Hi everyone
So I bought my new OTTB around 5 months ago, he is amazing! But one thing he’s had since before I bought him was constant runny eyes, so bad sometimes it looks like his is crying 
I have had his ducts flushed and it did not help, he is healthy, shiny and happy. He does not appear to be in any discomfort at all but the runs do attract flies which is obviously very annoying for him.
Any thoughts on what I can do or try?
The fluid is clear (like tears) and not gunky.
A face mask with UV protection during turnout time will help.
Two things that cause runny eyes in my horses:
Your horse could be reacting to dusty hay, dusty bedding, or something seasonal in the environment.
If someone in the area has been burning leaves and the smoke blows in the barns direction, it might be enough for an unusually sensitive horse.
Sounds like allergies. I’ve got a couple that do this too, not chronically, but when the weather changes or wind kicks up a lot. I don’t usually do anything for it, but keeping them in a visor or fly mask may help. They’ll at least help with the flies. If your horse won’t keep the mask on a product like SWAT around the eyes can help for flies.
Thanks guys, he’s had this since before I bought him, so likely all his life or most of it? I have owned him for over 5 months. He has moved across country and moved from a temp barn to now his perminante home. So I don’t think it’s allergies as all 3 places have been very very different.
He has a flymask on, his eyes still run. If I wipe them, they “drip” almost right after. Some days are worse than others, but they are always runny too some degree.
His current yard is impeccably kept and clean, no excess dust etc. I will look into insulin resistance! Thank you x
Do you ever clean his head with a hose?? I do this with my horses and it cleans the eyes as well and IMO this way it attracts less flys
Have the vet look at him make sure there are no signs of uveitis.
What did the vet say when he/she flushed the ducts - where they blocked? Have you tried putting stain in his eyes when he’s been tearing and seeing if it comes out his nose?
Wind and allergies make my horse’s eyes worse, and the right is worse than the left. I think he’s got small ducts or scar tissue as we can usually get the stain to come out but it takes a long time.
Pretty much the only thing I do is treat the eyes with triple antibiotic + dex when they are bad and put a fly mask on for flys and windy days.
If there is no blockage, sometimes the problem is congential, where the horse has no nasal puncta or where it is narrower then normal so the tears don’t drain through the nose properly.
It might be worth ensuring his forelock, not even one hair, is long enough to touch his eyes. A friend’s horse had recurrent infection and irritation in the eyes and as soon as the forelock was shortened, the problem stopped.
Yes, the dye showed he had blocked ducts, but right after flushing they were still runny. His eyes are fine. it’s really weird. no hair in the eyes etc. I clean them out often, they just continue…Today he came in, took off his fly mask and his face was so tear stained (it was an overcast, no wind no fly kinda day)…sigh…
Was hoping for some miracle eye drops :lol:
Gnats can cause pink eye, i.e., conjunctivitis.
I buy terramycin by those little tubes, buy lots of them, and use them to treat conjunctivitis. My horses rub their fly masks off.
I put SWAT under their eyes too.
[QUOTE=ItsAUnicorn;8967497]
Yes, the dye showed he had blocked ducts, but right after flushing they were still runny. His eyes are fine. it’s really weird. no hair in the eyes etc. I clean them out often, they just continue…Today he came in, took off his fly mask and his face was so tear stained (it was an overcast, no wind no fly kinda day)…sigh…
Was hoping for some miracle eye drops :lol:[/QUOTE]
He probably has a sensitivity to something(s)…ask me how I know. My gelding is sensitive to dust, certain pollens, molds, alfalfa, and soy. He had runny eyes since I got him at 2 years of age. His eyes check out fine with the vet. They are better with certain management practices I have found but still a bit runny. I clean them with a warm face cloth every day.
Did your vet have you treat with antibiotic + steroid after flushing? My vet had me do that as it can help knock down the inflammation.
Honestly, I just treat the problem eye every few days when it is bad. Then we’ll go through a few weeks or a month or more where it’s looking ok. My vet gives me fluorescein stain strips and has told me what to look for with an ulcer versus general irritation/inflammation (eyelashes pointing down is concerning). I’ll stain the eye before treating with triple + dex if I’m not sure and check for ulcers.
