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The eye of the horse is a large, prominent structure and is prone to injury (corneal ulcer or puncture). Injuries are generally caused by dirty objects such at fences or branches and these can result in vision-threatening infections in a matter of hours.
Additionally, some breeds (Appaloosa) of horses are prone to recurrent bouts of inflammation within the eye. The condition is Equine Recurrent Uveitis (Moon Blindness) and can result in blindness if not controlled.
Horses commonly lacerate their eyelids. If not repaired this will result in a deformity of the eyelid and the eye will no longer be covered when the horse blinks. This predisposes the horses to injury and almost always leads to chronic corneal disease where coverage is incomplete.
Finally, any inflammation in or close to the eye (eyelids, conjunctiva, blunt trauma) can trigger damaging bouts of inflammation (Uveitis) in the horse.
Any horse that is exhibiting signs of ocular pain such as squinting (even if minimal), severe tearing, or rubbing of an eye should be seen immediately. Horses that have received a blow to the eye or near the eye should also be evaluated promptly. Finally, any lacerated eyelid should be repaired immediately.
Most Equine ophthalmic emergencies can be managed in the standing, sedated, and locally anesthetized horse, but sometimes general anesthesia is required. In an even smaller percentage of cases, the expertise of an Equine Ophthalmologist capable of suturing Corneal tissue (microsurgery) is necessary.
Some horses with severe corneal infections will require topical medications every hour. This is usually performed in hospitals with 24 hour staffing and requires the use of a subpalpabral lavage system. This is a device that is implanted under the eyelid and allows for the delivery of medications to the eye without having to touch the painful eye or eyelid at each treatment.
Meddleton Equine is equiped to diagnose and manage all Equine Ophthalmologic emergencies. The hospital is staffed for 24 hour monitoring and treatment. There is access to a surgery room 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Meddleton Equine is capable of bringing in consulting Equine Ophthalmologists as needed for difficult cases or when microsurgery expertise is required.
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