Keeping a Horse's Eye Bandaged... Tips/Tricks?

[Milocalwinnings]

My gelding has Enucleation surgery about 6 weeks ago to remove his eye. It’s been a very slow and complicated healing process for the poor guy. He tolerated the bandage well up until a week ago. Now he’s just over it. He’s rubbing the bandage off within 24 hours of putting it on. I am worried about more infection risk each time he takes it off and general trauma to the surgical site from rubbing. Keeping a halter on doesn’t help. Going to try keeping a flymask on over it next. Any tips or tricks re: how to bandage it so that he can’t rub it off? Usually I put the padding over the surgical site and wrap the bandage under his good eye, then around again over his good eye, then a third time under his good eye. Using elastikon.

ETA: adding photos to show current wrap technique as well as the wound 6 weeks post op and after being sutured last Monday.

[Bluey]

You have told your vet about this?

There may be a reason, something is bothering him more than it should.
May need to be looked over to be sure all is ok there.

Generally horses do well with those operations.
They don’t act like they even know something happen.
Compared with the pain the diseased eye was causing, it is a relief to them.
That is why I wonder why he would now rub it?

I know of one horse they used track blinkers to protect his injured eye, but they had to watch he didn’t dislodge them.
Your idea of a face mask may be safer if he bangs it around.

[cdalt]

The skin on the sewn closed eye socket can be itchy just because debris, sweat and dirt can accumulate in it after it “sinks in” and the poor horse has no way to scratch the itch. After my gelding’s enucleation surgery, I would gently clean that skin with a damp soft cloth frequently, every day in the summer with the extreme FL heat and humidity causing him to itch - if I forgot and missed a day, he would start to rub the area. Hope this helps some but I also second asking your vet. P.S. My gelding never had any sort of bandage over his missing eye after surgery- but this was 10 or 12 years ago and maybe they do things differently now.

[Milocalwinnings]

@cdalt

The skin on the sewn closed eye socket can be itchy just because debris, sweat and dirt can accumulate in it after it “sinks in” and the poor horse has no way to scratch the itch. After my gelding’s enucleation surgery, I would gently clean that skin with a damp soft cloth frequently, every day in the summer with the extreme FL heat and humidity causing him to itch - if I forgot and missed a day, he would start to rub the area. Hope this helps some but I also second asking your vet. P.S. My gelding never had any sort of bandage over his missing eye after surgery- but this was 10 or 12 years ago and maybe they do things differently now.

He has a bandage because the surgical site is not healing well and is still open. He has a 1.5" tract that has tunneled in from the incision. He should have been healed weeks ago and it’s just not. Surgeon/vet has been heavily involved and has been out at least once a week to assess, debride when necessary, and most recently to try suturing the wound again. So for now, the bandages is necessary to try to prevent another infection. Another surgeon has also been consulted. I do clean it with betadine and then water. I’ll consult with the vet again tomorrow.

[akdraft77]

A mask sounds like a really good idea.

I bought one of these for my guy when he has having uveitis flare ups. I communicated with the lady that makes them and she was able to make me a custom mask that fit perfectly. I really love the fit, and most importantly, it doesn’t rub, seems comfortable, and is holding up to serious abuse.

https://horseyshades.com/

[Milocalwinnings]

@Bluey

You have told your vet about this?

There may be a reason, something is bothering him more than it should.
May need to be looked over to be sure all is ok there.

Generally horses do well with those operations.
They don’t act like they even know something happen.
Compared with the pain the diseased eye was causing, it is a relief to them.
That is why I wonder why he would now rub it?

I know of one horse they used track blinkers to protect his injured eye, but they had to watch he didn’t dislodge them.
Your idea of a face mask may be safer if he bangs it around.

I’ll be contacting the vet again tomorrow. I have not brought it to her attention yet because I thought maybe the first day or two were a fluke, and then I didn’t want to text her on her days off (weekend and then Christmas Eve/Day). I wish I could tell if he FEELS better. He’s always been a bit pushy, and then after the eye was removed he was a bit more subdued than normal. I didn’t know if that change in behavior is because it feels better or worse (he has had healing complications so it could be either I suppose). Some days he’s back to his old pushy self, other days he is subdued enough that he will stand on the crossfires without a fight (that’s unheard of for him)… I so wish they could talk.

[Zu_Zu]

Specialized Blinkers … vet should have a pair to borrow or advise where to purchase.

Jingles & AO ~

[cayuse]

When my horse had eye surgery she was sent home with a mask with a full ,hard cup to wear over the eye to keep her from rubbing. It looked like a racing hood. It was form fitting and fairly adjustable. Do.you think.something like that might help? Or would it put pressure on an area that is tender? It might not be the right thing for your situation but I thought I’d mention it. We rented it from the equine hospital but IIRC it may have come from a place called Jorgensen Labs, or Jorvet (?). Maybe your vet would know where to obtain one. I do not know what I would’ve done without it as it was a long, slow process to get her through the post op phase.
Sending Jingles for your horse.

[Brown_Derby]

Or a design similar to Specialized Blinkers: an Intrepid International Full Cup Blinker Hood. $22USD on Amazon. Good to have on hand, esp. if you might have to haul to a vet clinic. Sorry you are both going through this. Sending jingles your way.

[Milocalwinnings]

Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll take a look to see if they may work. He is a Belgian with a ginormous head so I’ll have to see if they have any that will fit.

[Jarpur]

I had to treat a horse, repeatedly, for extended periods of time, who had an irritated eye (flared up a few times before finally completely resolving) that required bandaging, although I didn’t deal with a post-surgical case. My veterinarian actually suggested using an old bra, with a cup over the affected eye!

