Horse- Untreated eye infection

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poiuytrewq

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Will conjunctivitis get better without treatment?

Cant quite believe me, queen of "don't risk eyes lectures" is asking this question!

So companion pony greeted me yesterday am with no hood on and a big fat weepy eye. The vet was called instantly, after having a Uveitis sufferer for years I'm absolutely not in the cold tea bags camp. Vet came and diagnosed conjunctivitis *huge sigh of relief
He has left me eye drops to administer.
Pony is absolutely impossible to catch at the best of times! He's a Blue X rescue and had hung round there a good while due to this issue. Its actually not been a problem as i was bringing him in every morning and had a routine. He was coming to call in fact!
However they have moved to a field away from the stables now as the grass really was desperate for a break and our stables are like ovens so not useable right now anyway. Since being down there he has gone feral!
Obviously i am going to keep trying but wondering if it will get better in which case i will continue to keep trying as i am or if its going to worsen and cause bigger problems in which case i need to have a rethink and maybe find a stable somewhere to keep him for a week or so.
 
What a worry for you, Suggest you email or phone your Blue x welfare officer, they are really helpful and will give you support over the issue.

It is really difficult for you if routine has been interruptedited, I found routine for brining in was so important to get over the natural reluctance with rescues.

Hope things improve for you.
 
Minor eye infections usually clear up very quickly if you can treat regularly for the first couple of days, I would try and get him in and keep him in so you can put the drops in every few hours, once it has settled then he should be well on the mend and you could turn back out with a fly mask on.
The risk with leaving it is that the other eye is likely to also get infected, it could be passed on to any others in the field and you end up treating them all, if he gets really irritated he could do real harm by rubbing it, breaking the cycle is the safest way and it should only take 2 or 3 days, as he is tricky to catch he is likely to get worse if each time you do get him you stick drops in his eyes, even easy to catch horses can become difficult.
 
I actually thought he'd be ok living out for a bit as he'd got so good with being caught! He is like my little shadow- as i poo pick he is literally almost touching me following from barrow to poo! The second i try to touch him though he's gone. Poor little soul had obviously had it tough at some point.
He had treatment yesterday as we caught him for the vet and brought him home for the day but literally they were baking in the stable and even the vet commented that he hoped they were not actually living in them in this heat.
I guess what i could do is bring him in but leave the stable door open so he has the choice of standing on the yard or in. I can easily catch him on the yard. Not ideal but perhaps for a few days.
It also means that my retired horse will have to walk the half mile back home every time my daughter rides hers as he cant be alone which is a hassle! I've just been harsh and had his shoes removed saying he wont have to go on the roads for a good time....typical!
I spent the past few weeks trying to catch and eye drop a pony for someone now have to start all over again!... He is totally scrummy and gorgeous luckily ;)
 
Would it be possible to make a little catching pen? You could maybe set up a little area with electric fence posts and tape. Get him to come into it for a feed a few times before hand so he thinks it's a nice place. Then do the treatment. I've done this before with a similar pony and it worked well.
 
Maybe. He's very un-food orientated and very suspicious! We did try earlier to get him in a corner behind a hedge and to my amazement he went through/over the hedge to get away. I'd be worried if cornered he may try and go through electric fencing.
The other thing would be maybe to get my daughter to hold the other 3 out side the gate as he will come to me then for fear of being left behind!
 
It's difficult I know. I've one like it. I can catch him if I take his friends away too, but it does make life difficult.
Have you spoken to vet about a long acting antibiotic treatment?
 
My cob used to get sore eyes and drops were a no go, but I got a dab hand at 'drive by' swiping with eye ointment. I used a dampened and squeezed out cotton pad and would put a generous blob of ointment on the edge of the pad and just so casually swipe it across his eye whilst grooming. Enough of it would rest in the corners of his eye to treat it successfully. Golden Eye Ointment is pretty good for mild cases.
 
Sandstone1 said:
It's difficult I know. I've one like it. I can catch him if I take his friends away too, but it does make life difficult.
Have you spoken to vet about a long acting antibiotic treatment?
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No, I didn't really anticipate such a problem. I think I'll give it another go tomorrow. Maybe catching and removing the others.
I *might be able to take him to work with me which is what I've done in the past if box rest was required but that's probably a last try thing as its maybe a lot of upheaval for him.
 
Personally I wouldn't risk it and do whatever I could to catch the monkey to treat the eye! They really are so unhelpful sometimes!

Talking about eye issues, here's a scary story.......

Was having a coffee waiting for someone to ready a horse they wanted lunging and got asked by a woman to take a look at her friends ponys eye that she was in charge of. She explained there was a bit of hay in it that she'd been trying to work out over the last couple of days but couldn't manage, so could I have a 'go'.

Poor pony! Swollen, practically shut eye with green/yellow gloop and the white of the eye was pillar box red! Had a look and she was right, there was a bit of hay in it but it was clearly stuck behind the eyeball! Said I wasn't even going to attempt to do anything due to the amount of pain she was in, the eye was infected, possible cornea damage and it needed to be ensured the hay strand was entirely removed so Vet, sharpish. Bit of i/v sedation, local anaesthetic, torch, tweezers and 10 mins later the hay was out (about an inch long with 2/3rds stuck behind eyeball), eye drops in and job done.

I still can't believe she left a pony like that, poor wee sod. Mind you, you know the sort, helped out at a couple of riding schools FOC many years ago, never owned one herself (actually scared of handling them in general) yet apparently has ridden to 4*, worked in race/stud yards/polo yards always as Head Girl, has Mary King on speed dial, has tamed more wild stallions than she can count and one of the most respected horse people in the area. I could have just shortened that to Pathological Liar......

Sorry, not quite sure where that rant came from......

Could he maybe go back to the field that needed resting just for a short time while you need to treat his eye? Good luck with it all. *hands you lasso with an anchor tied to the end of it*
 
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