Cataract Operation, has anyone's horse had a successful one?

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laurac2896

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Hi,

My vet has been to see my 9 year old TB Gelding today and she suspects he has cataracts on both eyes. I personally didn't think at first that his vision was a problem as I've hacked him out regularly and I know he can see things ie birds in the distance, sticks on the floor, road markings etc, so when she said his eyes weren't that great, I was shocked. Sunday I rode him in the dark and he seemed skittish and wary of his shadow etc. we were in the paddock which is floodlit but still not great visibility and he was bucking and just seemed scared and spooky. So vet came today and is referring him to an eye specialist. She said if it's cataracts they can operate and it could be successful and his vision could be greatly improved, so I hope to hear something within the next week about that. My question is, has anyone ever had their horse have cataracts and have they had the op? What was the outcome?

If anyone has any info it would be greatly appreciated, thanks
Laura x
 
A friend of mine had a young andalucian stallion who had a cataract in one eye and it was so bad he was practically blind. The vet said there was nothing she could do but she investigated and he had the operation. It was all paid on her insurance and he had been fine since. She found all the information herself as the vet want very helpful. This was about 3/4 years ago now.
 
My mare has a cataract, which I found out when she was two through a vetting when I bought her. It was very small and not thought to be effecting her eye sight much. When I had her checked again a year later it had got worse, so I was told to expect it to deteriorate throughout her life. I was told cataracts in horses are inoperable, but as the deterioration was gradual it shouldn’t cause her so many problems and as I mainly want to do dressage on her we’d cope.

This year I changed vets. When I had her checked it seems the cataract has continued to deteriorate, but we still don’t think there’s much impact on her eye sight. She’s still young (turning 5 in February) so there’s lots of time for it to get worse. The one amazing thing this vet told me is that it is operable and actually with how her cataract is she would be a prime candidate for it. She said there are 4 or 5 vets in the country who do this – so it is quite rare. That might explain why some vets think it’s not possible.

I’m not going to rush to do anything, especially as my mare is still young, but learning we had an option was a huge thing for me. The vet told me that (she was talking about Leahurst, as that’s the vets she would recommend to do it) that they only take cases which are going to be successful. I think it was 2 or 3 weeks after the operation the horse will be pain free and their eyesight will be back as if they’d never had the cataract.

It's always interesting to learn of anyone else's experience with cataracts, as it's quite hard to find out accurate information.
 
Thanks for all your replies. My bet was very helpful and reassured me that if it was cataracts, it could be easily solved through an operation. I saw her on Friday, and she's referred him to Leahurst Horse Hospital, I heard back off Leahurst today and he is going down there on Wednesday morning, if his eyes are in need of treatment they said he can stay there that day/night and have everything done. I feel really hopeful that it can be solved, as I've said, I really was surprised when the vet initially said he had a problem with his eyes, apparently it's likely it's genetic, so he may have been like this all his life, but I really want to give him chance to have see properly. It may be that it's not as bad as we think, but the vet didn't want to commit to anything until he's been seen by the eye specialist. I will be glad to know what exactly we are dealing with, I just hope it's treatable. Will let you all know how we get on!

Thanks again!
Laura x
 
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