Probably a stupid question but..~

One of the stables my trainer works at (The same stable with Apollo, the big Friesian stud) has this cute Appaloosa stallion named Ritchie that I get to lead around and work with. He's sweet as pie, pretty as can be and I enjoy working with him. He's well behaved and to be honest, I didn't realize he was a stallion until Jocelyn pointed it out to me. I felt so stupid.

ANYWAY. Turns out, poor little guy is blind now ): He wasn't ridden at all (If I remember, he did a lot of halter and that was it?) My question is, can you train a blind horse to be ridden?

Yes you can :)
I'm sure its difficult and you have to have a great bond with the horse, but the outcome can be just as rewarding.

Here's a video of a woman and her blind horse in a trail class. Its absolutely amazing

I'm not that impressed. He couldn't see that big scary sheep, so of course he didn't spook at it.

Wow! That's my horse, Smokey, and I! What a nice surprise to see our video here. That was part one, here is part two:
I also have a page about him on my website:
Smokey - Blind Horse

Working with a blind horse has been an amazing experience with endless rewards. I smile every single day because of him and all that he has taught me about patience, tolerance, love, trust, respect and an endless desire to reach for the sky!

We have gone through some serious trials and very scary situations, but due to the bond that we have established, he trusts me absolutely. I tell everyone, it's about making the right decisions that are right for the individual horse. Smokey was able to handle being blind; he just needed time to adjust and know that I would do everything in my power to keep him safe and happy. 12 years and counting since he went blind, the sky truly is the limit :)

That's wonderful to see, Angie. Thanks for sharing that with us. I would love to watch you train some time.

I would say that training a blind horse is the ultimate in trust and bonding - time and patience.

Thank-you Angie, that is truely inspirational. My mare T has lost her sight in her right eye, and after adapting we are out trail riding as usual. She is now sight challenged in her left eye, but I'm hopeful that we will still enjoy the trails together with a few adjustments.

Thanks so much for showing what is possible when you have a horse that trusts you!

You can. I remember an article in I believe AQHA journal or something like that about a woman who trained her blind horse to do dressage, and she was getting places in high rank competitions. BTW, the horse was absolutely gorgeous.

However you have to have lots of trust between blind horse and a rider, and have to be very exact with the cues, because the horse completely depends on you.

Angie....that was phenomenal!!! I browsed your website too...Very impressive!!!

Appylover thanks for posting that video! One of my favorite parts of horseforum is seeing stuff I would never find on my own.
Angie, that is inspirational. Makes me want to work on my horsemanship.

So cool!