Managing Uveitis in the competition horse

[LEC]

Just wondering how people manage Uveitis in the competition horse? I have a lovely 5yo who had a flare up in one eye which was treated, and then a later flare up in the other. Her siblings of which there are 4 of them all from the same mare don't have this issue but they are all by different stallions. I do think there must be something genetic.

At the moment I pretty much do everything with a fly mask on which doesn't seem to impact her jumping, but haven't really taken her competing yet and its all upcoming.

My theory at the moment is to leave the fly mask on as long as possible in the warm up and then remove it for the things I want to do and put it back on ASAP. I am probably going to get one of the UV visors as look a bit better as clear with a UV protective tint (not getting goggles as they look ridiculous) but it does worry me that even 5 minutes of xc could cause a flare up if bright sunshine that day. Long term this is a pretty talented horse who has the capability of going FEI eventing so its getting the management right.

On cloudy overcast days, I can leave it off but never have I sat on a horse wishing for slightly miserable weather!

 

[j1ffy]

Can you get dispensation so she can wear the visor in competition? I'm sure I saw a dressage horse with something similar on when watching the Nationals on livestream. Not sure if it's feasible for XC...

 

[LEC]

Can you get dispensation so she can wear the visor in competition? I'm sure I saw a dressage horse with something similar on when watching the Nationals on livestream. Not sure if it's feasible for XC...

I need to start investigating. I am optimistic someone on here has experience of eventing a horse with the same issue.

 

[ihatework]

Uveitis is a bugger and if you are getting it recurring and in both eyes you are probably looking at an auto-immune cause.

I don’t really know what is routinely used in horses but have done some research in humans (nothing that would help you though I’m afraid). You can do an ocular implant with slow release corticosteroid - how this would work at FEI you would need to investigate, the systemic exposure is very low so good chance bloods would run clean.

A passing point of interest, friend had a TB with recurring uveitis - young and with no other symptoms - but turned out to have cushings and the uv resolved when Cushings treated. Don’t think there is a confirmed link but interesting none the less

 

[LEC]

Uveitis is a bugger and if you are getting it recurring and in both eyes you are probably looking at an auto-immune cause.

I don’t really know what is routinely used in horses but have done some research in humans (nothing that would help you though I’m afraid). You can do an ocular implant with slow release corticosteroid - how this would work at FEI you would need to investigate, the systemic exposure is very low so good chance bloods would run clean.

A passing point of interest, friend had a TB with recurring uveitis - young and with no other symptoms - but turned out to have cushings and the uv resolved when Cushings treated. Don’t think there is a confirmed link but interesting none the less

It wouldn't surprise me on an auto immune as she is quite an allergic/sensitive horse - gets lumpy so has to be managed carefully with sweating, legs have been UV sensitive in the past, mud fever at slightest hint of mud etc. Its not recurring at the moment. We have had the one flare up in each eye so hence the management has been ultra strict. She weirdly had one eye, then a couple of weeks later the other eye, but I would probably say we didn't quite manage eye no 1 as seriously as we should have, with eye 2 happening we then changed everything and it seems to have worked. The implants are around £3k each so trying to go down the management route to avoid that.

 

[ihatework]

Ever run any routine bloods? Sometimes liver can impact photosensitivity

 

[DressageCob]

I used a UV visor (Equivizor) on my one-eyed horse for over a year, BD. I wrote and had it confirmed that I could use it for competition. Then one day a judge questioned it, escalated it to BD who retracted the previous statement that it was legal. Now I only compete that horse at outdoor venues.

it's really annoying because it doesn't look intrusive. It's certainly smarter than riding in my Guardian fly mask, which is legal. I don't need the UV protection, just the barrier to dust. The lady at BD didn't seem to understand the point of the visor at all. My thing is, the view out of the Guardian fly mask is so dark (which is the point of it for most people, that plus the mesh is so tight no dust can get in, unlike a normal fly mask), that it isn't really fair on my already half blind horse to put that on and go into a shadowy indoor school.

I also have the equick visor - that's very snazzy. Very easily scratched though.

 

[LEC]

I used a UV visor (Equivizor) on my one-eyed horse for over a year, BD. I wrote and had it confirmed that I could use it for competition. Then one day a judge questioned it, escalated it to BD who retracted the previous statement that it was legal. Now I only compete that horse at outdoor venues.

it's really annoying because it doesn't look intrusive. It's certainly smarter than riding in my Guardian fly mask, which is legal. I don't need the UV protection, just the barrier to dust. The lady at BD didn't seem to understand the point of the visor at all. My thing is, the view out of the Guardian fly mask is so dark (which is the point of it for most people, that plus the mesh is so tight no dust can get in, unlike a normal fly mask), that it isn't really fair on my already half blind horse to put that on and go into a shadowy indoor school.

I also have the equick visor - that's very snazzy. Very easily scratched though.

Thanks this is helpful. I worry about the long term implications of them living in darkness with the guardian style mask but i guess it is what it is..... I think the Equivizor is a good solution in bad circumstances but if BD are funny then it will be back to the plan to just on and off it as quickly as possible for actual competition and use it in the warm up.

 

[alimcc]

My mare had an implant in one eye three years ago. Touch wood only a small flare up a couple of times treated with steroid drops. Mostly keep a shires fly mask on her on days with sunshine in the summer, or very windy days summer or winter. I have competed her BD outside with a mask on. One time a judge queried it, but I had OKayed it with BD (sent a photo) but another judge told the first one that it was OK too. Would not compete her if she had recently had the drops. Taking the mask off overnight prevents any rubbing I find, but I do watch carefully in case. One mask I tried, she obviously could not see out of it as she tripped over things! Trial and error really. I do think there needs to be understanding with BD, officials and competitors over such issues. It is sort of a ‘para horse’ issue!

 

[Shoei]

I can't help much with horses but I suffer from Chronic Bilateral Anterior Uveitis and it's mostly linked with auto immune diseases. However knowing that is not much help for either human or equine as actually finding, diagnosing and treating one is not easy at all.
I'm sure you do but I'd monitor her eyesight closely.
The dilation drops make me feel really motion sick as it makes your vision odd and you become disoriented.

 

[GinaGeo]

It wouldn't surprise me on an auto immune as she is quite an allergic/sensitive horse - gets lumpy so has to be managed carefully with sweating, legs have been UV sensitive in the past, mud fever at slightest hint of mud etc. Its not recurring at the moment. We have had the one flare up in each eye so hence the management has been ultra strict. She weirdly had one eye, then a couple of weeks later the other eye, but I would probably say we didn't quite manage eye no 1 as seriously as we should have, with eye 2 happening we then changed everything and it seems to have worked. The implants are around £3k each so trying to go down the management route to avoid that.

Little off the wall. But my young horse had been suffering long term with a long term case of hives that we were unable to shift for two years despite trying every steroid and antibiotic going. Every cut resulted in an infection and were having mud fever issues that were refusing to shift.

He turned out to be allergic to pretty much everything other than grass. But cutting those bits out alone didn't clear him up. It was a good course of Probiotics followed by ongoing Prebiotics that actually cleared his skin up and did him the world of good (Took about 3 months to clear him up), he was also eating his herd members poo like no tomorrow.

Uveitis does seem to be associated with Auto-immune disease, and auto-immune diseases from my research looked to be getting more strongly linked with an under-performing Microbiome.

I've had a quick scout and there are some papers linking uveitis to Gut Microbiome. So might be worth a look

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6389708/

https://www.aao.org/eyenet/article/gut-microbes-may-trigger-noninfectious-uveitis