Equus – August 2019

AUTUMN 2019 EqUUS 498^115

off her feed. This, our veterinarian said,
was probably a sign of ulcers from
the heavy medication regimen. I gave
Breezy the antacid sucralfate, as pre-
scribed by the veterinarian, and some
omeprazole for a few days. After about
a week, her stomach problems seemed
to dissipate, but her neck was still sore.
We continued the warm packs and mas-
sage a few more days until she seemed
more comfortable.
Three weeks after the surgery,
the incision in Breezy’s now-empty
eye socket started oozing a little pus.
Riggleman prescribed another course
of antibiotics and instructed us to flush
the area a couple of times a day with a
mix of chlorhexidine and water. By the
end of January, the stitches were start-
ing to come out and Breezy was rub-
bing the eye socket on her leg. After the

remaining stitches were removed, we

kept the padded fly mask on to help

protect that delicate area. The incision

was still oozing a little but by then it

was clear fluid, with no signs of infec-

tion, and we no longer had to rinse it.

B

y the time spring arrived, the eye

socket and incision had healed and

Andrea started riding Breezy to see

how she would manage with one eye. I

rode along with her on Ed, her buddy.

We made our first ride over the low

range, and Breezy had no hesitation at

all to travel the familiar trails or to go

around a hillside with uneven footing.

Samantha started riding Breezy

again soon after, taking responsibil-

ity for being her “seeing eye person” on

her left side. Eventually Breezy became

Sam’s main mount, moving cows, and

helping with all other tasks we do on

horseback. Watching Sam ride Breezy

around a mountainside or following

cows, you’d never guess that this mare

has only one eye. Breezy knows all

the trails, all the terrain on our ranch

and range; the only thing her rider has

to watch out for is to make sure she

doesn’t run into branches on her blind

side. On steep mountains, her rider also

has to be aware of any drop-offs on that

left side and keep her in the safe mid-

dle of the trail.

We are glad we took the gamble to

have Breezy’s eye removed, and had the

wherewithal to baby her through the

recovery phase. The mare we met as

a skittish 4-year-old is now, at 27, our

most dependable “kid horse.” Breezy is

a horse that nearly anyone can ride, if

they know how to ride at all.