09/20/2026
I would love you to meet my blind horse!
Meet Peter Pan!
We adopted our nearly full blind mustang c**t just over a year ago now. Here is his story!
In early August 2020 a herd of mares and foals, wild Yakima reservation mustangs, were rounded up in eastern Washington by horse catchers who make a profit from selling the mares to slaughter and the foals (who can't legally be sold to slaughter until they are older) are sent to a horse rescue affectionately known as the orphanage. Many of the foals are between 1-3 months old and already starving and in bad shape from being on the range. Our little guy was about a month old when he was ripped away from his dam- and somehow enroute to the rescue he escaped the horse trailer and disappeared into the eastern Washington desert. The lows were in the upper 90s and the highs near 120 each day. He was found four days later incredibly close to death, severely dehydrated and barely hanging on to life. As a result of his escaping the orphanage, full of other "lost boys" he was christened Peter Pan.
Working closely with the vet the little c**t was placed into a special foster home who provided 24/7 intensive care for him- and much to everyone's shock he was still alive the next day- and the next. He was one heck of a fighter and was fighting to live with everything he had. He unfortunately came down with a bad infection and had to fight that off as well. As he was healing his care team discovered that he was blind- they weren't sure if he was fully blind or just partially as each time they tested his eyes they got different results. It was clear he had significant vision loss his first time in turnout as he kept running into things. When he was finally healthy enough to find a new, permanent home his foster put the word out in conjunction with the rescue for a very special home- and if they couldn't find the right home, Peter Pan would be humanely euthanized.
Along came me (Corrie)- something about him just tugged at my heart and after a long phone call with his foster home where I found many similarities with his first foster mom I decided to bring him home to us. We already had another vision impaired mare who was blind in one eye and was a terrific horse. Peter Pan made the 10 hour trailer ride down to southern Oregon and our home- and the poor little guy was terrified, he fell on his face coming out of the trailer because he couldn’t see. He was incredibly tiny, still needing weight and very scared. We started him in a small pen where he quickly learned his bearings and stopped running into things. He met our horses over the fence, and once he was acclimated we put him out with the herd and every single mare and gelding adopted him as their own. I’ve never seen a more well loved foal- he’s truly beloved. They guided him around everyday keeping him safe.
One year later he knows his pasture so well he gallops from one end to the other, plays rearing bitey face with his older “brothers” and sleeps full out under any of his herd mates watchful presence. He is very smart and loving- he ties, is great for the farrier, loads and unloads in the trailer, is great with clipping, blanketing and all sorts of ground work. He is primarily my 12 year old daughter’s project and she has trained him the whole way.
We adore him and are excited to get him started under saddle as he matures and grows- he still has a few years yet to go!
Thank you- Peter Pan and Corrie
FYI: Since March 2020, Kari with HOC Rose Sanctuary Rescue started collecting Blind Horse Owner’s stories (I would love you to meet my blind horse) told in their own words from those horse owners who discovered their horse is blind, sharing their journey of owning and caring for their blind horse(s) because they want to give HOPE to others who seek HOPE for their blind horses. We post those stories every Sunday on our page and Blind Horses page.
There is a blind horse community among us that needs to be heard and seen.
Sharing Blind Horse Owner's stories is our most powerful tools in sharing awareness on blind horses. The more stories we can share then more people will realize it is very common and is not a rare occurrence.
Each one of us started knowing nothing about blind horses and we learned as we went along. If we can, so can anyone. Horses become blind in different ways: genetic predisposition, injury, eye diseases, or from natural aging process.
The stigma is very low with partial blind horses but when it comes to those fully blind horses, the reaction is a whole different picture. The stigma is still there for those fully blind horses.
If you have a blind horse, Please consider sharing your story with us so we can share your story on our platform, and I would like to see everyone share their stories on their own platform and any other media source to spread ripple far as possible. Our email is [email protected].
P.S. If you already shared your story with us, please feel free to share any new update on what is happening with your horse so we can keep your story updated.
