Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Moe's Weird Eye

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been a little concerned about Moe's right eye. It's been just a little weird. Not "freak out and call the vet" weird, but "watch it and see what it does" weird.

Not a great picture, but the eye in question.
He hasn't been opening his right eye quite as wide as his left. The right eye is more watery than the left, but the discharge is thin and clear; there's no thick mucous or scary colors. The eye appears to have a touch of cloudiness in it, but that's been there for at least a year and my vet didn't think it was a problem. Moe's eyelid and eye area don't appear swollen or inflamed. While he isn't keen on me touching it and attempting to pry his eyelids open, he isn't thrilled about that treatment on his good eye either.

Small difference.
I'd hazard a guess that he can see out of it. Transitioning from the sunny pasture to the dim barn and back again doesn't seem to bother him. He's jumping exactly as he's jumped for the last 11 years- no funny distances, no hesitation, no drifting.

Today, I dragged my 38-weeks pregnant friend Trista down to see the eye and get her opinion. Trista is a practical person with worlds of experience dealing with equine and bovine issues. When she called me today to ask if I could give her directions to Whole Foods so she could pick up some special pine tar soap for a pregnancy-related itchy rash, I offered to drive her there if she'd look at Moe's weird eye. (Evidence of Trista's practicality: when she was told this soap would help, she first searched her horse trailer to see if she had any pine tar hoof dressing. Hardcore.)

Of course, just when I brought in a second opinion, Moe's eye appeared completely normal. A little watery, but I chalked that up to the 35 MPH wind gusts today. Trista's opinion was that Moe had something a mutual friend's horse had suffered from last summer: some kind of virus. The friend had the vet out to check, as she thought it might be moon blindness. The vet (who is also my vet) told her the horse had a virus and advised her to just let it run its course. The horse is totally fine and hasn't had any problems since; the virus cleared up on its own after about a month.

So here's my question: anyone have any thoughts on eye ailments? I've been reading articles on Equine Herpesvirus-2 keratitis, moon blindness, and cataracts; Moe's symptoms seem to be a closest match for EHV-2 keratitis. Anyone have any experience?

5 comments:

SprinklerBandit said...

My experience with eye issues is that they can go so bad so fast that you're always money ahead to call the vet. :-/

Aoife said...

Sadly I have no experience with eye injuries so can't offer any insight (no pun intended).
I wish Moe a speedy recovery and hope you get to the bottom of it asap

Stephanie said...

It is definitely true that eye issues can go downhill FAST! And I guess I probably should- both horses are about due for their Coggins and annual vaccinations anyway.

Stephanie said...

Whatever, pun totally intended! :)

L.Williams said...

This is why I tell my horses I'm calling the vet if they do anything weird, because then they act normal.

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