Good Evening,
I was out doing night check/toss hay for my horse and mule, and I noticed the conjunctiva on my horse’s left eye looks to have a Scratch? Or something else?
It doesn’t appear to bother him, and I plan to just keep watch on it in the coming days, but I was curious if anyone else on this forum has guesses/ideas on what it could be? Or perhaps a similar situation? I have attached a photo below.
Thanks!
I was always taught that eyes are emergencies. At the very least I’d call my vet.
Oh yikes. Ya I never play the wait a few days with eyes. They can go south so quickly. Hope it heals quickly and uneventfully.
Unless you have the fluorescin strips to test, call the vet.
I had to treat a scratched cornea that presented similar (angry-looking conjunctiva) with 3X daily abx ointment & flymask to protect for a couple weeks.
Fun times 
Like humans, it looks like a burst capillary or something. I might call the vet and send the photo but personally I wouldn’t have the vet out for that. If it changes, eye becomes runny, etc then yes.
Eyes to me are always - I would rather pay a vet bill I did not need than not have paid a vet bill that I did need.
The good news is nothing looks swollen or angry. Definitely send that photo to your vet. Cell phones make the “is this a problem” question easy!
I’d get the vet in on it. I had a mare present with a tiny scratch and 4 days later she was in surgery having a conjunctival graft done because despite immediate treatment she developed a raging fungal infection in the eye. Better safe than sorry,
Friend of mine dealt with one for YEARS. Ultimately had to remove the eye. It looked very minor and benign at first.
OP, at least send pics to the vet. Eyes are always a reason for a vet visit or call.
Based on the photograph, that looks like a conjunctival hemorrhage. (Blood vessel that burst and now is trapped in the clear layers of the conjunctiva.) However, it’s always a good idea to ensure there isn’t an associated corneal abrasion or conjunctival laceration. That is best done with sodium fluorescein (the yellow dye). Based on your photograph, the cornea looks clear and intact but a low-mag photograph doesn’t always tell the whole story.
Hemorrhages can be spontaneous with no apparent reason but it’s still a good idea to make sure there wasn’t something else that caused it.
Note that I am not a vet but I am an optometrist.
Ditto what others have said–call your vet and send him/her the picture.
Also, do you have any ophthalmic antibiotic ointment? I keep this with my horse first aid supplies. It comes in handy to prevent an infection until the vet can take a look. Just be sure to use ointment without steroid.
Thank you all. I appreciate the suggestions and ideas. Today the red scratch looking thing isn’t as “long” and appears less red in color. However the conjunctiva tissue (actually it’s on his third eyelid) itself looks raised? Not angry, or red or anything, just thicker than the other eye. However, I can’t really justify this as a change for him, because honestly I never paid much attention to one eye vs. the other until now. He always has runny eyes, clear runny of course. Think allergies, or an eye drainage problem.
I’m going to send a picture to my vet, see what he says.
Thanks again!
Could be fluid build up from associated inflammation around the area (called “chemosis”). But that’s just a guess without seeing a picture.
The vet was out, he said burst blood vessel! Said it will heal. He feels like the raised area is just a normal variation for my guy. He just said to watch it and he thinks the red spot will go away on its own, no complications!
Thank you!
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