Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 18, 1994 TAG: 9407180021
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MELISSA CURTIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But Krepelka wasn't going to give up on one of her best friends just because he couldn't see.
Three years ago, Krepelka's Appaloosa, Critter, whom she has owned for 13 years, lost his sight because of periodic opthalmia. The disease, also known as "moon blindness," produces lesions behind the pupils that eventually can cause them to close, resulting in a complete loss of vision.
Krepelka said that right before Critter went blind, she started noticing a difference in his personality.
"He started acting a little spooky, but he's not normally a spooky horse," said Krepelka, Ferrum College's stable manager. "Then one day I looked at his eyes, and I couldn't see his pupils."
Critter was frightened after he went blind, Krepelka said. He had lost his sense of balance, making it dangerous to ride him. She had to reteach him everything, including leading him through doorways without hitting the door frame, the dimensions of his stall and where his feed and water buckets were, and the basics of riding and reining.
But within a year, he regained his balance; in three years, she was able to ride him again.
"Once we started [riding], it only took a couple of weeks to get his confidence back up," said Krepelka. "He doesn't always go in a straight line, though."
Krepelka said that to ride Critter, she has to be his eyes. She does this by steering him at all times and watching the path closely. She no longer rides him on trails, although that is what she bought him for, only in the ring or on the lane. And no one else has ridden Critter since he lost his sight.
"If he hears me hit something, he knows there's something to be careful of," Krepelka said.
"And if she shouts `Whoa' from 100 yards away, he will stop," added Jane Flynn, Krepelka's friend and director of Ferrum College's riding center.
Krepelka said Critter completely depends on her to get around.
"I can feel him getting nervous," she said. "He relies on me to get him through."
Riding a blind horse is risky. Krepelka said there is always a chance Critter won't listen to her command or something will spook him, and either she or the horse could be seriously injured.
Despite Critter's dependence on his owner, Krepelka said he is a perceptive horse. She said he rarely bumps into the fence surrounding the small paddock she had built specially for him.
"This morning I looked out and saw him trot across the paddock, and I said, `Oh God,' but he stopped 10 feet before the fence," she said.
And, Flynn said, anyone who saw Krepelka riding Critter never would guess he was blind.
"When [Krepelka] rides him, you would never really suspect that he can't see," Flynn said.
And strangely enough, since Critter lost his sight he has developed a much better disposition, Krepelka said.
"He's gotten to be a real sweetheart," she said. "He used to be real grumpy. I was the only one who could deal with him."
And she said he loves visitors now. "Girl Scouts are his favorite," she said.
But the ordeal has been difficult for Krepelka, who calls Critter a part of the family.
"It's really kind of sad," she said with tears in her eyes. "He loved to just look at the country [before he lost his sight]. We would top off a hill and he would stop and just look around to take in the scenery."
Flynn said Critter is a lucky horse to have such a caring owner.
"Usually [a blind] horse is destined for an early retirement," she said. "Most people wouldn't take the time to teach him."
"He was tough at times. A couple of times I nearly injured myself working with him," Krepelka said. "I really didn't know if I would be able to keep this horse alive. As it turns out, I'm really glad I stuck it out, and I think he is, too."
by CNB