The Eyes Have It

I noticed this morning when we were preparing to take horses out to pasture that one of our blind horses, Domino, had a puffy left eye.  The surrounding tissue was all red and swollen, although the eyeball itself looked normal.  And no, he certainly didn't want me poking around in there! 

Beth took this photo of me putting Voltaren, an eye drop, in Domino's eye a few minutes later.  Alayne is holding him.  I'm convinced the strongest muscle on a horse is not in the legs but ... the eyelid!  I swear, they can really keep those eyelids closed, no matter how much you try and pry them apart.  (Eventually I win, but never easily.)  So although this photo makes it look effortless, believe me, there's a lot of head tossing, eyelid shutting, and bobbing and weaving that goes on whenever we need to treat a horse eye.  Oh yes, and sometimes they'll rear up on you, too!

Since I'm the "eye guy," we moved on to treat Crazy Horse, our little old arthritic sighted Appaloosa.  (Did I get enough adjectives in that sentence?)  When we brought him in from pasture yesterday, I saw he had a "cloud" in his right eye and what looked like the beginning of a corneal ulcer. 

I called our equine vet, Dr. Bill Brown, yesterday to discuss it.  Crazy Horse is not squinting or tearing, and there's no other discharge, so it doesn't seem painful.  He might have just poked his eye on something, even a blade of grass ... it's hard to say.  But we're treating him with the Voltaren in the meantime and monitoring it.  The veterinary assistant on the right is Copper Kid, our "wobbler." 

(Click on photos for larger image.)

Comments

[ginger & Tobias (the greythound)]

Looks like being about ten feet tall and having several more hands would have come in handy, Steve! I think you did a great job getting that eye med. in. I know it's a challenge just getting it into a greythound, can't imagine doing it to a horse. You're doing an excellent job, as always. I applaud you, and the rest of the crew of the RDR! My hats off to all with big hugs,
ginger & Tobias