Eye Problems in Neonatal Foals

Because ocular problems are prevalent in foals, a veterinarian should examine a neonate’s eyes within 36 hours of birth.
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Just because your hours-old newborn foal hasn’t had time to stick a piece of hay in his eye or find something to slice his eyelid on doesn’t mean he’s immune to ophthalmic problems. In fact, eye problems are quite prevalent in neonates, and at the 2014 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 6-10 in Salt Lake City, Utah, one veterinarian described how practitioners can diagnose and treat common neonatal eye problems.

Sarah L. Czerwinski, DVM, BSc, an ophthalmology resident at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, in Gainesville, said that because these diseases can negatively impact a horse’s life, value, and career, it’s important to have foals’ eyes examined within 36 hours of birth.

A healthy foal’s eye will be fully developed at birth and should look bright and glossy, Czerwinski said. The irises should be gray in color, and the pupils should be oval-shaped (adult horses’ pupils are more horizontal, and foals’ pupils will follow suit over the first month of life). The optic disc—visible on an ophthalmic exam—should be round and pink, and pale gray streaks (the optic nerves) might be visible radiating from it, she said.

Czerwinski said neonatal foals lack a menace response—which is used to test whether a horse is visual by making a gesture toward the horse’s eye with a hand to see if the horse blinks—until about two to three weeks of age. Some very young foals might exhibit lagophthalmos (an inability to close the eyelids completely), she said, while others show strabismus (a downward gaze), which generally resolves in two to four weeks. Foals also tend to have a slow pupillary light reflex, she said

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Erica Larson, former news editor for The Horse, holds a degree in journalism with an external specialty in equine science from Michigan State University in East Lansing. A Massachusetts native, she grew up in the saddle and has dabbled in a variety of disciplines including foxhunting, saddle seat, and mounted games. Currently, Erica competes in eventing with her OTTB, Dorado.

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