Caring for a disabled horse requires a great deal of love and attention. Regardless of your horse's particular condition, you must put forth the effort necessary to ensure that your horse feels your love and concern for him.
For example, when horses go blind, whether due to disease or injury, it is common for the animal to feel extremely frightened for the first several days, if not longer. Your horse is completely dependent on you to take care of him, even when he is at optimal health. When he becomes disabled, this dependency, as well as the horse's feelings of vulnerability, double. Caring for a disabled horse that has lost his sight is particularly challenging. You must spend many days immediately following his initial blindness helping him to adjust to not being able to see his surroundings. You must help him learn where things are so that he can adapt and not hurt himself when he is alone. This type of adaptive behavior is important for any disabled horse to learn if he is to function and thrive and continue to lead a happy life.
There are other precautions that you must take when caring for a disabled horse. If your horse has a disability that is likely to get him picked on and abused by other horses, you must ensure that he is never in a group setting where such activity might take place. Horses do need a companion, however, so be especially careful that you do not isolate your horse. Put him with a gentle horse so that he will have a friend to rely on.
Other things that you can do to aid in caring for a disabled horse include joining a charitable organization that specializes in the care and protection of horses. There are plenty of people out there who are dedicated to helping animals with disabilities. These same people can also help you in learning to care for your horse's special needs. In joining such groups, you would not only be learning how to deal more effectively with your own horse, but you might also be able to help the animal to reconnect with other people, as well as other horses, as he learns to deal with his disability. Caring for a disabled horse is challenging, but if you are faced with this reality, it can also be a very rewarding experience. It takes a great amount of selflessness to undertake caring for a disabled horse, and the efforts that you put forth for your animal will not go unappreciated.
