Babe

In June of 2008 I was puttering on the local classifieds when I noticed an ad for a free older mare. The ad mentioned that the mare was partially blind and the other horses were running the poor mare ragged. If she couldn’t find the horse a new home, the owner would have to euthanize the horse. I took the plunge and emailed the owner to find out more information. I was worried that a free horse would be easy pickings for a kill buyer. That and I have a soft spot for older horses.

The owner responded and told me more about Babe. She had owned Babe since she was a weanling and was now 26 years old. She’d trained Babe herself and had been a trusted mount for many years. Even at the age of 25, Babe had been used for light riding by a smaller girl. When I asked about her blindness, the owner said she was blind in one eye and could see shadows in the other. I decided that I’d already had a mare with one blind eye, how different could this new challenge be?

We made arrangements for the owner to bring Babe to Borderlands. Luckily for everyone, the owner lived very near Borderlands so it wasn’t a long distance drive. When the owner and mare arrived, they unloaded. I noticed then that what I had expected for partially blind was much different. I noticed then that what I thought of as shadows was much different. Babe could tell the difference from walking into a dark building and walking out of a building into the light.

But that didn’t deter me from falling in love with Babe immediately. Even though she couldn’t see with her eyes, she could still see with her ears. Even know, two years later she still fools me when she tips her ears towards me and “watches” me go about my business.

Babe has taught everyone at Borderlands how to handle a horse more carefully. She is an absolute amazing horse and easily adapts to new environments. Because she is blind, I try to keep her in smaller pastures so that she can find her way if she gets lost. When Babe does get lost, she’ll start making small circles and progress to bigger circles until she finds some landmark or fence to help guide her.

Unfortunately because she is in a smaller pasture, it means we have to move her to a different pasture for the fall/winter months (and for hunting season). She’s such a trooper. She identifies one or two landmarks and adjusts quickly to her new surroundings. She has impressed everyone at Borderlands so many times.

In the fall of 2008, we decided to take Babe in to get her teeth floated. She was plenty healthy but I wanted to make sure she would be find going into the winter months. The first winter a new horse is at Borderlands is always the toughest because we don’t know what to expect. We wanted to take every precaution that she would be just as fat and sassy in the spring as she was in the fall/winter. Because Babe is blind, we always haul her with shipping boots to protect her legs. She takes putting on the shipping boots like a pro. She unloaded at the vets like a pro and stood there like she was master of all. We insisted that there would be no power floats as Babe gets very upset when there is a lot of noise. She gets upset when a loud truck drives past and she can’t here. We knew the power float would cause too many problems. Luckily we have a great vet and he obliged by doing a hand float. And because Babe is such an impressive mare, she took the hand float without needing any tranquilizer. A few weeks later, I talked with Babe’s owner and she told me that Babe had never had her teeth floated before. Yet another amazing feat Babe surprises us with!

In the fall of 2009, Babe lost the sight in her “good” eye. She was no longer able to see shadows. But being the amazing horse she is, she adjusted and has learned to manage being completely blind. We were afraid that she may not adjust to being completely blind and would be faced with euthanizing. After a few days of bumping into objects, she figured out her new disability and has never had any problems since then.

Babe’s favorite time of day is feeding time. We feed all seniors a mash to make eating easier. Babe devours her grain. You can literally see the delight she experiences over every mouthful. Watching her is better than watching a child choose open a Christmas present. Besides being blind, Babe also has a bit of arthritis in her back legs but that doesn’t stop her from wandering around her pasture. When we put her fly mask on, we sometimes forget that she’s even blind. Babe has taught everyone at Borderlands so much and we continue to look forward to learning more!