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Endo the Blind
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Endo was gifted to Morgan by her grandmother when she was thirteen years old. A breeder of Appaloosas’ and Quarter horses, Morgan’s grandmother gave her young grand-daughter her choice of her foals. Morgan chose Endo, an Appaloosa, drawn to him because of his unique coloring and the strength of his personality, which was quite apparent, even before he was weaned. When Endo arrived at Morgan’s house he knew nothing about being handled and Morgan didn’t know much about how to handle a horse. Through a lot of trial and error and a fair bit of self-study this determined pair learned together and began to form a lasting partnership. Together, Endo and Morgan tried everything. They trail rode for hours every other day, jumped, gamed, and even dove into liberty and trick work. Quite literally, Endo and Morgan learned together every step of the way.
When Endo was 8, his eyes flared up with the painful onset of what was later diagnosed as a combination of recurrent uveitis, glaucoma, and cataracts. His flare ups happened more often the longer his disease went on. Endo’s veterinarian was consulted for every flare with the goal being to preserve his sight. Eventually, Endo stopped eating because of the constant pain. This once gregarious horse would hide in the corner of his stall to get away from the light. He was put on aspirin daily to try and prevent the flares ups that were happening a few times a month, but the medication upset his stomach and he wouldn’t eat. When Morgan would try to tempt him with a carrot or grass he would bite, but just hold the food in his mouth. Endo wasn’t happy. Before his eye conditions took over his life, eating had been one of his favorite activities. Morgan struggled to figure out how to best care for her horse. Finally, Endo’s left eye had a flare up that was beyond any treatment option, and in consultation with the veterinarian, Morgan made the
Inspiring a World of Horse Lovers
By Jen Wenzel & Morgan Wagner