So for whatever reason i cant upload a dang picture ir video. I did everything and no luck. So my horse has this nasty goop comin out of his eyes. It seems red and all that junk comin out. Ive been using warm water in a wash cloth to gently wipe it out. Are there any clues to whats going on? Any home remedies? Other horse her eyes are perfect.
Do NOT mess with eyes. You NEED to call a vet ASAP. Eye issues can turn bad in no time at all. Do NOT put any type of steroid ointment into the eye as that can blow out the eye if there is a ulcer, etc.
Sorry to be harsh but it could be serious or nothing at all (which we hope!). Better to err on the side of caution. Iâve dealt with enough eye issues (including one that required a hospital stay for my mare) that I know not to wait on a vet call.
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Could be anything hard to say without pics. I do keep antibiotic eye ointment on hand .And have used it on my horses if they get a goopy eye. I donât always call vet if it isnât that bad,never had a horse go blind yet or lose an eye.
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Depends what color the âgunkâ is. If it is whitish/grey it is mucus that they eye produces when irritated by perhaps a foreign body. The mucus helps to stop the irritation. There would also be some tearing. If it is green you may have some infection. Often the foreign body like a little peace of hay etc. can wash out with the tearing. If it persists you should probably get the vet who would administer some topical anesthetic to look under the lid.
Ryansgirl is right. Donât wait on an eye issue. I had a horse that almost lost her eye from a fungal infection and it was treated immediately, the infection just outran the treatment and she ended up needing surgery and a hospital stay. One vet visit up front can save you from a major vet bill later. Even if you have antibiotic ointment, it wonât help if its a fungal infection.
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call vet. eyes are hard to treat and easy to lose sight when treatment is delayed.
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And youâre a vet so you could tell by pictures or video? Exactly - you are NOT a vet. Youâve just been lucky. But Iâm sure youâd dump the horse at auction if it did become blind (based on plenty of past replies to numerous other topics).
OP - donât mess around with eyes. Just donât. Call the vet to be safe.
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Never said i was a vet. One can tell if gunk coming from eye is puss by a pic of it. No not lucky itâs called i know when i need a vet or not.
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Anytime I have equine eye issues I call vet right away I never guess or do trials with eyes
As a rule, an eye issue is always a vet call. Do not use a home remedy. Do not put anything with steroid in the eye without a vet (or risk losing the eye). Using sterile saline and sterile gauze from a pharmacy is a much safer bet than warm water on a towel.
The problem is that like GPs a lot of vets know very little about eyes. Having been an ophthalmology tech I knew quite a bit about human eyes. I also had a couple of riding students who were ophthalmologists and horse owners and I usually consulted them if one of my horses had a problem. My vet (way back then) admitted that I knew more about eyes than he did.
I also have an eye-safe (non steroid) triple antibiotic on hand to use as needed, along with sterile saline and gauze pads. Occasionally my mare comes in with a swollen eye (with no evidence of physical trauma) and it could be an infection or allergic reaction (sheâs prone to reactions), so I treat with topical antibiotic ointment, dex, and oral antihistamines for a day or two. If it doesnât go down, then I call the vet. Iâve only had to call the vet once, and she called in the same triple antibiotic ointment but with an eye safe steroid (which is outrageously expensive for the teeniest tube ever) that cleared it right up. She didnât even feel it was imperative for her to come see my mare. Eye things become a big deal if improperly treated, theyâre not the end of the world just because itâs the eye. I feel like people need to educate themselves more on appropriate treatments for some medical things instead of calling the vet for every single thing. Iâd have to sell my car and saddle if I called the vet every time my mare came in with some stupid reaction (swollen eye or hives). Sensitive horses are a good time.
ââââââHowever, a bunch of nasty goop and you donât have appropriate treatments on hand? Call a vet.
I keep terramycin on hand 24/7 for eye problems. It bridges the gap between the eye injury and the vet coming out. Helps with pain even with eye injuries. Once you have the vet out for each âdifferentâ eye problem, you can have different meds on hand for each issue. For example, I can diagnosis conjunctivitis so I have the terramycin which I use. But for stronger drugs you need to have a vet tell you which drug to use for injuries to the eye, etc.
I learned as a kid about âpink eyeâ from my relativesâ white faced herefords. But still had a vet diagnosis it first when one of my horses got conjunctivitis years ago. You can get the terramycin tubes, donât buy just one they are tiny, at 25% or 30% off at statelinetack and sometimes doctors foster and smith.
So, I do the same. I had a mare who had a chronic eye problem, and just triple antibiotic ointment plus a shaded fly mask (patch sewn over the affected eye) did the trick. I think people are very hesitant though to just say, yeah itâs probably X, just do Y to someone who is asking for home remedies and seems not to be totally familiar with eye stuff.
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Call the vet. Eyes are nothing to mess around with.
Call the vet. This year a pink skinned horse in my herd started with a goopy eye due to allergies and it exploded into a nasty summer sore overnight that took weeks to heal. I called my vet as soon as the sore started, but was lax about the goopy eye as Iâve seen it come and go before in horses in years past and it never amounted to anything. I was doing the same as you, soft wet cloth cleaning out the eye each day. That wasnât enough.
Vet gave me a protocol for the eye goop/allergy AND the sore. Had I called her at the onset of the eye goop he never would have developed the sore.
Call your vet.
I happened to have the vet out for another issue and she noticed my gelding had a goopy, squinty eye. I always have saline and eye antibiotic on hand and told her every year at this time ($hit fly season) he gets an eye like this which I treat. He always has a mask on but also always manages to roll and get it off every few days. Anyways she was more concerned about the horses eye then his lameness that I had called her out for. Horse is now on Atropine and Tobrex (plus a few days of banamine).
She explained to me that a horses pupil can contract and actually freeze like that. I had no idea. After 2 days my guy is looking better. OPâŠcall the vet.
I agree with call the vet. My mare got a small cut on her eye, her vet (Ohio State University, I cannot recommend them enough) said call ASAP if the eye is not opening as much as the other. If it is just goopy, you can try a saline rinse and OTC eye ointment for a day or two, if no improvement or it gets worse, call a vet. They can use dye to identify any abrasions on the eye, and prescribe an ointment to treat.
An untreated abrasion can cause the eye to basically disintegrate. :eek:
Call your vet. I have a pony that developed an eye issue recently. I called my vet, we discussed it and I sent her pictures. She called in script for non-steroid eye ointment and had me start her on some bute. No charge for the call and only $9 for the ointment, I had the bute on hand.
The eye improved quickly, if it hadnât she would have some out for a closer look.
A person who is having to ask what to do and what home remedies to use on the internet is not someone to say âjust treat it yourself, all will be wellâ to about an eye issue.
My horse has a chronic eye thing going on. It gets better and worse from time to time. The vet and I communicate about what is going on between check-ups and I alter the meds depending how how the eye is doing with out further input from the vet.
That is totally different than someone saying their horse has an issue and they do not know what to do about it and asking for home remedies.
Eyes injuries are horribly painful (I have had one more than once) and not always easy to treat. Not something to be cheap about and not involve the vet when you are not sure what is going on.
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