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 Having Smokin Bandits
Posts: 4572
  
Location: Woodstown, NJ | My beautiful Paint in my avatar came out of the field on New Year's, Friday morning, with his eye tearing (clear) and swollen shut. On Sunday morning the covering vet came. The eye didn't take the dye, indicating it wasn't an injury. I was shocked she thought it could be more than a scrape or a piece of hay stuck in it. He's 18. Never had eye problems before. She did some stuff and left me with an antibiotic/steroid ointment, Atropine ointment, and Banamine. No improvement. My regular vet came out Thursday morning and spent three hours examining him, including cytology (sp?)--taking cells to send up to the "experts," and consulting with New Bolton. She ruled out injury, moonblindness, and something systemic. This was the horse who was lethargic a few months ago when I switched to the low sugar grain. She said no, it has nothing to do with that. She suspects an abscess, though it doesn't present in a classic way, or fungus. Tomorrow morning we should find out when we get the results from the culture if it's a fungus. She said stop using the antiobiotic/steroid I had been given, and left me with two tubes of fungal cream and instructed to continue with the Atropine and Bute. I have been dedicated even though he's been fighting me because it hurts so much and getting it into his eye at least four times a day, sometimes more. But there hasn't been any improvement. His eye is 40% grey and cloudy and I can see he doesn't feel good at all. He's not drinking his water well. The vet mentioned the option of removing the eye, worst case scenario, and I know they can live fine without it, but removing an eye is very drastic. However, I don't have the money to go on a wild goose chase (a friend had the same thing happen and wound up spending four grand and the horse still lost his eye) PLUS I don't want this horse to suffer unnecessarily! I've done this before with animals--treat, and treat, and treat, and the whole time they're suffering and it's just horrible! Any info or stories you can tell me would be appreciated and I'd like your opinion on how far to go. Thank you! |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 595
Location: nj | An option would be to Reach out to Dr Vagantus at 609-259-8300 at northstar at robbinsville - she is a specialist. |
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Having Smokin Bandits
Posts: 4572
Location: Woodstown, NJ | Thanks Threeponies. |
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"Heck's Coming With Me"
Posts: 10793
 
Location: Kansas | For what it's worth, I was fighting one very ugly eye problem in an old retired thoroughbred we have. Vets did the dye thing and prescribed Banamine and eye ointments. By chance such problems were discussed on a thread here on BHW. BarrelHorseUSA, a board member, suggested getting away from the Banamine and using Penicillin. Pretty emphatic about Banamine being a waste of time as I remember. I started giving daily shots of Penicillin to this ole guy and the problem disappeared within days. I had been fighting this for weeks and the eye literally went back to normal.
Just for what it's worth. It worked for me and I am grateful to BarrelHorseUSA for the advice. |
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Having Smokin Bandits
Posts: 4572
Location: Woodstown, NJ | Frodo, I'm going to suggest that to the vet. Someone else mentioned that to me! Thank you. |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | And remember to come back and update us. . .  |
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Go Get Em!