This is obviously not a once size fits all situation, but my Appendix Quarter Horse does the same thing. For my particular situation, there isn’t much to be done because it’s just an allergy type reaction to… something? Without some extensive allergy testing won’t know for sure.
But my vet recommended rinsing his eyes with sterile contact solution whenever I’m out there (the warm face cloth is also a good plan). Ideally it would be every day.
I also follow the ideas above of using Swat to keep the flies away. It’s been very helpful.
My guy also has excessive white around his eyes which I think exacerbates the problem. He’s had runny eyes for nearly the entire 11 years I’ve owned him. Personally, as long as it doesn’t change drastically, or he starts acting differently, I wouldn’t worry all that much about it.
My horse has a right eye that ran constantly. I did put the fly mask on and also put him on hydroxizine. This is a horse who was constantly itchy and sensitive. Everything calmed down quickly. The eye doesn’t run nearly as much. I don’t know if this is something that works for every horse, but I had good luck.
Have him checked for leptospirosis. It will cause runny eyes and needs to be treated with antibiotics.
I had a trakehner mare who was the same way. Never any swelling or anything, just constant clear discharge. We’d flush her ducts from time to time but it never seemed to make any difference.
I used this stuff and it seemed to help some. https://www.amazon.com/Manna-Pro-Calm-Eyes/dp/B00JXY7MFK It’s an external product, just herbs and water, but I’d just wipe her eyes with it in place of using a wet cloth to clean them. Didn’t fix the problem entirely, but did seem to do some good.
I owned bought a young mare that had the constant tearing from one eye. Tearing down their face means that a tear duct is blocked or abnormally small OR possibly narrowed from inflamnation. This mare repeated had that one tear duct flushed and it would block right back up. Vet noted that the nasal duct opening was very small (compared to normal duct on other side) and it was hard to get the catheter inserted to do the flushing. Fast forward 2 years - I came home and found she had taken a blow to her eye area some how. Scrape above the eye and swollen tissues showed it was a blow. She obviously had eye distress also. Vet was out a couple of times and the mare was getting an antibiotic an and anti-fungal ointment 2xday for weeks. Eye remained cloudy so I hauled her to a vet with specialty in Opthamology. He said her eye was progressing just fine and the cloudiness has normal and nothing to be worried about. Stopped all medication.
I told that vet about the constant tear duct blocking (same eye) and that it had cleared up on it’s own while her eye was being treated daily. He felt the antibiotic ointment had cleared up a low grade infection in the tear duct and if it ever blocked again to try the same antibiotic ointment under the lower eyelid again. It never blocked again! I owned her for another 2 years and her tear duct remained clear and draining that entire time. Talk with your vet about this of course, it is a very simple and low cost treatment to try, other than getting the ointment into the eye!
I owned bought a young mare that had the constant tearing from one eye. Tearing down their face means that a tear duct is blocked or abnormally small OR possibly narrowed from inflamnation. This mare repeated had that one tear duct flushed and it would block right back up. Vet noted that the nasal duct opening was very small (compared to normal duct on other side) and it was hard to get the catheter inserted to do the flushing. Fast forward 2 years - I came home and found she had taken a blow to her eye area some how. Scrape above the eye and swollen tissues showed it was a blow. She obviously had eye distress also. Vet was out a couple of times and the mare was getting an antibiotic an and anti-fungal ointment 2xday for weeks. Eye remained cloudy so I hauled her to a vet with specialty in Opthamology. He said her eye was progressing just fine and the cloudiness has normal and nothing to be worried about. Stopped all medication.
I told that vet about the constant tear duct blocking (same eye) and that it had cleared up on it’s own while her eye was being treated daily. He felt the antibiotic ointment had cleared up a low grade infection in the tear duct and if it ever blocked again to try the same antibiotic ointment under the lower eyelid again. It never blocked again! I owned her for another 2 years and her tear duct remained clear and draining that entire time. Talk with your vet about this of course, it is a very simple and low cost treatment to try, other than getting the ointment into the eye!
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