Quick question - horses with cataracts?

dibbin

dibbin

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I'm doing some (VERY hypothetical) horse advert browsing, and have found one I really like the sound of, at a good price. Only thing is, the ad says it has a cataract in one eye which it has had since birth. The only thing I know about equine cataracts is they're bl**dy expensive to operate on!

Does anyone have any experience of a horse with a cataract? Is there a risk of them developing further problems if they have a cataract already?

Thanks in advance :)
 
I knew a riding horse years ago with a cataract, he was blind in that eye but the other eye remained unaffected.

As far as I am aware, cataracts in equines are not easily sorted like human cataracts. I have never heard of a case going to surgery. A horse with a cataract would fail a vetting.
 
the grey in my avatar developed a cataract and went almost blind in that eye. the vet said that if she'd had it from birth it would have been safer, in a way, because she'd have been totally used to it. it was the difference in her vision that caused her instant retirement, unfortunately.
about 3 years after that the cataract sort of burst in her eye, her eye looked full of blood (but all encased). she was on breeding loan to my best friend and had a 4 month old foal at foot. foal was weaned immediately as vets advised to pts because it could get v painful, as she was about 18 then. this was about 8 years ago though, i gather cataract surgery on horses has improved since.
 
My old boy has one. He's retired now but i rode him for years with it, no big deal. He isnt blind just a bit fuzzy, make him spook at stuff. Many moons ago I used to SJ a horse with 1 eye. It doesnt have to be the end of the world
 
Thanks for replies, seems like it might not be a bad thing, especially since he's had it from birth. I also read in the horse vet bible (aka Veterinary Notes for Horse Owners) that congenital cataracts - which is what they usually are if they're present from birth - don't tend to get any worse.

I might consider making further enquiries about him, sounds from the ad like a really good horse.
 
My 7 year old horse has one. Hes always had it, and it doesn't really seem to bother him. He can spook more on that side but nothing drastic. As long as it doesn't get worse or cause him any pain I would just leave it alone. To me its not the end of the world and it didn't put me of buyinghim.
 
Thanks for all the replies, I've spoken to a friend (she's a final year vet student with horses of her own, and knows lots of things lol), and she's pretty much agreed with everything that's been said here. I've decided if he's still for sale after my exams are done, I might go and have a look at him :)
 
For what it's worth, can I just suggest that your vet checks the good eye. He could easily manage with one eye if things did go wrong, but often, too little attention is paid to the "good" eye ;)
 
I’ve just bought mine who had uveitis which subsequently means he now has a cataract forming, he is 6 so may need the cataract removed in years but as long as you protect their eyes (uv fly mask) your doing your part
 
Clippy said:
For what it's worth, can I just suggest that your vet checks the good eye. He could easily manage with one eye if things did go wrong, but often, too little attention is paid to the "good" eye ;)
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I'm trying not to get ahead of myself, but if it came to the stage of getting a vetting, I'd definitely make sure my vet paid LOTS of attention to both eyes! A friend of mine had her horse's eye removed, then less than 6 months later she started going blind in the other one so they had to PTS :(
 
My tb has a cataract in his left eye. His was caused through a kick to his head. He has had it for 5 years now. It does not appear to affect his vision or behaviour. He competes in riding club show jumping, dressage and showing. It is checked every year by the vets and has deomonstarted no change. The only downside is that I have had to inform the insurance company and they have now excluded the eye from the policy.
 
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