Posts: 13502
Location: OH. IO | The more articles I read that have your horses issues in...like al.ost falling in the rear end...like being lathargic...and now this...im thinking soaking some money into a specialist might be needed. |
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Good Ole Boys just Fine with Me
Posts: 2869
Location: SE Missouri | It's strictly the eye, I have seen some remarkable eye recoveries when I worked for the equine vet!! I mean I thought there was no way to save it and they healed. Keep us updated. Any drainage out of his nose! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1131
| When the mare in my profile picture was diagnosed with leptospirosis this past summer, we spent a lot of money to save her eyes from the blindness it causes. She would get steroid injections in her eyes and that would help for a few weeks, plus her 3x a day atropine ointment, and she basically lived on banamine for a while. We were looking into surgery to have a steroid disk put into her eye when she got injured at a race and we decided to retire and breed her. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Oh please give it more time to try to heal  |
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Nut Case Expert
Posts: 9305
Location: Tulsa, Ok | The first thing you need is a definite cause - bacterial, viral or fungal so that the proper medication can be used. A lavage tube inserted directly under the eyelid will assure that all medication is getting directly to the eye. I personally would want a equine opthamologist and probably in clinic care. |
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Member
Posts: 15
| This sounds a lot like my guy. Like you it was the pain he was in that hurt me so much when putting in the ointment. I saw a second vet when mine was away and she recommended inserting a lavage. She put a tube in through his eyelid up high in the eye socket, tube went up through his forelock and tied half way down mane. 4-6 times/day I had to syringe meds into the tube in his mane and then some air to get it into his eye where that end of the tube was like a little shower head that washed the meds over his eye. Overnight I could see he was in less pain than when I was squishing the ointment into his eye. BUT it did take a month Dec 9-Jan 8 before he was done. But so worth it to see 2 beautiful brown eyes again. He had to stay in a stall with a fly mask and a neck sheet so he couldn't rub the lavage but he didn't seem to mind cause he was in so much pain at first. He did figure out that going to his mane meant his eye would get bothered but we compromised by me rubbing gently under his eye while the meds washed over. Don't give up even when he was done I wasn't 100% sure cause the Atropine made his eye too dilated and thus looked odd but that cleared up. |
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 Knowledge is Power
Posts: 4051
Location: wherever my daughter's running | SC Wrangler - 2016-01-11 9:10 AM The first thing you need is a definite cause - bacterial, viral or fungal so that the proper medication can be used. A lavage tube inserted directly under the eyelid will assure that all medication is getting directly to the eye. I personally would want a equine opthamologist and probably in clinic care.
Agree - this was the method the vet used for my daughter's horse. She had to go out all hours of the day and night to administer the meds for 6 weeks. He has a place on the eye - but his vison and eye were saved. Also, if you aren't already doing this you may want to put a fly mask on the horse. WIshing you good results with the eye. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 490
| I treated my mares eye from the beginning of January until the middle of May. We were aggressive and saved her eye. I cant even remember all the ointments, drops and meds we put in her eye. Started out treating her 5 times a day. Plus banamine twice a day. She had 2 abscesses on the eyeball. It was painful but she let us treat her. The last meds we were using had DMSO mixed in it. That was the only time she gave me a problem but after 5 months she was as fed up as we were with doctoring.
Hope you can find out whats wrong with your pony. Eye injuries are frustrating! |
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Having Smokin Bandits
Posts: 4572
Location: Woodstown, NJ | Jake, his backend problem is a mechanical thing that has to do with his stifles that's been going on for 17 years. But that lethargy problem a few months ago might be related.
I just want to let you guys know that my vets are highly regarded around here and I've had three of them on the team working on this, consulting with each other, calling me all hours of the day and night, and consulting with specialists and opthamologists at New Bolton and Mid-Atlantic. So I do have confidence I have a great team.
We got the results back from the cytology. It shows no fungus. They are thinking bacterial. Frodo, I asked about the penicillan but he is not really a candidate because he's so big and would need two large shots twice a day. They are considering Doxy because it also has anti-inflammatory effects as well as being an antibiotic. The vet is going to draw blood for a few things today and top of her list is Leptospirosis. I looked that up. I think that's what he has! I read that two symptoms are moonblindness and lethargy. Some of you guys might remember that I switched my horses' grain a few months ago to Carb Gard because I was jumping on the no-sugar bandwagon, and Lowdown got lethargic. He was so lethargic, he fell down. I switched them back to their regular grain, and he improved. He was not lethargic, but I have to say he wasn't as peppy as he used to be. But I chalked that up to he's in with a new mare we have and she doesn't stop running and he's always trying to keep up with her and he's 18, I thought, he's pooped. She's wearing him out. But now I am thinking it wasn't that. Also, the other eye, which has been normal, has now developed a tear. Just a tear or two. But this is not normal for him. So it might be moonblindness and going to the other eye now. Then I read Lepto is found in areas with standing water or stagnant ponds. That's what I have! We get two flooded areas in our fields that look like a stagnant pond and they usually drain in a timely manner since we did some bulldozer work, but this past summer, it kept raining and raining and that water was standing there for so long, I had a mosquito infestation. Lepto is not from mosquitoes but it's from cattle and deer urine and when you have this kind of water and it washes into it and the horse goes in it or drinks from it, that's how he gets it. So I think this test is going to come out positive. I don't know what the prognosis will be. I wish I would have caught this sooner. I hope too much damage is not done. I'll find out more when the vet comes later and I will let you guys know. Thank you so much for all your support and tips and everything! |
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"Heck's Coming With Me"
Posts: 10793
Location: Kansas | Again, not trying to talk you into anything, but our TB is 16.1 and built like a QH. We gave him 20 cc's once a day for about six days in the hip as I recall. Kept up the eye ointment for as long as the tube lasted but that was mostly because it was there and I wanted to use it up.
