This is a really lengthy story, so I will try to keep it as brief as possible. About two months ago my 19 year old gelding had a small corneal abrasion. Some may remember the thread I starting regarding this. The abrasion healed within a few days, end of story, so I thought. On Dec. 17, he once again came in that morning with a swollen, squinty, weeping eye, same eye! Had a different vet out this time and he stained the eye, lo-and-behold, corneal abrasion again. It looks like it is in the exact same spot. Vet suspects it never fully healed and the healthy eye tissue grew over the unhealthy tissues, forming what he calls a corneal abscess.
I was given a different, stronger eye ointment to apply 4-5 times a day. He has also been wearing a fly mask. The first week was rough, it would get better, then the next day look worse. Then I had to go out of town for two days during Christmas and he went to my trainer’s house so he could continue to get eye ointment frequently.
Since then, we have had good forward momentum and the eye has been healing. For the last 6-7 days, the eye looks totally normal and I can’t tell one eye from the other. But here’s the issue: I had the vet out last week on Thursday to look at the eye again and he says while it is better, it is still not totally healed. The wound is not getting any blood vessels and that plus the fact that he is no longer in pain, has slowed the healing. So there is still a tiny little blemish on the cornea. The vet is referring to it as a non-healing corneal ulcer. Which is frustrating because to me, the eye looks fine. But I also don’t want to be back here again in a couple months.
So the vet is coming back out tomorrow afternoon to look at the eye again. From there, he said we have a couple different options if it still isn’t fully healed. And I’m hoping someone might have some input on this. He described a procedure he could do to help promote healing where he takes a q-tip and debris the corneal surface and “roughens it up” to promote healing. I think it is similar to what is described in this article http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/ophthalmology/ophthalmo_files/Tools/Nonhealingcornealulcers.pdf This sounds kind of crazy and counter-intuitive to me, why would we want to further damage his poor eyeball?? Does anyone know if this sounds right?? He also said we could take him to an equine ophthalmologist, but they would likely do the same procedure he is describing. If we are going to be further damaging his eye, I would obviously much rather have an eye specialist do it. But this presents some logistical challenges. The ophthalmologist only does haul-ins and is 45 minutes away. I do not have a trailer and so far have had no luck finding transportation. And honestly, when I spoke to the ophthalmologist, it sounds like the course of treatment would be similar either way.
The vet will be by tomorrow and I’d like to have a clear idea of how to proceed if the eye still is not fully healed. I am hoping and praying that it finally is and we can put this whole saga behind us, but I am hoping someone here could help me better understand my options. The good news is he has been a total gentleman for all this eye stuff, the vet is always raving about how wonderful he is to work with…truth be told I’ve been feeding him tons of cookies after every eye treatment!
Also, if anyone has any advice on actually keeping a fly mask on a horse while in the pasture, please share! One of my gelding’s pasture mates keeps ripping it off. Or more accurately, pulling it off him. The velcro is still fastened so he must be pulling it over his ears. And he doesn’t just take it off, the takes it off and chews and destroys it. I’ve gone through three fly masks already. Help.
