He was sent to an specailized vet in Germany, they removed the fluid behind the eyes and now he sees again.
He gets special headwears for protecting his eyes while out in the pasture.

[Sock Monkey]

I'm sorry I can't give you any advice on the moonblindness thing (luckily I haven't had to deal with that), but it sounds like you're asking the right questions and proceeding with caution, which has to be good.

As far as a breeding this mare for a race prospect... Geez, why not?? Successful racemares tend to throw successful foals and this mare was apparently a very good racemare. It sounds like you have realistic expectations and have a backup plan if the foal doesn't work out as a racehorse. Go for it! And best of luck to you.

Crystal, every horse going to the track is a "maybe."

[skywatcher]

Primordial,

I agree with the poster who said you should test before you breed to make sure her blindness isn't something that is hereditary.
I've rescued a couple of blind horses before, so I can help you with any questiosn regarding care etc. Feel free to PM me here or send me an email to [email protected]
I've never bred one or had a pregnant one, so that aspect of it I have no experience to pass on to you.
This is a link to Rolling Dog rescue which takes in a lot of blind horses. They are very nice, helpful people so perhaps they can answer any concerns you have

http://www.rollingdogranch.org/horses/rocky_hawk.html

[Laurierace]

Don't laugh off the lepto suggestion. I had a mare go blind from lepto and I had another mare abort from lepto. I do not know if there is a way to test to see if that is indeed what caused the moon blindness but it is definitely something to keep in mind.

[Primordial]

I am afraid that I was having computer issues last night and some of the posts didn't sound correct. I actually thought they had not been posted at all, but see that some had been partially. I still live in the world of slow dial up internet and I get cut off and then re-connected often on some nights...

I am seriously not even considering breeding this mare after hearing your thoughts. Basically due to the lepto issues. I don't know much about it, and did not realize it would be passed on so readily.

Pretty much a bummer, when I finally find a Seattle Slew mare who I really like. And she actually won a few races! I suppose there are a lot more out there.

Now to decide the best thing to do with her.

Thanks for all the input!
Robin