The last image of the series! This is Toler's new favorite paddock pal (has been ever since Belle left the stable). Yes, he's missing his left eye. I was told the story of how it happened by his owner, Erin, and though I can't remember it very well, I'll do my best to retell it.
When Erin left for college (she graduated a few years ago, so this happened maybe over five years ago), she left him in the care of a friend. I guess while this was going on, he developed an infection or a parasite (something to that effect, I think). By the time it came to anyone's attention it was too far gone to save. I think they tried, but eventually just decided he would be more comfortable without it (especially since the eye was essentially a dead organ at this point).
He gets along quite well without it. Occasionally in his stall he'll bump the left side of his face against the wall, but never very hard. Erin still rides him and he works pretty well for her. He has some stubbornness issues, but I'm not completely certain it has anything to do with his half-blindness. It would make sense, though, as he obviously has to trust her completely when it comes to that side. All in all, he's a great horse and friend for Toler. They get in all sorts of mischief together, and sometimes I think they even share comand (I've seen him play "the enforcer" for Toler, especially when Porthos is involved).
In other news, as this completes my prepared series of images, and I have not yet gotten back any of my preliminary water color paintings, I'll be posting old photos for the most part.