I considered purchasing a hood with cups, but what I ended up doing was hand-sewing (with heavy, waxed thread) gauze pads to the inside of a well-fitting fly mask, changing the pads out twice daily. This worked successfully for my mare.

Best wishes with your guy.

[Gainer]

My gelding had stitches on his eyelid that he kept rubbing out (5 times!) What I did was put gauze and then an athletic supporter cup over that, then wrapped it all in elastikon. It was the only thing that worked, and believe me, I tried everything! Not sure if it will help in your case, but thought I’d put it out there.

[akdraft77]

Even if he is Belgian, you can get a mask for him. the horsey shades lady makes them to fit.

You can also look into the guardian masks they make for uveitis. those have a harder shell.

The athletic support cups are a good idea. I’ve also used bra cups… ugly, but they work.

[cloudyandcallie]

Tfloki.com
the finish line of Oklahoma racing hoods
Goggle and then call first thing tomorrow
i bought one mask on eBay to see. So great I ordered for my horses for just in case f eye problems. You can get the eye covering on one eye only
great masks worth the price
i don’t know if the hood will fit a Belgian but hoods do fit a German with head same size as Ottb mare but with wide forehead and protruding eyes
i have seen the masks for Eru on horses at barns and would not recommend them
if your horse had a wb head and need his right eye covered I’d send you one of my hoods
google the finish line of Oklahoma horse racing hoods. Nice hard protective eye coverings

[Marla_100]

When my young filly ripped her eye socket open and got sutures, she wouldn’t leave it alone even with a flymask.

So I took another mask, and took a sponge, cut out chunks of sponge to glue at 3 or 4 spots around where the eye

would be and so the sponge would hold the mask fabric away from and not touching the sutures. It worked, didn’t

touch the sutures and she let it heal. Also check w/ your vet but I read once that healing skin around the eye itches

as it’s healing so I kept the skin moist w/ triple antibiotic ointment which helped.

[Bluey]

These are the kinds of race blinkers I was talking about:

https://www.bigdweb.com/category/tac…inker+hoods.do

Be sure to check the second and third page, it has other options there.
When we were running they had full, covering the whole eye, that you could cut out as your horse needed less and less and already cut ones of different sizes.

[chai]

I agree with Bluey. We had a horse in the barn with recurrent uveitis. His owner bought a set of blinkers that had a complete wire net protection over the eyes. It worked very well to protect him from scratching his eye.

[Milocalwinnings]

Thanks guys I’ll discuss these options with the vet. Right now I am concerned with trauma to the site but more concerned with infection which is why it is bandaged. It is still an open wound. Photos show how I wrap it and the actual wound itself (6 weeks post surgery and then upon being sutured again last Monday).

[Toblersmom]

Since the eye itself isn’t there any more to need protection, you probably do not need one of the eye-cup hoods. They do make those in all sizes, although whether or not your vet may have one in stock for a draft horse is another question. The ones I recall were more substantial than what would be used for racing blinkers since they are meant to be left on 24/7 (in a safe stall sort of environment). Like I said, though, you probably don’t need one since the bandage itself is protecting the wound and you don’t really need to protect the wound from the kind of bumping/rubbing damage the cups protect a saveable eye from. What you are really protecting at this point, I think, is the edges of the tape from the horse being able to apply friction to that edge and pick it loose. I wonder if a sleezy-type hood would work better to do that. A fly mask would probably help, but maybe not as much depending on whether or not it covers the tape edge. Maybe both. Never hurts to have backup.

If at all possible, elimate as many rubbing points as you can from where he’s kept. If you have an open-top stall door, try to figure out a safe way to close it off with webbing or something so he can’t get his head out and rub on the sides. Any kind of solid hay rack thing that sticks out that can be removed, remove, etc. You’re aiming to get the sort of environment a vet hospital would have in their stalls, as much as possible.

Do check to make sure the elastikon itself is not irritating.

[Milocalwinnings]

@Toblersmom

Since the eye itself isn’t there any more to need protection, you probably do not need one of the eye-cup hoods. They do make those in all sizes, although whether or not your vet may have one in stock for a draft horse is another question. The ones I recall were more substantial than what would be used for racing blinkers since they are meant to be left on 24/7 (in a safe stall sort of environment). Like I said, though, you probably don’t need one since the bandage itself is protecting the wound and you don’t really need to protect the wound from the kind of bumping/rubbing damage the cups protect a saveable eye from. What you are really protecting at this point, I think, is the edges of the tape from the horse being able to apply friction to that edge and pick it loose. I wonder if a sleezy-type hood would work better to do that. A fly mask would probably help, but maybe not as much depending on whether or not it covers the tape edge. Maybe both. Never hurts to have backup.

If at all possible, elimate as many rubbing points as you can from where he’s kept. If you have an open-top stall door, try to figure out a safe way to close it off with webbing or something so he can’t get his head out and rub on the sides. Any kind of solid hay rack thing that sticks out that can be removed, remove, etc. You’re aiming to get the sort of environment a vet hospital would have in their stalls, as much as possible.

Do check to make sure the elastikon itself is not irritating.

Ohh I like the sleezy idea if I can find one to fit him. That might work actually.

His stall is pretty free from places to rub- the hay feeder was removed and he doesn’t have a window or Dutch door. I think he is rubbing it while turned out. I’m fighting a double edged sword- keep him locked in and he is literally going stir crazy, or allow him to have a normal in/out schedule. I may have to keep him in 24/7 if I can’t find a solution to the bandage coming off. Or, really I guess I could change the bandage every day before he has the chance of rubbing it off. It’s not the best for his old joints to be in 24/7 either. 6 of one, half a dozen of another.

Lots to discuss with the vet tomorrow. Thanks for the help brainstorming. I’m going to look to see if they make draft size sleezys.