Blind in one eye...overnight?

[KnightRider]

Hi all. I'm looking for some advice/information.

We have a 12 y.o. BS paint gelding that was just purchased in November. We just do trail riding and play with cattle a bit, and he is fun to ride, though has always been a bit nervous.

Yesterday, I went to bring him in from the field and noticed his left eye is slightly cloudy and he seems to be blind in it. My husband is the primary caretaker of the horses, and he swears that it wasn't like that on Friday (on saturday, he fed in a rush, so might have been cloudy and he didn't notice)

Can the blindness occur in such a short time? If its in one eye, what are the chances of it occurring in the other eye too?

Do any of you ride horses that are blind in one eye? Do you take any special precautions?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

KnightRider

[Titania]

Time is of the essance with eye injuries....call the vet.

Might have gotten a scratch. or a bit of debris that scratched the eye. Is it oozing, hot or you see some other trama around the eye? We had a horse with an infection of the eye that we had to give drops too. a piece of hay must have gotten stuck and it was scratched up pretty bad. Clouded over too. That went away with some drugs.

Put a clean fly mask on him with UV protection for the moment, If you suspect that the eye is irratated then get some saline solution and wash out the eye.

Can he see at all out of that eye?

[FrancaV]

I second Titania's advice. Eye issues are something I never mess around with. I'd call the vet ASAP! Hope his eye will be OK!

[KnightRider]

Thanks for the advice.

There is no sign of trauma, no scrapes or abrasions, no oozing or running, just a slight opaque coloration. Would you still rinse with saline? He does not seem to have any vision until you get very close to the eye, and then his movement might just be that he senses your hand near his face. I led him in from the field on his left side and he was constantly bumping me in the back with his nose, almost as if he was trying to feel where I was. He does not usually crowd when being led.

I wanted to call the vet right away, but hubby wants to wait (we had $1,000 in vet bills last week!). Am hoping to convince him to call today. If it's something contagious, I don't want it spreading to the other eye or the other horses.

[Titania]

it could be a number of things. The cloudy apperance is usually a problem with the cornea. Get the vet out. I would rinse with saline, it won't hurt anything and it will be soothing. The vet will have to dialate the pupil to see how it's functioning. Try holding a lighter up to the eye and how many images do you see? there should be multiple flames. It's not an exact science so don't get freaked if you only see one image. i pretty sure you should see three flames.

the good news is Cloudiness that comes on quick like this usually isn't permanant if you can get it treated in time.

[KnightRider]

Thanks Titania!

Just talked to Hubby and he had already changed his mind and was going to call the vet this afternoon! I wonder how long it will be to get someone out?

I'm hoping it's not permanent. It's ironic because we've been doctoring (ointment from the vet) another one of the horses that has had a weepy eye for many weeks and his eye finally seemed to stop weeping last week. Now this guy's eye is cloudy, and there is no sign of trauma, infection or pain.

[mp18D]

Yup, get the vet out as soon as you can. Sudden onset cloudiness can be caused by any number of things, most non sight threatening but some potentially catastrophic. Can be anything from sunburn to infection to squamous cell....
DO NOT wash out-there may be global damage you can not see with the naked eye. The washing process will then introduce all kinds of crud into the eye globe. Putting anything on the eye may make matters much worse. Again only your vet can tell for sure.
It is always much better to be conservative with eye problems.
The flymask is a great stopgap until the vet gets there.
Good Luck!
Mike

[Titania]

Keep us posted!!! good luck...darn accident prone horses!

[Excess]

I'd call the vet but I see you already did! I am eager to hear what he has to say. Some horses scrap their cornea which causes the cloudy. I don't think they can get glaucoma or cataracts over night.

Some of the best horses I've known are blind horses. I never have had to treat them any differently. They seem to adapt fine to being without an eye. Also most of the one-eyed horses I know made great trail horses and went over, through and under everything without skipping a beat.

[KnightRider]

Vet cannot get out until Wednesday. I'm going to try flashing a light in his eye like Titania suggested and see what I see. In broad daylight yesterday the eye did not seem to be very reactive. It looks very different from the other eye, but it always has looked a bit different.

Exy: Thanks for the encouraging words about blind horses. I really like the way this guys moves and had hopes of getting lots of rides out of him.

[Excess]

You will even if you have to remove that eye. May just have to watch your knee when you go by trees though =)

[Titania]

The body has amazing abilities to heal itself. I've ridden and worked with many blind horses. IF (and that's a big IF) that's what happens, your horse will adjust and you may want to consider a few short words (verbal cues) if you don't have them already.

As a kid at camp there was this horse named Music. Music was a GORGEOUS in every way silver dappled mare. for insureance money, her previous owners had taken her right eye out, i won't go into details. But you could see everything in the inner socket. gross. We kept a patch or fly mask on her b/c the BO didn't have the money for a glass eye. anyway, i was a kid and we already talked about how bad my memory is, she was a great horse. if the fly mask was on campers and the public had no idea she had any issues. she was one of the best horses i ever rode.

[KnightRider]

Thanks again folks.

Exy...I've already been getting used to ducking branches that I breezed under before (Leo is 15'3" and Knight is only 14'1"), so I'll get used to watching my knees too :)

I did see multiple reflections when I shone a light in his eye, but he doesn't seem to see anything. I think the sight is gone, just don't know if it's permanent or contagious. Did not rinse the eye, partially because of Mike's comment and partially because he wouldn't let you close enough with the Clear Eyes solution.

Vet will be out tomorrow and we should know more then. Keeping fingers crossed.

[KnightRider]

UPDATE: Murphy's Law strikes again. Last night went to check on Leo when I got home from work and noticed that almost all the cloudiness was gone from his eye and he seemed to be able to see again. Decided to keep the vet appointment for today to see if the vet could find anything wrong.

So...$132 later, they vet says that the eye appears perfectly normal and he cannot find anything wrong. No cloudiness remaining, vision seems fine, no sign of infection or inflamation or glaucoma. The cloudiness and lack of vision could be a sign of "something brewing" or may never happen again. Could be uveitis, but without seeing any of the symptoms, cannot make a diagnosis. The vet's conclusion...if it happens again, call right away and schedule an emergency farm call.

JEEZ... I'm glad Leo can see again, but who knows what the future will hold? I guess just pray that this was some sort of fluke occurance.

[Titania]

darn horses! I'm glad it's all cleared up! whew!

[mp18D]

KnightRider
First of all, glad all worked out w/Leo! Eye stuff can be a scary thing, especially since it is such an "unknown area".

I work in human medicine, got some vet medicine training in the Army and have alot of practical application on our animals, but dont post diagnosis/treatment stuff on the "Net for obvious reasons.
Now that your vet has seen your horse, I will say that uveitis (kinda like snow blindness) is a common deal for horses, especially those with light colored eyes, in the early summer. But the layperson never knows for sure. Call the vet.
My wife puts a fly mask on both of our Apps all summer, unless we are working them...
For those that dont know, I highly recommend www.horseadvice.com. It is a great equine resource, moderated by a well known vet. His advice is right on, but even he says....Call your vet.
You did the right stuff. Happy Riding!

Mike

[KnightRider]

Thanks Mike.

I will check out that site for advice in the future.

Leo's eye still seems fine, so maybe it was just an allergic reaction to something. We just bought him in November, so he hasn't been through a spring bloom at our place before.

The eye that had the trouble is actually his darker eye. His right eye has lots of white around the iris, kind of like an appaloosa, and his left is darker with less white. The vet says the eye looks perfectly healthy, so we'll just hope it stays that way. :)

KR