bloodshot eye..

[BSJAlove]

just went up to ride and noticed that his eye was bright red, one area of the actual eye was slightly puffy and swollen. however he was himself, knocking things off the sides and seemed alert. he didnt seem in pain or distressed.

i cleaned as much as he would let me with cotton wool and clean water, and took him out for a walk as he didnt seem 'ill' and i wanted to see if exercise would make it worse as then id know if it was a burst vessel. he was fine and enjoyed him self, and his eye was the same, if not slightly clearer when we got back.

i put him in his stable with a hay net to get him out of the sun for a bit and when i left he seemed chilled and happy. now whats the best way to continue? it seems like its on the mend itself but i want to ready myself for cleaning and what not. i think hes poked himself in they eye, it just doesnt look pretty.

advice? thanks in advance!

 

[Birker2020]

Is his eye wide open, or is he trying to keep it partly shut? You are not going to like this but if you think he has poked his eye you need to get the vet out. Eyes are notoriously difficult and the prognosis is dependent upon what action is taken in the first instance. If the cornea is scratched infection can set in, and even a scratched eyeball can result in a horse losing an eye, I have seen it myself first hand with a fellow liveries old gelding and he was in an awful lot of pain as it was treating quickly enough and it starting spasmming and the horse was in a dreadful amount of pain till the vet was eventually called. Always better to call the vet tbh. See if others agree with me, but time is of the essence. I've PM'd Box of Frogs for you as she/he is the eye expert on the forum x

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Hi BSJA - been on hols for 8 days so only now read this. I think applecart's advice is spot on. Hopefully, your ned has done exactly what you think, ie poked himself in the eye. If he has hurt himself badly enough to present with a massively bloodshot eye, the "poke" may have skimmed the cornea and penetrated the inside of the eyelid. Or it may have scraped across the cornea before doing some other damage. I doubt that the eyeball has been penetrated as he would be a lot unhappier. If the damage is inside the eyelid, the the eyelid has it's own blood supply so should be able to heal a minor scrape. But a bigger scrape, or if the cornea has been damaged, then your ned will need to see a vet asap. Injuries to the cornea are difficult to heal as the cornea has no blood supply of its own. If it was me, I'd have the vets out pronto. They would put a dye into the eye to check for scrapes/ulceration and would then prescribe antibiotic drops or ointment. If you have to put anything at all in your ned's eye, take the greatest care possible - if the horse jerks as the pointy tip of a tube is 1mm from his eyeball, you can make an easy problem into a major nightmare. Ointments are best applied to the clean tip of your finger, the finger tip then being squished into the eye. Drops are more of a challenge but the same caution applies. Good luck! xxx