Eye Ulcer Just been Diagnosed - Feeling desperate.

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My poor horse has just had an eye ulcer diagnosed following a trauma / piercing and it is a fairly big one. The vet has been this morning and he's been given all the treatment she can offer at the moment but does anyone have experience of these.
 
A friend's horse had an eye ulcer - and I think that Sparklett on here has experience of them as well.

Things were looking pretty dire for my friend's horse. And removing the eye was mooted.

However, as a last option the vet stiched the eye closed for a period of time (not sure how long), and the eye was saved.

I'm not sure how much sight is left in the eye though.

What treatment has your vet done??
 
This morning he had anti-biotics into the eye together with eye drops and a good clean, I have been given eye drops to put in twice a day and also two bute a day and she is coming back on wednesday.

I'm worried because this is a really sharp horse who is 8 and I don't think he or I would cope if he loses an eye, he is already a very tricky difficult ride and I'm dreading a real problem.[
 
Yes he is in a stable but the vet has said he is fine to go out as long as he wears a fly mask to prevent fly irritation.
 
Do you think that could be she says hoping that it isn't too bad. She said it is big but she has seen worse, and didn't give me any horror stories about his eye out etc.
 
Wednesday, to see how the treatment is going. She says a normal no nonsense ulcer should decrease a millimeter a day.
 
My TB managed to damage his eye 6 weeks ago or so, we think he probably stuck his head in the hedge and scratched it on a bramble. The vet came out and they eye was partly closed and swollen, so obviously quite sore. He gave me antibiotics to put in twice a day and a wash. He also said the horse would be fine out with a fly mask on, although I found that he was much better being in. There is still a mark on the eye now and it's not 100%, but the vet didn't seem too concerned and said it may take a little time to heal. I think sometimes these things can look worse than they are, but try not to panic too much, but keep a close eye on him.
 
I know how you feel mine currently has 3 eye ulcers, 2 in one eye and 1 in another. He was in a lot of pain so was given bute, antibiotics and atropine - you can see my post regarding atropine further down. The ulcers are healing nicely after nearly 3 weeks of antibiotics. (The effects of the atropine however are not wearing off and he is having to still be kept in the dark) Don't panic - pm if you want any help.
 
I think it would be better to keep him in from the sounds of things in a darkened stable, I am so hoping i've caught things early, and I think I have as i'm very unconfident with illness / injury things and call the vet sooner rather than later.

I'm reading everything I can on line and it seems crucial that he accepts the eye drops but i'm worried as this is a horse who won't even allow sun block on his nose.
 
He will get better I promise, I spent the 1st few days holding onto his head whilst dangling in the air trying to get the stupid eye drops in with my vet saying I must do it 4 times a day. Now I get the snak a ball kicked into my shins cos he is bored but I can do the eyedrops without a fight. Mine is the worlds worst for anything vet/medical related. He reared up as soon as the vet switched the light on, on the eye examination thingy (technical term there) and it wasn't even pointed at him at the time. The vet had to look from 4 ft back originally and now they can get right up close to him. Do not despair. For what it is worth I can't put sun block on mine either unless I catch him unaware.
 
Ah thank you that gives me some hope, the vet suggested twitching him which I don't want to do but she said the drops must go in. Lets hope he knows he's in trouble and lets me do them.
 
My horse had one earlier in the year, was in the vet hospital for a fortnight as needed really aggressive antibiotics but got over it fine and eye is really good now. He even had a contact lens over the eye to provide an optimum healing environment. Good luck with your one.
 
Hi,

My daughters pony had a cloudy eye and the surface was damaged too....we tried for weeks to sort it out with drops in a darkened stable but in the end she had to be in horspital with a catheter into the eyelid so the drops were continuously administered.

If the same happened again I wouldnt waste weeks nursing at home but get the horse straight to the vets so they can give more intensive treatment...quicker and more successful.

Pony made a complete recovery by the way.

Good luck
 
My horse got an ulcer in his eye a couple of years back, he went blackberrying! And after 2 lots of treatment, (I think similar to the one yours is on) the ulcer dispersed. He still has a weeping eye even now, but at 24 I'm not sure if thats the result of the ulcer or something else - he also has cataracts. I had him stabled for a couple of days intially then he was turned back out again. Be led by your vet and your horse.
 
The vet says he's ok to go out but from comments here it may not be a good idea so do you think I should put him out overnight when dark and bring him into the stable for the day ? That would be a solution to stop him going mad with 24 hr stable confinement.
 
Friend's pony had an ulcer recently, probably from sticking her head in the hedge. She had antibiotics for a week with little improvement, vet then took some blood from her and spun it to obtain plasma. This was then put back into the eye for 10 days. I don't remember any further details I'm afraid but it worked like a dream and by the time the plasma drops had finished she was virtually back to normal. Might be worth asking your vet about this as I have since heard of others having success with it.
 
