Eyes

Injuries and diseases of the eyes, eyelid and tear ducts are fairly common, and can range from a simple conjunctivis, through to a severe corneal injury that can threaten the eye as a whole.

Eye problems are emergencies particularly if the horse is unable to open the eye or is very painful. They must be seen within hours to prevent permanent damage.

Any eye problem can progress quickly from something that seems relatively minor into something extremely serious, so please don’t delay in calling us if your horse develops any eye problem at all.  If you do call us for an eye problem, please try to ensure there is a darkened area available, which is necessary for examining the eye completely.  Usually we use a fluorescent dye in the eye that shows up eye ulcers or scratches on the eye-ball.

With very sore eyes we have to place tubing into the eye to allow easier medication (as in the picture below).

The Eye Exam

The vet will start by carrying out a basic clinical examination on your horse, to make sure there are no other problems.  If your horse’s eye is very painful, or for example they are somwhat head-shy, then sedation may be needed to make the exam less stressful for your horse, and to enable the vet

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Conjunctivitis

The conjunctiva are the membranes that line the inside of the horse’s eyelids, and conjunctivitis means that these membranes have become inflamed.  This may be a primary problem, but can also occur due to disease in other parts of the eye.  Horses with corneal ulcers, for example, will often also have a degree of conjunctivitis.

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Corneal Ulcers

Equine Corneal Ulcers are a relatively common eye condition and are usually treatable rapidly and successfully.  They do, however, vary greatly in severity and due to their potential severity, and the difficulty in distinguishing them from other eye conditions without veterinary attention, should never be neglected or underestimated. What Is A Corneal Ulcer? The horse’s […]

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Equine Recurrent Uveitis

Equine Recurrent Uveitis, also known as Moon Blindness, Periodic Ophthalmia and Recurrent Iridocyclitis is a relatively common disease of the equine eye.  Despite its potential severity, little is understood of the disease and its causes, and treatment remains difficult.  It is characterised by recurrent episodes of moderate to severe ocular pain. What Is Uveitis? Uveitis […]

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