My mare has had runny eyes for past few weeks. Sometimes her whole face will be wet and other times it is just a little damp. My mom suggested allergy pills, so I gave her a couple and it seemed to help a lot. Her hay is a little dusty and old but I’m planning on switching it soon. I’m just not totally sure if it’s allergies or not because she has had this hay all summer and is just recently started having runny eyes. So what do you all think allergies, clogged tear ducts ,or something else entirely?
Could be anything. Eyes are one thing I don’t mess with. Call the vet and get your mare examined. Better to be safe than sorry. As one who has had to deal with more than my fair share of eye issues I am glad I got the vet(s) involved immediately.
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check her nasal ducts … drainage coming down ?
- that’s an indication of whether the wetness surrounding the lower eyelids/ face is due to clogged tear ducts …
flushing the tear / nasal duct is not an involved vet procedure
- call vet and ask the correct dosage of Benadryl worth a try for a week or the duration recommended by vet to see if it is allergy related
I had a long involved fiasco with mare’s clogged tear ducts … re-clogging and scalding her face …many vets … eye specialist … dermatologist … $$$$$
turned out they all gave up could not make a diagnosis … any of them
many meds tried
they gave up
I finally tried (neosporin ointment) - a tiny amt on the scalded part under the eye NOT CLOSE TO THE EYE …
and it all cleared up ! after almost a year …fall winter spring summer …
One vet had even scared me with it’s cancer :eek: and she had probably a few months to
live …though he did no diagnostics - just by his eye … what a complete wacko !
She is still here ! And with a clear face and unclogged tear ducts …
Good Luck - eye issues are alarming …
JINGLES & AO !
Wetting her hay to keep the dust down will help until you get better quality hay.
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Have your vet out. My horse has issues with both allergies and his tear ducts and because I’ve been taught how to monitor it, I can manage both most of the time on my own.
My horse has had clogged tear ducts - we check it by staining the eye with a fluorescein stain strip and seeing if and how long it takes for the neon green liquid to show up coming out of his nose. If it doesn’t come out or it comes out slow, the duct is blocked.
I’ve also have the tears scalding the hair/skin below the eye that Zu Zu has. Vaseline or Desitin seemed to work well to give the skin a break from the constant tears.
I’d throw a fly mask on your horse 24/7 unless she is itching her eyes. In addition to a fly mask for insects, I use it during allergy season and when it’s windy.
Please please please call the vet. Over 2 months ago my mare had a lot of tearing on her right eye. I called as soon as she started holding it shut, she had an abscess and the tearing was the first sign. We tried to treat it but were unsuccessful. She just had it removed yesterday.
9 times out of 10 it will be something simple, but don’t risk it with eyes.
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Yes, I am getting a little worried about it. However I’m in a tight place, my mom pays for everything for my horse. She won’t call the vet out unless she sees a need. As far as she is concerned the allergy pills are working. So I’m going to have to come up with a really good argument to get her eyes check. Until then I’ll just keep an eye on them (pun intended). Thanks for the help!
How experienced with horses and health issues are you? You could persuade your mom to have the vet out to check they eyes and at the same time show you how to do simple diagnostics and treatments in case it happens again in the future - which is likely with both allergies and clogged ducts.
The vet can show you how observe the eye, check the conjunctiva, stain the eye, use a light to check for ulcers, and administer eye ointments and eye drops. After a few round of eye issues, I’m at the point where I can do a quick check and determine if it’s an allergy irritation issue or if I need to call the vet for something more serious.
Administering any medications should be discussed with the vet first, even allergy meds. If you have a good relationship with your vet, they are more likely to prescribe you some “on-hand” meds for any reoccurrences and you just call them before you use them as needed.
Just suggesting you talk to you mom again. Even if it’s swollen tear ducts from allergies and mostly cosmetic, they can become chronic and cause permanent scarring and eye issues.
This is my first horse which is why I am asking you all and want to call the vet. I will talk to her some more and see if she will let me talk to a vet. However we just gave them a wet hay bale the other day and today her eyes weren’t watering.
Zu Zu, are you suggesting that the neosporin stopped the eye from running, or simply aided in the healing of the scald? Not arguing, just trying to understand. I have a mare with a constantly runny eye (which may be from an tiny eyelid deformity) or it may be from a repeatedly clogged tear duct.
Having the vet out today to examine a (related?) swelling, so very curious about this timely thread.
Luckily my mares eyes stopped watering. They were fine yesterday, however we did get them a new bale that was a little more dusty so I will have to look again today.
Zu Zu I’m glad it was not cancer for your mare!
no no - no one could diagnosis why the eye ( only left eye ) was weeping constantly inspite of all the meds, specialists’ testing … the area below the eye was scalded and inflammation ( puffy) …vaseline helped save the area a Little but the neosporin with the antibiotic and pain relieving property … allowed the area to ‘calm down’ and the healing starting
and
the weeping stopped!
no one including moi knows why this horrible situation started and lasted over a year …
just glad it healed … the neosporin quieted the area under the eye …allowing healing to occur
then the weeping stopped …
no clue
just offering the possible ‘try’ that worked here
the correlation of neosporin … none of the professionals agree with nor believed
but
the vet was thrilled when she saw the eye that spring ( returning for spring shots) and took pictures to prove the eye/ and area was back to normal … she sent pics to all the specialists who had been here. Eye Dr dermatologist… …
Good Luck … it’s a very stressful situation I know that ~
Jingles & AO
- Adding every vet ( general vets - four of them from different clinics) and eye specialist with fancy equipment and dermatologist…ALL flushed the mare’s nasal/ tear duct system
none of them found the tear duct to be clogged - clear flowing of eye stain from eye to nasal duct.
At the very least be sure to clean her muzzle and nostrils (and eyes of course) with a damp sponge or washcloth every day.
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It sounds like you’re sorted, but in going to re-iterate that it’s not something to mess with. We had a homebred mare with similar symptoms. Flushed the duct several times (or tried to), tried different allergy tests and treatments.
Finally took her to Davis to have her a surgical fix, only to discover she had tumors throughout her sinus and her skull. We kept her comfortable for three months, by which time she had visible deformities in her skull. Then we let her go.
Earlier detection wouldn’t have changed the outcome. But I’ll never look at sinus things the same again.
Well, today she was fine. No weepy eyes, a little bit of drip from her nose (just a very little bit) and no gunk by her eyes. She was her sassy little self! I will definitely be wiping her eyes and muzzle down every day and if anything seems off than I can try to call the vet.
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