Surgeons in Christchurch are fighting to save Cambridge trainer Tarissa Mitchell's sight in one eye after a two-year-old galloper lashed out at her yesterday.

Mitchell, 44, underwent surgery last night after the horse took fright and kicked her in the head, connecting with her eye. She is scheduled for further surgery this afternoon.

"I'm pretty sure I've lost my sight in the eye," an understandably emotional Mitchell said.

She is campaigning five horses in Canterbury, with the two-year-old among the travelling party.

"I was just putting the horses out from the boxes because it had stopped raining," Mitchell said. "I had walked her over for a bit of a pick. She just got a fright at something and lashed out at me. She kicked me in the head and got the inside of my eye."

Mitchell, who rode 83 winners as a jockey in the 1990s, has fast earned a good reputation as an astute conditioner of a horse since taking out her training licence in 2015.

She has saddled 12 winners from just 49 starters and intends lining up three horses at Timaru on Friday.