I used to ride a horse like that. He developed it at about age 15 in his left eye. The horse was the owner's first and currently teaching her daughter to ride so putting him to sleep wasn't an option. We had the eye out and he was just as good as ever. We had to be a bit more vocal and careful about approaching from that side or running him into things but he was fine. He ended up with it in his right as as well a couple years later but we got it under control. She used to take him out to local shows without an issue. He was a great "pirate" in fun shows for the costume class. The kids used to enjoy taking off his eye patch and seeing the scar and scaring themselves silly.
He presented with symptoms of walking into his stall door (we had dutch doors with the tops open most times) and bumping into his hay rack even though he had been in the same stall for over 5 years. He also shied away from things that approached on his left side and crossed to his right side, going from the blind side into his good side without warning. Petcaretips.net describes it as:
Quote:
Episodes that appear suddenly are usually painful and many
horses become head shy. Excessive tearing from the eye, eyelid
spasms (blepharospasm), and light sensitivity (photophobia) are often
noticed. Within 1-3 days the affected eye will become cloudy and
red from underlying inflammation. A thick yellowish discharge
will also develop. Changes within the lens such as pigmentation
and the development of cataracts can occur weeks to months after
the uveitis begins. ERU is diagnosed by noting a history of
recurring and chronic eye disease characterized by the previously
mentioned signs and physical changes to the eye noted upon
examination.
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