Tips for Treating an Equine Eye Ulcer

Youve probably felt that moment of panic. Your horse comes in from the field with a squinty red tearing swollen eye. Immediately your mind races to the worstcase scenario as you dial your vet. Will your horse end up losing his eye?
Scratches to the surface of the eye called corneal ulcerations are the most common equine ophthalmic condition. While any eye injury should be considered a medical emergency take heart the majority of these ulcers heal quickly with prompt treatment. Lets take a closer look at what an equine eye ulcer is and what can be done to help it heal.

When Your Horse Gets an Eye Ulcer
The cornea is the outside cellular layer of the front of the eyeball which acts as a protective barrier. A scratch or rub to the cornea damages these cell layers. Superficial scratches may only damage the outer layer called the epithelium. Deeper injuries affect the middle layer which is called the stroma.
Extremely deep scratches or punctures can reach the very bottom layer called Descemets membrane. This is the last layer of the cornea before the inner structures of the eyeball are breached and the eye ruptures. The deeper the scratch the longer the horses eye ulcer will take to heal and complications become more likely. The inciting incidentwhich can be anything from a protruding piece of fence a piece of grit or even an ingrown eyelashwill make the horse extremely reluctant to open his eye. The eye will tear excessively and the eyelids will swell.
Your horse may become very head shy and not want to face direct light with an eye ulcer. The white conjunctiva around the eye will become inflamed and red and depending on how long the scratch has been there there may be a light blue spot on the eyeball itself.

This is called corneal edema and is the result of fluid accumulation. If youve ever had anything stuck in your eye you can easily understand how painful a corneal ulcer is.
What to Do
When finding your horse with an eye injury or an eye ulcer the first thing you should do is call the vet. Never wait and see with a suspected corneal ulcer. If something is continually rubbing the eye or stuck this can deepen the ulcer and put the horse in danger of ocular rupture. Also the longer an ulcer goes without treatment the more susceptible it is to