A headbutt by a horse has proved a blessing in disguise for a New York State racetrack security guard after he regained his lost eyesight.

Don Karkos, who lost the sight in his right eye in a World War II explosion, got much of it back when a horse butted him with its head.

According to New York Daily News, Karkos was taken by surprise when the horse named My Buddy Chimo, he has known for the last three years at the track in Monticello, 90 miles north of the city, hit him.

"It was totally out of character. He's been a good horse, very well-mannered, and then he did this," Karkos said.

However, his biggest surprise came later when he discovered that he has started seeing from the eye for the first time since 1942. Though not recovered fully, but Karkos claims he can see about 15 feet with that eye.

According to Dr. Douglas Lozzaro, an eye specialist at Long Island College Hospital, the horse may have butted Karkos on the same place as the World War II injury, knocking a dislocated lens back into place.