Intra-Orbital or Intra-Ocular Prosthesis

[lottie1]

My vet has recommended that an enucleation ie eye removal is performed on my horse, and a second opinion has confirmed this.

I am already the very proud owner of a one eyed horse but I purchased him when he had already had the eye removed and he has a deep cavity/socket. Whilst I am not bothered at all by the cosmetic appearance I find it draws a lot of attention from others and at big shows people stare and point! Not that I mind of course but I'm sure he is aware of it and then it annoys me. On a more serious note he reacts quite badly to rain landing inside the socket especially if it accumulates at all. He is also very prone to knocking the top bone of the socket as all his eyelashes etc are inside the socket.

I have read about intra-orbital and intra-ocular prostheses as options. In both cases the horse retains his lashes and so he will have some sensory ability on his blind side. The intra-orbital prosthesis involves inserting a shaped silicone piece which provides support to the eye lids and then the eye is sewn shut. This has the appearance of the horse having its eye shut. The intra-ocular prosthesis is the insertion of a dark coloured ball behind the cornea which looks very realistic.

Has anyone any experience of either of these methods?

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

My horse had to have his eye removed at one of the best horse hospitals in the country. I was advised NOT to consider a prosthesis as they cause nothing but trouble with infection after infection. Also, they are for the human owners benefit, not the horse. My horse banged the socket of his blind side changing yards with a companion in a trailer. His companion pulled free and we think swung at my horse on his seeing side. My horse swung away, not realising the side of the trailer was in the way and he gashed his eye socket quite badly. However, I got an eye patch made for him by a local saddler. Made from the same cushioned, soft leather that good quality poll gaurds are made from. It fits onto a normal head collar and covers the eye socket just like a shaped pirate eye patch. It's brilliant though I have to say, my horse has got better and better at having only 1 eye and I don't think he needs it now. Still, it's there for emergencies. Saddler was brilliant and made the template out of a sheet of old newspaper! Have a look on her website - I think Sunny's pic is still there or if not, ask her to send pic to you. Her name is Helen Reader and she's in the South west/Wales area. My horse's empty socket gets grubby and scurfy and I have an ordinary flannel for him. Regularly squeeze it out in warm water with a squirt of baby bath in, then wind it into a shaving brush sort of shape and carefully screw it round and round inside the socket. He adores it and leans into it groaning with pleasure.

 

[SusieT]

The very important thing I would point out is people need to know that your horse is blind. A lack of eye is a very good sign of this!! I'm talking about safety of handling, it's quite a dangerous thing to have a horse that is blind on one side, manageable but please make sure the prosthesis is not actually realistic enough tomake people think he has sight on that side.

 

[Toby's Mom]

Dear Box of Frogs,

My horse had his eye removed just under one month ago after a sever ulceration to the cornea. After 6 weeks of treating his eye every 2-3 hours the cloudiness finally started to clear and the optamologist was able to get a clear idea of the extent of damage. It was confirmed that he would be permanently blind and had developed glaucoma. Rather than put him through anymore treatment I opted to have the eye removed for immediate relief. He wasn't ever going to see out of it anyhow and after seeing how happy he was post enucleation I know I made the right (although difficult) choice. I haven't ridden him yet. Only hand walking, lots of grooming and will start lunging soon.

Anyhow, I have been searching for some sort of eye patch and have had no luck what so ever. I see that you had a saddle maker construct one for your horse. I tracked her website down and sent her an email but haven't heard back yet. Wondering if you have any photographs of what it looks like as well as what the cost was.

Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Will PM you Toby's mum. Helen Reader is incredibly busy so don't worry about a slow reply. My veteran never wears his eye patch any more - he's been on a lovely yard for almost 7 years now and is pretty much a VIP there and he has "free range" privileges a lot of the time. He's 28 now with severe pollen allergy and Cushings so he is enjoying his last days and he will end his life on the yard where he is now. So I wonder if his eye patch would fit your horse? Sunny is a 15.3hh Section D Welsh cob but he has a very refined head and face - he's actually in a pony sized Stuben bridle! But I think they make their's quite generous. I'll hunt for pix xxx

 

[TarrSteps]

I know a couple of horse missing an eye and I've been told the same as above, that a prosthesis causes more problems than it's worth. Also, I think the issue about being able to tell is valid, too - while people may stare at your horse it's actually in his best interests for people around him to know he's blind.