Minnesota rider forms close bond with blind horse

Blind horse
Bev Riley of Waite Park Minn., and her horse Boxer, share a special bond because Boxer is blind.
AP Photo/The St. Cloud Times, Dave Schwarz

By Sarah Nienaber, St. Cloud Times

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) - Winston Churchill once said no hour of life is wasted in a saddle.

That rings true for Waite Park horse enthusiast Bev Riley. She and her Appaloosa, Boxer, spend lots of time together. The two ride almost every day, and their horse-rider relationship has grown strong.

There's also a lot of trust, which is especially important because although Boxer appears to be an average horse, he is far from it. The brown gelding can't see.

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"We have formed a bond where he listens to my voice," Riley said.

Despite his inability to see, Riley and Boxer ride trails and do all the things any sighted horse can do.

Boxer was born with a cataract in his left eye that always limited his vision. In the spring of 2008, when Boxer was 14, the veterinarian giving him his vaccinations noticed Boxer never blinked. After some testing, the vet determined Boxer had no vision in his left eye.

Riley was surprised to learn Boxer was blind in that eye.

"His eye was always a little watery, but I never thought anything of it," Riley said.

Riley and her husband continued to ride Boxer. Last summer, though, Riley came home from work and noticed Boxer had injured his right eye.

"We figured that he had lost a lot of vision already and ran into something because of that," Riley said.

Again, the veterinarian was called. More testing confirmed the 16-year-old horse couldn't see.

"Horse blindness is more common in certain breeds," said Nancy Eller-Medina, a veterinarian with Siete Leguas Equine Vet Services in Collegeville Township. "Boxer is an Appaloosa, and that is one of those breeds."

Riley has owned Boxer for nine years, and from the time she bought him, she knew he would be a great horse.

She bought him in early spring, when there was ice falling from the building where he was kept. Unlike most horses, he didn't spook at the noise.

"Boxer is very laid back. He is easygoing. He is confident and trustworthy," Riley said.

He's also a great trail horse, she said, and before his blindness he was always the horse Riley allowed inexperienced riders to ride.

She is a little more protective of her horse now. She only lets people who have lots of riding experience take Boxer onto the trails.

Even though Boxer cannot see, not much has changed in the stables of the 10-acre Riley Ranch near Waite Park.

"Boxer is still the dominant horse," Riley said. "That might change sometime in his life, but for now he remains the leader."

Boxer lives with two other horses, and the Rileys have made little adjustment to his living quarters.

"We put some rocks and wind chimes and that sort of thing near some of the gates so that he knows where he is going," Riley said. "We also put some foam out so that he won't bump his head."

Other than that, not much has changed for the former show horse. Riley, who is a member of the Rocky Riders Horse Club of Cold Spring, even took Boxer through the Cold Spring-St. Boniface Parish Parade this year. She has to be the eyes for her blind friend.

"I need to make sure that he doesn't run into anything," Riley said.

Riley encourages Boxer while she rides. She talks to him and reassures him of where he is going. Riley has to be careful not to take him on too uneven of a surface.

She has no plans to get rid of Boxer or put him down.

"We will continue to ride together as long as we can," Riley smiled. "He has always been a great riding horse, and he still is."

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)