No, it wasn't Friday afternoon when we had to call our equine vet, Dr. Steve Levine. It was worse -- Saturday afternoon. I was out feeding the horses and noticed blind Bo's right eye was closed shut and tears were streaming down his face. I struggled to get his eyelid open, but when I did, I could see blood and edema, or fluid, under the cornea. There were lots of tiny blood vessels laced across the outer surface of the cornea, all headed towards the area where the blood and edema were located inside. Typically when you see this, it means the body is directing blood to where healing is needed. It looked like trauma to the eye, but I couldn't see any visible damage to the corneal surface itself, i.e., an ulcer of some sort.
I gave Bo some oral banamine for pain relief and called Dr. Levine. I felt awful, because it was late on Saturday, it was pouring rain, and clearly this hadn't just happened. I was hoping he'd be able to walk me through what I could do to keep Bo comfortable until Monday morning, but he insisted he should come out and look at the eye. He was so gracious about it and said, "You feel worse about me coming out than I do, so don't worry!"
About five minutes later my cell phone rang and it was Steve, saying he had just had an emergency colic call come in right after he got off the phone with me. He would need to stop at that client's farm first and then head to us. That made me feel a tad better that I wasn't the only person screwing up his Saturday evening.
When Steve arrived, I haltered Bo and brought him up to the main barn. In the photo at the top, he's injecting a nerve block for the eyelid so we didn't have to fight to keep Bo's eyelid open. I have often said that the strongest muscle in a horse is not in the leg -- it's the eyelid. Especially when the eye is painful, a determined horse can keep the eyelid closed tight. I have, over the years, become pretty good at prying them open enough to get the job done, but a nerve block makes life much easier!
After examining Bo's eye, Steve put a stain strip in under the eyelid, waited for a few seconds, and removed it. Then he pulled out a flashlight and immediately we could see where the problem was -- sure enough, there was a small ulcer, right where all the vascularization was. Here we are looking at it:
The yellow stain "pools" in any break in the corneal surface, and under the light it glows like neon. You can't miss it.
Of course, at this point I felt even worse, because I could have done the stain too, but I didn't have the stain strips. If I had, I could have saved him the trip out. A corneal ulcer is generally easily treatable with topical antibiotics, which we had on hand.
Steve started the treatment on Bo's eye and left me with stain strips to check his eye later in the week, as well as for future cases like this. On Sunday, Bo was already holding his eye open much more, a sign the healing has begun and he's more comfortable.
---
The current Shelter Challenge started on Monday, April 4th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, June 19th. Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners. There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.
And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.
You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.
Please note: Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up.
Because of your votes, we just won $1,000 as a weekly winner in this current Shelter Challenge. Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too. Thank you!
Hope Bo is feeling better!! You have a equine nice vet!
Posted by: adele | May 20, 2011 at 07:07 AM
It's great to know that the horses have Dr. Levine -- he sounds wonderful.
And so glad that Bo's eye problem should clear up easily.
Hope everyone has a peaceful, uneventful, and sunny weekend.
Posted by: Chloe | May 19, 2011 at 10:20 AM
Sooo glad to hear that Bo's eye issue was easily treated. You have an amazing network of professionals in the east! All of you make a tremendous difference in the lives of these precious animals.
Posted by: Nina | May 19, 2011 at 09:15 AM
Oh, Bo, I'm so glad you're starting to feel better and I'm sure that eye will be healed up very soon.
What a blessing to have the wonderful network of veterinarians that take care of all the animals and also that you and Alayne are so knowledgeable that you can treat so many of the things that go on yourselves. Thank you Doc Steve for coming out on a Saturday night to help Bo!
Posted by: Ann | May 19, 2011 at 12:42 AM
I'm not sure which surprises me more; the ability you have to test/treat the number of potential ailments, or that there was something you didn't already have on hand. At this point I would think your various vets would make sure the Farm was as well stocked as their offices, at least for initial diagnostics.
Posted by: David | May 19, 2011 at 12:29 AM
Bo says: "Dad, I need a carrot... or a sugar cube please."
Posted by: Penny | May 18, 2011 at 10:28 PM
Eye injuries can be so scary because like you said, they can squeeze their lid shut so tightly you can't see what the problem is. I'm glad Bo's problem was simple enough to treat. My great dane/lab mix, Zoey, has glaucoma and will probably have to have her eye removed. It came on very fast and I know is painful for her. She is a rescued dog who must have had a very traumatic young life because it took several days for her to let me touch her. She's a great dog now, although still very fearful of noises and sticks. Anyway, thank you for what you do for the animals.
Posted by: BicyclePetTrailerLindsey | May 18, 2011 at 10:08 PM
Special scritches for Bo. He's a trooper, no? You are truly making a difference for these special creatures you have in your lives.
Posted by: Mary H. | May 18, 2011 at 06:40 PM
Made my eyes water just reading this. You have a strong stomach as well as a big heart.
Thank you for doing what you do to help the animals. All I can do is vote!
Posted by: Robin Kent | May 18, 2011 at 12:42 PM
May definitely seems to be "eye problem" month for the Farm doesn' it? Glad to hear it was something that can be easily treated. Bo must be feeling so much better now. Hugs and kisses to the big guy!
Posted by: Cathy Silvestro | May 18, 2011 at 04:58 AM
Bo take care now!
Posted by: Shirley * James/Portland, OR | May 18, 2011 at 01:38 AM
So glad Bo is doing better and it wasn't more serious! Sounds like you have a very caring doc to turn to. Prayers for continued healing!
Posted by: Leila - Washington | May 17, 2011 at 10:18 PM