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Member
Posts: 48
| If the vets are thinking its bacterial in nature I would stay away from only using doxy, it has so much resistance that it is a very weak antibiotic. I am an optometrist and I would never use doxy for a corneal infection or ulcer. They need to be using a stronger antibiotic such as Vigamox or fortified Tobramycin and dosing at least every hour. |
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Miss Southern Sunshine
Posts: 7427
Location: South Central Florida | We went through a Stromal Abscess last year. It was months and she is fine, but it was expensive.
We did the levage system, and I was treating evey 2 hours for a long time. ended up treating for about 3 months with great results.
We did an antifungal and an antibiotic because as I understand one can lead to the other?
The mare also did not take the stain...it was deep in the eye and we were at the vet on Monday after it apearing on Sunday.
I also had friends with an 20 year old mare that just treated with the tubes and it cleared up with half the treatment I went through.
As I understand it is VERY PAINFUL, the reason they are grumpy, don't eat and are kind of miserible.
I did the banamine and atropine far longer than I would have ever wanted to. I also treated with Omeprazol during the banamine time.
Good Luck, in my opinion, I would give it a few months before I went to removing the eye, but that's me.
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Having Smokin Bandits
Posts: 4572
Location: Woodstown, NJ | Oh boy, these vets are good. The vet was here last night till about ten. On the phone and sending pictures to the eye specialist at New Bolton who was in her jammies, I'm sure, at home. I may not be getting all this right but this is what we've come to so far: Even though the cytology didn't show fungus, they believe it might in fact, be a fungus after all, deep inside the eyeball. They also believe there's an abscess, even though it's not presenting in the usual way. We're going to continue to treat with the Chloramphenicol ointment and the Itraconazole/DMSO ointment but I'm going to increase it to at least six times a day. We are going to replace the Itraconazole/DMSO when it's empty with something stronger, I believe she said. We're continuing with the Atropine twice a day. We are increasing the Bute to 1 1/2 grams twice a day. We started the good eye on an antibiotic, Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates/Bacitracin Zinc ointment two to three times a day because of the slight tearing that started. Looking into that eye, she saw something that was questionable but it was nothing so obvious that she would have been concerned about it if this wasn't going on. She drew blood for Leptosporosis. That should take a week to get back. She will let me know today about what kind of oral antibiotic we're going to put him on.
Frodo, I will mention it again. I know Penicillan knocks the crap out of stuff and if it's something systemic like Lepto, that would make sense that it could work.
It is incredibly hard doing so many treatments but I'm determined to give it my all. He's such a good boy. He's letting me do it now without too much of a fight. I just coo to him like a baby and rub his face with a nice warm wet washcloth and he lowers his head and lets me put it in. I am scared hearing how long some of you treated. I am having a hard time working. I have to work so I can pay for this all.... |
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 I Don't Brag
Posts: 6960
| We had to send one to State for treatment of a fungal infection. I noticed a cloudy spot, had the vet out and he used the dye strip to look for cut/abrasion. None showed so he put him one an antibiotic with steroids. A day or two later when I went to put in ointment the spot had turned in to a pimple. Vet redyed eye and still no indication of injury so he sent me right to State. They ended up finding a fungal infection (the surface cells had grown over preventing dye from showing injury). This particular fungus could liquefy a cornea in hours and the steroids actually feed it!
We got lucky and after a couple of days at State for hourly treatment he got sent home for me to treat every 4 hours. He ended up with full sight.
OP, which eye? I have an eye protector for the left eye which I had gotten for another horse. It looks like a blinder but the cover eye is a full cup with air holes in it. It allows air and cuts out most of the light. It cost over $100 but if you could use it and then pay it forward or send it back I could send it to you. PM me or email me at [email protected] which may be faster as I don't get on here regularly anymore. |
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