THE BEGINNING
How did Morgan and I first come together?
When Morgan was thirteen, her grandma let her pick out one from her horse herd. Morgan chose me when I was only a few months old. I was born June 2000 as an Appaloosa horse.
Why Endo?
Morgan says she picked me because I had a different presence than the other foals. Even when I was tiny, apparently I had a strong and unique personality.
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How did I get my name?
Morgan came across the prefrix Endo in a medical book. It means "within, inner, absorbing, or containing". Morgan wanted to finish the name as meaning some beautiful or powerful within but never quite finished it. Today it is finished as Endo the Blind. So in a way I hope that I represent that within the blind is power, courage, and determination.
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What was Morgan's horse background?
When Morgan first got me, neither of them knew how to put a halter on.
Morgan was almost entirely self-taught. She learned what worked and what didn't through trial and error. This approach may have actually helped us in some ways because it is the same technique she used so effectively when I had to have my eyes removed
MY EYES
When and what happened to My eyes?
When I was 8, Morgan noticed that I had started to squint a lot. My eyes really hurt me, and they were often weepy during the summer months. Morgan had the vet out as soon as she realized that something was wrong. In the end I was diagnosed with Equine Recurrent Uveitis, glaucoma and cataracts.
What did they do to save my eyes?
Morgan tried to lessen my painful flare ups by eliminating dust and other eye irritations in my environment. She only turned me outside during the night and she gave me daily oral anti-inflammatory medicine.
The vet was out to see me multiple times a month to treat me with prescribed eye ointment and stronger oral medicine, but unfortunately nothing seemed to help. My eyes just became more and more painful.
When and what happened to make the decision to remove my eyes?
Despite all the veterinary remedies attempted, I was often in a tremendous amount of pain. I had stopped eating because it hurt to chew, and the medicine I was getting to try to reduce the pain an inflammation affected my appetite. When my right eye had a very damaging flare-up, they made the decision to remove the eye to lessen my pain.
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How did I end up recovering?
Right after surgery, I was pretty scared. The first night, Morgan found me shaking in my stall when she came to check on me. She stayed with me that night, and her presence made me feel safer.
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What did Morgan do to prepare me for total blindness?
Morgan started to get me used to being sightless by blindfolding me for brief periods of time. At first, I really shook in fear and I was scared to move.
Morgan stayed with me, talking to me and petting me, trying to reassure me that it was going to be OK. After 15 minutes, Morgan coaxed me into taking a single step forward, and then she immediately removed the blindfold.
My trust in Morgan helped make the 2nd attempt go more smoothly, and Morgan was able to lead me around the arena with the blindfold in place. By the 3rd attempt, however, I got smart and figured out how to remove the blindfold immediately, which made practicing for a future without sight a bit challenging!
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How did the veterinarian feel about the second eye being removed?
At that time, the vet had treated me for 5 years+ and knew no matter what happened, Morgan would take care of me.
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Can I go out with other horses?
When I was going blind, Morgan searched for a permanent companion for me so he would not be alone in his darkness. She found a miniature horse mare named Cinnamon who was in bad shape and needed a better home.
Cinnamon now lives with me inside my stall and pasture. She is more herd bound than I am, though, so she stays at home when I travel so she doesn’t disrupt my concentration when I'm on the road. I have adapted really well to being without my mini mare companion when I am traveling, but I'm always glad to find her waiting for me when we come back home.
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When was the second eye removed?
As predicted by the veterinarian, the second eye was removed around 6 months after the first. I recovered much more quickly and with more confidence than I had after the first surgery.
All that time she spent with me, helping me learn to gain confidence in sensing my surroundings without my eyesight helped ease the transition into sightlessness.
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TODAY
What am I able to do now? Can I be ridden?
I am able to do anything a sighted horse can do. I compete, go on trail rides, travel, jump, perform liberty work, and participate in any other new experience that becomes available. They say that I am a huge crowd favorite at Expos all across the United States and Canada.
Morgan and I have even been featured performers in an outdoor theater show.
CLICK here to read more on what I can do!