My mare had an eye ulcer caused by something sharp puncturing the cornea surface. The vet came 3 times a week to put long acting antibiotic ointment in (I think its what they used to put in cows eyes?) He did it whilst she was under sedation as she wouldn't let anyone near her eye. This went on for 2 weeks and the eye healed really well to the point he used to show his students how well it had healed. That was 2 years ago.

This year the flies irritated her eye and she must have rubbed the scar tissue off her eye and set an ulcer off again. Not covered by insurance this time so I put the cream in myself as getting the vet out to sedate everytime was a very expensive bill the first time! I had some fantastic tips and help from Box_of_frogs. She was a great support and Carma's eye healed up very quickly this time.

Do hope the ulcer heals. x
 
LHS - the first thing to do - if at all poss - is get your horse to a specialist eye clinic. If you have to treat it at home, some horses will be difficult to treat. But you still need to get the ointment/drops in so PLEASE PLEASE use a clean finger to put the ointment in, rather than the pointy plastic end of the ointment tube. Putting eye ointment into even a squirming kitten can be a nightmare but a horse who is likely to jerk in panic the closer the tube end gets to his eye, is likely to get stabbed in the eye by the person applying it. If you wipe the eye with cooled boiled water, wash and dry your hands, then apply the ointment to the end of your finger (no long nails) then squish the soft safe end of your finger into the eye, you can pretty much guarantee you will NOT end up scratching or even puncturing the eye. With liquid drops you have to be a bit more inventive but I would still recommend doing anything to avoid getting the pointy tube end anywhere near the horse's eye. My horse ended up losing an eye because the yard staff stabbed him in his bad eye with the end of the tube and caused a huge jagged scratch right across the cornea. If your horse is impossible to administer eye drops to, the vets will stitch a long thin tube up his neck and down into the corner of the eye. You apply the drops through the far end of the tube so the horse doesn't realise what is happening.

Many, many ulcers heal eventually. They can take a long time because the clear cornea of the eye has no blood supply. The horse sometimes needs to be kept in a darkened stable because in strong light, the iris contracts and in an eye damaged enough to start affecting the structures INSIDE the eye, adhesions then form and the iris cannot function properly. Atropine dilates the iris so helps to stop adhesions forming. If your vets have said outside is ok, then that's a good sign that the ulcer isn't deep and isn't affecting anything more then the surface of the cornea. But watch your ned carefully - if he starts standing in the far, darkest corner with a massively weeping eye, then I'd get the vet out again. Eyes are so fragile.

Some ulcers don't do well and the structures deep in the eye can start to be affected. Uveitis may develop, which can cause intense pain to the horse. Untreated, this can cause the failure of the waterproofing of the eyeball and, eventually, the collapse of the eyeball. That's why you need top notch expert treatment for your horse.

I perfected a method for getting ointment in single handed. With clean hands and everything ready, put a headcollar and lead rope on the horse and stand him close to a wall, with his good eye to the wall. Bounce the horse's head a few times with the lead rope so he gets the feel, then when his head is sort of at half mast, stand firmly on the end of the rope. Wipe the eye, give a polo. Ointment onto finger and squish finger into the eye. Give a polo. I'd strongly recommend - for any horses that have ongoing eye problems, that you practice this regularly even when the eye is sound. Practice just standing on the lead rope, wiping the eye and pretending to put ointment in. If ever you need to REALLY put medication in, you're ahead of the game. If you have drops rather than cream, you will need to soak a small square of gauze (not cotton wool - the tiny fibres can get in the eye and cause more problems) in the drops, hold in your fingertips and squeeze into the pulled out lower eyelid.

Sadly, my boy had to have an eye removed after a simple conjunctivitis - untreated for years by his previous owners - turned into an auto immune disease overnight. It was a 6 month battle to try to save the eye but we lost it in the end - Sunny had had enough and his eye was in constant pain and was getting worse. Hopefully your horse will be fine in a few weeks but if there's anything more you would like to know, please PM me with as many questions as you want. I like to think Sunny didn't lose his eye in vain and if his battle can help just one more horse then it will have been worth it x
 
my horse gets them quite often normally set off by the sun amongst other things. Personally though I would be a little concerned about having the mask on as a coupke of years ago this type of product caused an ulcer in my horses eye and left him with permanent scarring on his cornea - think living in the dark maybe a better alternative.
 
Thankyou all very much for your advice and support. As an update I am pleased to say that luckily he seems to know he's in trouble and has been reasonably obliging in letting us put the drops in. I have had to turn him out this morning as he is / was going ballistic stuck in 24hrs. His eye has so far stopped weeping and I have the vet coming again on wed for a check up.

Again thank you all very much.
 
I'm really pleased to hear that,
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now could you have a word with my boy please as he has decided he is going to have a weepy swollen eye again after 3 weeks of healing and I am losing my sense of humour about it all now.
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I really feel for you, i'm not out the woods and my vet has said if it doesn't show signs of healing by wed i'm in for the long haul. If thats the case I might have to think of having him hospitalised as its taking three of us to get these drops in, one to hold the feed bucket one to hold and soothe him and the other to get the drops administered.

I wish you loads of luck its not easy.
 
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