Looking for opinions on this horse’s eye - vets (or armchair vets) appreciated. Pics were a couple days apart. The second has vet’s light on it.
What did the vet say? The top pic, the eye looks a bit odd but it’s hard to tell. Eyes are tricky because the smallest amount of light or shadow can make something look “wrong” that’s actually normal.
2 Likes
I really know nothing about eyes but I’d find it concerning that the pupil isn’t constricting with the light in that bottom picture. Was it dilated for the exam?
2 Likes
@Obsidian_Fire The eye is rotated on its axis, turned down and inward causing crescent moon shape white of the eye to appear almost mid eye. @Simkie - no he was not dilated. The eye is also sunken in the socket thus bone above appearing more prominent.
Did the vet suggest uveitis? I have a horse with diagnosed uveitis and we just had to treat another flare up. The sunken eye is due to pain, and can also present with tearing, weeping and a cloudy eye. This was the first time I had any tearing/weeping and the sunken eye. Previously it’s only ever been a slight clouding.
Possibly a cataract?
Usually with Uveitis the pupil stays constricted because of the pain involved if it is active that’s why they use atropine to dilate the eye. It has something to do with the iris attaching to the lens or something I believe.
@2tempe have films been done? Does the horse seem to be in any pain? The dilated pupil makes me wonder about high pressure in the eye. I would haul to an ophthalmologist asap.
1 Like
Eeeeeee. Weird. Was he upset about the light? I have JUST been treating one with a little scratch recently, and she was dilated with atropine for a few days, and she was REALLY not keen on light on that eyeball for those few days, until it wore off and she could constrict again.
Is it clear that he has vision on that side?
The horse had only limited response to “menace test” and thus was believed to have little vision. Here is the background: He was to be imported to US from Spain. When he arrived in Germany for flight to US, I received a call from shipper that his eye looked NQR. They had a vet come look; she sent me the second pic w/ the light (and some others); her comment was the eye was rotated on its axis, muscle atrophy in the area leading her to believe it was not a recent situation - ie hit his head in shipping; more likely a month or more old.
I contacted seller, who had been responsible for him; she sent me the first picture and another less clear view of that eye, both of which were taken prior to leaving Spain, along with a vet letter saying the horse was in good condition. But the eye doesn’t look normal in her pics,and to me looks much the same as the one from Germany. Also one has to wonder why they took close ups of that eye before shipping. Seller is claiming trauma on trip.
I had the horse sent directly to respected univ. clinic where it turned out he had multiple cranial issues affecting the whole right side of face as well as hind end neuro issues, also mostly right side. Multiple tests and MRI ultimately led to likelihood of a fairly rare progressive disease called polyneuritis equi; no treatment. During his 3+ weeks at the clinic, the symptoms worsened and I decided to have him put down. Necropsy verified the diagnosis. No indications of trauma.
This is a complicated mess - PPE was done in mid April, that all went fine, no abnormalities noted; videos sent to me. He was sent to be gelded about 2 weeks later, had to heal and then wait for flight availability. Shipped in late June. The horse was supposed to be kept w/ trainer the whole time; though I was not told, he was actually sent to some other farm after gelding. Though I’m not a vet, my suspicion is that the stress or process of laying him down to geld triggered this situation, as it is believed to have an autoimmune component. Seller misled me on several things along the way. Fortunately I had insurance but am still out a fair amount of $.
Though I’m mostly over the emotional trauma (he was a lovely horse…) I still struggle periodically because of the denials of the seller and the belief that someone knew he wasn’t right before he shipped. I could have lived with a 1-eyed horse it that had been the only problem.
1 Like
How terrible. I’m so very sorry, 2tempe. 
That is very weird indeed that they specifically took pics of the eye prior to shipping.
1 Like
that is absolutely horrible. Very sad for him and you to have to deal with this.I’m sorry 2tempe. There doesn’t seem to have been anything you could have done to change the situation. I agree with the others that it is odd the seller took close-ups of the eye prior to shipping unless they felt something was NQR and wanted backup.
I know you said no indications of trauma, but I wonder if he hit that side of his face or something when he was being sedated for the gelding. If he had a rough time of it, they may have known he damaged that side and that’s why they took that close-up. Similar train of thought that you’re having re the gelding procedure, in that perhaps there was an incident you were not informed of.
Regardless, it’s very sad that it wound up being fatal. So sorry for your loss.
Ugh. So sorry for you. But kudos to the shipper for realizing that something wasn’t right and notifying you. I agree with others that it seems like the seller knew something was wrong - definitely someone not to do business with in the future.
Would this disease eventually have caused problems anyway, or is it something that could have stayed latent if not triggered by some kind of trauma?
The available medical info compares it to Guillain-Barre syndrome in people. Auto immune system attacks the nerves. There is some indication in people that it may have been caused by illness/infection setting off the immune system. So it seems that it could have been triggered by many things, even if he had shown up in the US perfectly fine. I suspect just the act of gelding and the healing process, if not perfect, could have triggered it.
In people it can be cured; the horse version has no treatment. My horse in the last week was beginning to show symptoms on the left side of his face and hind end;he had lost sensation on the right side of neck from the poll down 10-12 inches. Eventually he would have not been able to eat and would not have been able to poop.
For quite a while I was quiet about the situation other than with close friends, in hopes that the seller would - as she originally said in a phone call - do what’s right. But she apparently had a change of heart…So now I’m venting a bit more.
