Puffy Eyes!?!?

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alibanni

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Can anyone help with what's up with my girlie?! She lives out rugged 24/7 always has done. Tonight went to give her her evening hay and both of her eyes looked like tennis balls, pufed up to heaven and really 'squinty'. She hadn't touched much of her morning hay although she seemed fine when i saw her this morning. I brought her up to the stables and she was quiet, not drastically so but not her normal raging loony! I've bedded her down in a stable (never stayed in before in 16 years!) to keep her warm and keep an eye on her, she's putting on her normal performance when i put her in for a couple of hours ie nutty when she thinks some one is watching and quiet as a church mouse otherwise.
Syptoms are: puffy eyes, squitty bum, no temp, no sweats, glands normal, drinking fine, eating (less than normal though), bit quiet but not dopey.
If she's no better in the morning going to call the vet (they never fall ill on normal work days do they!) but just thought i'd put it to you lot to see if you could put my mind at rest as really quite worried as she's never seen a vet in her life bar regular maintenence
 
Possibly hay related, ie got some in her eye and it now irritated. the laymans technique to reduce puffiness from eyes in putting cold teabags on them (same as humans) and this does actually tend to work. Have done it quite frequently in the past on my own horses and on yards i have worked on where steroid based drugs cannot be used(FEI/SJ/racing yards).
Has she actually got diarrhoea or just a little looser than normal?
If her eyes continue to swell a lot(ie tomorrow), do get the vet out to give her steroid drops/steroids or other anti-inflams as sustained swelling can cause irritation to the surface of the eyeball resulting in an ulcer - whcich can be difficult to heal. Better safe than sorry where eyes are concerned.
Is it one or both eyes?
 
I must admit, I wondered if she had something in them, but it's BOTH eyes and what's the chances of that out in a field eating off of the ground. They do seem to be irritating her though as she's trying to rub them against you when you go near her
 
Yes less likely to be hay related if shes fed from the floor. I think a visit from the vet to check for ulcers and get her on a course of eye drops (probably will be steroid and antibiotic especially if any signs of ulcers present) would be the best course of action.
 
alibanni, I think you're right in that it's beyond coincidence that both eyes would be swollen exactly the same if it was irritation from hay getting in one eye. It's far far more likely to be something systemic. Puffy eyes might be due to a virus or could she have had a bad slide on the snow/ice and given herself a massive blow to the head? If she'll let you, I'd bathe them gently in plain, boiled/cooled water and if no better in the morning get the vet as soon as possible. If she's squinting, keep her in the stable and make it as gloomy as possible until the vet has seen her. Has she ever had uveitis? Or been treated for herpes? Does she have problems with recurring conjunctivitis? Eyes are so precious and can be difficult to treat. Are her eyes watering profusely? Is she trying to rub them on her leg? Any information you can gather for the vets will be helpful. Good luck and do let us know how she is x
 
Thanks for your replies
I've just been down to see how she is and she seems better.
Her eyes don't seem quite as swollen but it was a bit dark down there still so going to go and have another look in a couple of hours. She's eaten most of the hay net i left her and drunk nearly a bucket of water AND whilst i was there she passed a couple of firmer lumps of poo!
Her eyes are still irritating her but she stood calmly whilst i was giving her a cuddle although she did try to rub them on me when i first went in.
TBO I was dreading what i might find, as i said in my original post she's never spent more than a couple of daylight hours in stable in her life and NEVER a full night and at least she hasn't trashed the place (or herself for that matter!)
Is it possible for horses just to catch a chill?
Or someone at the pub mentioned snow blindness? (pub's the old farmhouse to the farm so you can guess how covenient (sp) it is! but good for keeping a warm night watch, well that's my excuse anyway!)
I guess i'll keep an eye on her and make the decision to call the vet after breakfast. Either that or I have a friend who's a retired vet (although he specialised in domestic), I might ask him to take a first look at her to see what he recons.
He was just having his breakfast when i went past, but dont think he would have appreciated a knock this early, not that he would have recognised me under all of my layers!
Again thanks all and will keep you posted xx
 
A freind's mare had puffy eyes just before Christmas, had the vet out thinking it was conjunctivitus. Vet said puffy eyes were a diagnositic sign of cushings - which has later been confirmed. Now I must admit I hadn't heard that before but it was right for my freinds mare. It might be worth keeping in the back of your mind.
 
I've never heard of puffy eyes being a symptom of Cushings either. Just before Xmas, I went to a superb talk laid on by my equine vets - it was everything to do with caring for a veteran horse. One of the speakers was a vet from Radwings where of course they have masses of knowledge on veteran horses. This vet said that recurring conjunctivitis was a sign of the less effective immune system of an older horse and owners should watch out for it. Of course Cushings is normally a disease of the older horse so maybe that's where the 2 have got linked.
 
The cushing thing is when they get fat deposits in the hollows above their eyes, apparently this can be when their weight is normal as its related to the hormones going haywire.

If she has been out 24/7 lately then it could just be from the wind, cold and snowy blizzards, I know mine are out about 12-14 hours per day and their eyes are slightly gooey when they come in, however they aren't swollen.

Mine have changed their personalities slightly in this weather as they have been living out 24/7 but now theywant in on a night so are in till the weather calms down.

They can get a chill or a virus and be a bit off, and that can leave them open to further infections.

If you are unsure though I would get the vet as eyes are important.
 
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