How realistic is it for OJ to ride his horse the way he did with the horse hooded and its eyes covered?

Question

In the final act of Nope (2022), OJ covered his horse with a hood to prevent it from looking at the alien. Can you really ride a horse like that with its eyes covered? Or did I read the scene wrongly?

Answer 1

Horse Blinders (otherwise called Winkers or Blinkers ) are designed to prevent a horse from seeing to the side or behind. They force horses to see and focus on what is in front of them, and are often used in racing to allow them to see in front, but not be distracted by things like crowds.

So yes, their use in racing shows you can ride a horse with such headgear. In fact, it might be useful in a situation like in Nope where you might want to distract the animal from the situation.