in the US optometrists are licensed to treat ocular disease. and ophthalmologists are trained as surgeons as well. outside the US, the optometrist license is more limited.
No they are not the same. I think it's much harder to be a vet because of the variety of animals they have to know. It's complicated among different mammals, never mind the birds and reptiles.
An ophthalmologist is trained as a physician and has gone to medical school, which makes them an M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) or a D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine). An optometrist, on the other...