You’re rounding the corner toward a big blue oxer, hoping your horse will clear it right out of stride. All you’re thinking is, “Jump, buddy, jump!” But all your horse is thinking is, “Is that a … jump? Or another horse? Or … Man, I wish I had some glasses!”
If your horse is dealing with cataract-associated vision loss, researchers have some good news: Recent study results suggest that more than 25% of horses that undergo a certain type of cataract surgery are still visual two years later.
"Horse eyes are awesome," began Amber Labelle, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVO, assistant professor and veterinary ophthalmologist at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital. "But excessive tearing is not awesome."
When clouds start rolling in, it often means a storm is brewing. For horses with cloudy eyes, the source of that storm could be one of many. Fortunately, veterinarians are well-versed in the diagnostic and treatment options for cloudy-eyed horses.
Anyone who's ever managed an equine eye issue knows how challenging it can be to administer treatment. Horses have an uncanny ability to morph into giraffes when they'd rather not have their eyes touched, and an owner's inability to provide appropriate treatment can hinder a horse's recovery. Fortunately, there's an easier way: the sub...
While severe equine eye injuries or disorders can be gruesome in appearance, they generally aren't life-threatening. Thanks to medical and technological advances, veterinarians can now treat eye issues more effectively than they have in the past. But if treatment fails, veterinarians also have the option of removing the eye without the risks associate...
Equine eye problems can be challenging for practitioners and owners to manage. They can be particularly difficult to treat when veterinarians are still just trying to determine problem's root cause. One such issue is eosinophilic keratoconjunctivitis (EK).
Clean legs? Check. Healthy heart? Check. Strong back? Check. But before you sign the papers for your new horse, don't forget to have your veterinarian look the horse in the eye.
Occasionally veterinarians stumble across a drug side effect that's more useful than detrimental. Take, for example, the antispasmodic N-butylscopolammonium bromide (NBB), marketed in the United States as Buscopan (Boehringer Ingelheim) to treat horses with colic. As it turns out, this drug could be useful for helping veterinarians examine horses'...
Editor's Note: This article is part of TheHorse.com's ongoing coverage of topics presented at the 2012 American Association of Equine Practitioners' Focus on Ophthalmology conference, held Sept. 6-8 in Raleigh, N.C.
Editor's Note: This article is part of TheHorse.com's ongoing coverage of topics presented at the 2012 American Association of Equine Practitioners' Focus on Ophthalmology conference, held Sept. 6-8 in Raleigh, N.C.
