Insidious ERU

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Tomero

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My old mare has this condition in both her eyes. Her condition is pretty advanced to the point where as soon as you stop one course of meds within the week, her eyes are watering and she is blinking again.

My vet has advised me against any kind of surgery as she has the condition in both eyes, although her left is worse (I think she is near enough blind in that eye now, but she copes well). The last conversation we had I felt that the vet was trying to gently nudge me in the direction of having her PTS, but as the mare is fit and healthy in all other respects I am struggling to come to terms with this idea.

On top of this, I don't think I can realistically afford to continue with the aggressive treatment we have used so far. Each time the vet comes and prescribes meds it costs me nearly £200. Due to her age, I do not have insurance.

I just don't know what to do for the best but wanted to know what others have done to see if I could be doing more. At present, she lives out 24/7 as she has COPD but I am wondering if it is the weather that is aggravating it and it would be better if I brought her in? She wears a mask in bright sunlight but should I consider putting it on her whenever she is out of the stable?

I have read on the internet that its possible to give aspirin daily to try and control inflammation. As my mare's ERU is the insidious type with chronic, low grade inflammation, I wondered if this might work for her? Has anyone else tried it?

Right now, I am trying to get all the help and advice I can before I make any decisions about her future and would appreciate any input.

Thanks
 
Fog snow etc cAn also trigger eru. I know of one horse who has an indoor stable and wears a
mask all year round. Hers was left off for 1 day last Christmas and she had another bout. I would try keeping the mask on whenever turned out.
 
First of all it's an aweful condition and I know what you are going through, I found that giving my boy one bute a day helped lessen the attacks. Mine wore a mask practically 24/7 in and out, but he still had attacks. It's not just the sunlight that affects them wind snow etc is just as bad. If you can make a stable as dark as you can then that's the best thing for them when they have an attack. Uevitis is very very painful for the horse, if yours has it in both she will be in a lot of pain. You know your horse and as long as she is happy then carry on. Sadly I lost my horse the beginning of this year to something un-related. But I battled for 4 years with flare ups every six weeks and it was a nightmare.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. The vet came today and has put her on another 6 week course of eye drops and bute. I am going to keep her in in the day and out at night.

The vet seems to think I am doing all I can short of surgery and so I will continue with this latest course of meds and then see if keeping her on bute for life helps.

Black_horse_white I couldn't keep this up every 6 weeks for 4 years, this is really a last chance for me as I don't have the money to pay for anymore.

Still wondering if anyone has had any joy with aspirin?
 
Foxhunter49 recently suggested that NAF detox can help with uvietis, it may be worth sending a pm to find out there experiences, it would be a very easy thing to try and if it helps is inexpensive.
 
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