10 tips to protect your horse's eyes

Pauline Cantet - Equine veterinarian - founder of Classequine

Ophthalmological problems are more common in horses than you might think. Although they are less common than colic or lameness, they should not be overlooked. Among the causes are traumatic accidents, shocks or foreign bodies, but also numerous immune or degenerative problems. The most frequently encountered chronic pathology is recurrent uveitis, which jeopardizes the horse's visual prognosis. 

The risk factors for ophthalmological pathology are mainly linked to the environment: sun, wind, dust, spikelets, insects...

When winter arrives, homeowners tend to remove their fly masks. However, even if insects are less numerous and UV rays less intense, other causes of eye inflammation persist, notably wind. We must therefore remain vigilant and adapt protection to each horse and its lifestyle. Here are a few tips:

1. Wear an insect mask for as long as flies persist, especially in the south of France, where Habronemosis (a parasitic disease transmitted by flies) is present.

2. Clean secretions with saline solution if necessary, but do not clean eyes daily if no discharge is present.

3. Avoid working the horse in a poorly watered or dusty arena or riding school.

4. Do not sweep stables in the presence of horses.

5. Protect your horse from wind and draughts: he should have a shelter if he lives in pasture, and his stall should be well ventilated but not draughty. Avoid working your horse in the wind, or use goggles.

6. For irritated, swollen and watery eyes, apply a poultice of warm chamomile infusion to soothe the inflammation.

7. Look at the eyes every day, at least to make sure they're open, because if there's a problem, it's vital to get a vet involved quickly.

8. Combating invasions by rodents, which seek protection from the cold and return to nest in stables. They transmit diseases such as leptospirosis, which can cause recurrent uveitis.

9. Be very careful with hay and meadow plants. Some are photosensitizing, causing burns and attacks of uveitis with bilateral corneal edema, even when the sun isn't very hot. Photosensitization generally occurs through the accumulation of pigments in the epidermis and cornea, which react to UV rays within a few days, destroying the cells around them. In some cases, photosensitization is linked to liver poisoning. The plants concerned are umbellifers, arnica and all plants toxic to the liver. The more light-skinned areas (magpies, creams, etc.) and the lighter the eyes, the more dangerous photosensitization becomes. In the eyes, bilateral blue haze is typical.

10. All horses with pink eyelids or prone to recurrent ophthalmic problems (uveitis and keratitis, eyelid or corneal carcinoma) should wear a mask with maximum UV protection, even if the UV rays are less strong in autumn. It also protects them from the wind.