Advice on possible eye injury please

[Pam F]

I just brought my horse in (he was fine this morning) and he has a swollen eye. Initially it was tight shut but he is now opening it a bit. The inside of the eyelid is very red and there is a watery clear discharge. He is rubbing it on his haynet so it obviously irritates him.

I suspect he may have caught it sticking his head in a bush. There is no outer injury visible and I can't tell if there is a foriegn body inside. If there is no improvement by the morning I will talk to the vet. In the meantime I wondered whether anyone can advise me as to what to look for, how such injuries are normally treated and how long it can take to resolve.

I am panicking a bit as I read the article in a recent Horse and Hound warning never to ignore an eye injury.

 

[ponyvet]

ABSOLUTELY - DON'T IGNORE IT

have you ever had something in your eye? did it hurt? now imagine if it was so bad that your eye became swollen and weepy, what would you have done? waited to see if it got better? no I bet you'd go to the doctor ASAP. So do it!

Eye injuries can become very nasty very quickly.

your vet will need to examine the eye, and if he or she suspects that there has been an injury to the surface of the eye, the vet will put a stain (called flouroscein) into the eye. It will then show up any scratches or ulcers as a green area.

If there are no ulcers the vet will give you a cream containing antibiotic and steroid to clear up the problem, and you will need to give the horse some bute too for the pain. if there is an ulcer the cream will not contain steroids as they slow down healing of ulcers, and the ulcer could get worse.

Leaving it alone will cause huge problems as ulcers can become so big that they cover most of the eye, and eventually the surface of the eye becomes so thin, the pressure inside too great and the eye ball can 9in theory) burst open. YUK! or if it gets too bad before you call the vet, your horse may at worst lose it's eye, but will possibly lose it's sight anyway.


This all sounds very scary, and most likely your horses eye will clear up, as most cases do. however eye problems do have the potential to get really horrible, so do something about it!

People often try to wait and see, because it's cheaper, but really youshould think about what you'd do if it was yourself!

 

[Pam F]

Thanks for the reply. I wasn't intending to ignore it, I suppose what I really meant was do I consider it an emergancy and get the vet out now or wait untill the morning? It is not the cost but rather that I don't like to call them out on a Sunday night for something they consider non-urgent but after what you have said I will talk to the vet now!

 

[Pam F]

Just to update you, Ponyvet on my horses eye. I rang the vet last night as you suggested and was given instructions as how to manage it in the short term (bute, cold compress followed by warm compress, bathing with black tea).

The vet came this morning, by which time the eye looked more or less normal externally. A thorough examination showed him to have a very inflamed inner eyelid probably caused by rubbing his eye on something, fortunately the eye itself is fine. I am now treating it with drops.

Very grateful for your help and advice and for making me ring the vet last night - I realise it must be very difficult for you when you don't know the horse, owner or situation!

 

[ponyvet]

Am glad it all worked out.

Horses eyes are very important to them, and should never be neglected. It's easy to think you can leave things a day or two, but if you're worried calling the vet is the best option. the vet doesn't HAVE to make a visit. Sometimes it's just worth asking advice, and then you can decide what to do from there on. Most of us are happy to give advice over the phone if you don't want a visit, unless it's something we think we really should see, but then you have your answer there don't you.

If in doubt, phone and ask. It's not silly to ask a vet if they think you need them!

 

[judyl]

I can second that Ponyvet. In my earlier, novice horse owner times I arrived to get my horse ready for a lesson. I noticed her eye was shut and was hot and watering. When my instructor arrived I pointed out her eye and she had a look and told me to get the Vet. It looked really sore to her and should be investigated - eyes should never be ignored, she said. I was so glad I did because when the Vet came to look at her, she had torn the outside of her eye and it was very inflamed and sore. She was on bute, shut up in her stable 24/7 with no doors open for nearly 3 weeks. We had to put cream in her eye several times a day. It was touch and go she didn't lose her sight and also, towards the end, the flap on her eye hadn't come away and there was talk of her being operated on to remove the flap if it didn't come off by itself. Luckily it did as I wouldn't have been happy for her to have a general anaesthetic.

So, I'm just so glad my instructor was coming and the person who brought my horse in for me didn't notice there was a problem and when I asked a few people what I should do, they just said ignore it, she must have rubbed it on something.

Now, about 11 years later there is a shadow on that eye and I'm sure that's why she is so spooky to that side as I've always thought she hasn't had totally clear vision in that eye.

Judy