Horses that don't do well with enucleation?

[ClassyJumper]

I am 2 weeks into dealing with a corneal ulcer and starting to have a bad feeling that it is not going to resolve. (Horse has been at clinic since day 1, has spl, seen ophthalmologist, nearly all the things besides surgical intervention). I can give it a few more days but feel like I need to start making some decisions.

• should I bring her home and see how she does with more time? I am nervous to trailer her with the spl because she is always very fussy with her head on the trailer.

• I feel terrible saying it but I am conflicted if it comes down to taking the eye or letting her go. She can be great but she can also be fussy, difficult, and high maintenance. I don’t know if she would adjust all that great. I have read so many success stories but are there horses that don’t do well after?

[OverandOnward]

This is just one eye?

Horses do just fine with one eye. And/or vision in only one. The USEF allows them to jump in horse shows. They are allowed to event. There are one-eyed trail horses. A friend had one for years and rode many challenging trails.

If she is basically healthy and no issues with the other eye, there may be a bit of an adjustment period, but once they are healed losing an eye is not really a big deal for a horse.

If she needs time to adjust, that’s ok, give her time.

If for whatever reason you do not wish to go on with a one-eyed horse, where I am at least it would not be hard to sell or re-home her.

[trubandloki]

Jingles for your horse. This has to be so stressful.

I think the answer to your question about bringing her home is best gotten in a discussion with the treating vets.

I have known many horses who had one eye removed for various reasons and not one of them had an issue learning how to deal with it.

[Scaramouch]

Having dealt with this a few years ago I would encourage you not to just wait it out. We treated medically for three weeks with no improvement and ended up with a prolapsed iris, which forced a decision.

I went with surgery and a graft. He will always have a big scar and limited vision in that eye, and in hindsight we should have just removed the eye instead of spending so much on an older semi-retired horse … but under the circumstances I wasn’t thinking straight.

If surgery isn’t an option and the alternative is enucleate or euth, the latter is always available if for some reason she just doesn’t adjust but most all of them do.

[tabula_rashah]

I honestly think a lot of horses that are having eye issues show improvement in behavior after the enucleation.

My Morgan mare had a pasture accident that we still aren’t sure what exactly happened but basically it smashed her skull on her left side- the whole bone structure around the eye, her nasal passage, etc. When I got to the barn to feed that morning, her eye was a couple inches below where it should be.
Anyway, we tried to save the eye for about 2 weeks but she started having issues with ulcers and treating her was very difficult and obviously painful. I decided to go with the enucleation. She came home the day after the surgery, went back out to turnout the next and has had zero issues with it (other than she can be a bit of a bulldozer on that side now lol). She is back to competing as an endurance horse

[fivestrideline]

Almost every horse I’ve known that had an eye removed adjusted almost immediately. And usually improved in behavior (I don’t think we really know how much pain they are or aren’t in).

I’ve watched two people move heaven and earth to try to save an eye, and ultimately had to remove it. Both say that in hindsight, they’d have just removed the eye and been done with it. The horses don’t really seem to notice after a bit!

The only accommodations I’ve experienced horses needing is to be allowed to turn the intact eye to spooky things on the trail (usually this is just a head turn), and sometimes needing to be a bit straighter when approaching a jump off a tight turn to the blind side (just to give them time to actually see the jump, a stride or two). That’s it. We also talk to them when walking/working around on the blind side, but I chatter to all mine anyways so I don’t know if that helps them at all.

[OzarksRider]

My horse once had a deep corneal ulcer that took 2 months to heal. I treated it 4 times a day, and the vet came out to stain it every couple of weeks. For about 6 weeks we didn’t see any improvement at all, then all of a sudden it just healed. Like you, I was getting very worried that it would never clear up and he would lose an eye. Obviously I don’t know all the details with your mare, but I think it may be too soon to expect the worst. If your vet thinks it will heal then there’s no need to be too quick to make a decision that can’t be undone.

[ElementFarm]

My mare had a tumor in her eye for years. It wasn’t a problem until it was, and then she needed enucleation. While the procedure itself went well, the aftercare had an unexpected complication (bad bandage slip) that endangered the remaining eye, resulting in lots of vet appointments, special care, and two trips up to the local vet college. Aside from all the stress, the procedure was relatively simple and the mare adjusted well.

I still ride her regularly, though we no longer compete. She’s always been a little spooky, and having one eye hasn’t made that any better or worse. I do find that she’s willing to spook into her bad direction, regardless if there’s a tree or ditch or fence there, so I have to be careful of our environment. I’m also careful who I turn her out with and keep the group small so she’s not pinned or attacked from her blind side. Aside from those accommodations, she requires no special care or maintenance. This is my heart horse, and I’m happy to keep her in my life as long as she’s sound and happy, and having only one eye hasn’t impacted that at all.

[AllTheCarrots]

A friend has a mare who’s lost vision in one eye. She is peaceful, happy, rideable, and boss of the herd. It looks creepy as all get out, but doesn’t seem to bother maresy at all.