Recent News for Eye and Ear Problems
Article
Suspended Jockey Responds to Whipping Incident
June 26, 2008
Jockey Jeremy Rose was suspended for six months following a stewards' hearing the morning of June 24 for whipping his mount Appeal to the City in the face during the third race at Delaware Park June 23. (For more on this see "<A... Read More
Article
Equine Corneal Ulcers Discussed In-Depth at AAEP Convention
May 14, 2008
At the 2007 AAEP convention's In-Depth Ophthalmology session, Caryn Plummer, DVM, Dipl. ACVO, assistant professor at of the University of Florida veterinary school, described the outer corneal layer (epithelium) as the windshield of the eye, and... Read More
Article
Merits of Standing Eye Enucleation Revealed
May 13, 2008
In the first multi-institutional study of its kind, researchers recently reported that eye enucleation (surgical removal of the eye and associated structures) with the horse standing and sedated is safer and more economical than the traditional... Read More
Article
Cataracts in Horses
May 06, 2008
Cataracts have been found to be heritable in Belgians, Morgans, Thoroughbreds, Rocky Mountain Horses, and Quarter Horses. In other instances, cataracts can develop secondary to trauma or due to chronic inflammation from uveitis (moon blindness).... Read More
Article
Earplugs for Equines: Can You Hear Me Now?
May 04, 2008
"If you are going to submit your horse to repetitive loud noises, earplugs are a good idea," said Lucy Hirsch, DVM, of Jackson Animal Clinic, in Platte City, Mo. The bonus? Not only can they protect the horse's ears, they can help the horse perform m... Read More
Article
Equine Color Vision Research: Seeing Things Differently
April 30, 2008
If you have a horse of a different color, chances are your horse knows it--although he might not be able to say if he's red or green. New physiological and behavioral research by various teams across the globe has added weight to the... Read More
Article
Virginia Tech Offers New Equine Ophthalmology Service
April 24, 2008
Virginia Tech's Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center has added an ophthalmology service through an alliance with Scottsdale, Ariz., based Eye Care for Animals. The new offering, which became available on March 4, is provided by Gwendolyn Lynch... Read More
Article
Uveitis: Medical and Surgical Treatment
April 19, 2008
Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is like an autoimmune response, tending to be a dynamic process with shifts in immune reactivity that cause a waxing and waning of uveitis episodes.... Read More
Article
How to Block the Ear
April 06, 2008
A few horses out there like to have their ears rubbed, but many are tolerant of ear handling at best, and violently ear shy at worst. When these horses need to have veterinary work done around their ears, such as biopsies or stitching of... Read More
Article
Training a One-Eyed Horse
April 01, 2008
Working with visually impaired horses has been mostly with those that lost vision as an adult, after they had been trained. And, in general, the horses I have worked with directly have impressed me with how adaptable they have been with losing vision... Read More
Article
Examining the Equine Eye
March 24, 2008
The best equine test for vision is the "dazzle reflex," a sensitive test for retinal function. An observer watches to see if the horse squints in response to shining a bright light into the injured eye.... Read More
Article
Study: Corneal Transplants Safe and Effective in Horses
March 09, 2008
According to a retrospective study involving 206 horses, corneal transplants can successfully restore vision in horses with a variety of eye problems including melting ulcers, iris prolapsed, stromal abscesses, and in horses that were not... Read More
Article
Leptospirosis: What Is It?
March 01, 2008
Don’t overlook this "bug" that can cause abortion and uveitis (moon blindness). Many horse people don't know that much about leptospirosis. If you have heard of it, it is probably in... Read More
Article
Beanie, A Public Servant
February 01, 2008
Ignore adversity. If it were possible for a horse to have a motivational motto, this might be Beanie's choice. Despite a life fraught with challenges, the mare has stood tall, both literally and figuratively, and many people have reaped the rewards... Read More
Article
Horse Recovering from New Glaucoma Procedure
December 13, 2007
VIDEO | A horse that underwent a rare endoscopic laser eye procedure is showing normal intraocular pressure (IOP), a key indication that the procedure has brought his... Read More
Article
Researchers Pinpoint Link Between Appaloosa Coloring and Night Blindness
November 21, 2007
Congenital stationary night blindness causes vision deficits in Appaloosas with certain coat patterns.... Read More
Article
Veterinary Ophthalmologists Using New Equipment to Correct Glaucoma
November 10, 2007
Next week, veterinary ophthalmologists at The New Jersey Equine Clinic in Clarksburg, N.J., will perform an endoscopic laser procedure on a horse with glaucoma--one of the first equine uses for a new piece of equipment in the ophthalmologists'... Read More
Article
New Web Site Focuses on Blindness in Appaloosas
September 24, 2007
A new website launched by the Montana-based Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary examines research on uveitis and blindness in Appaloosa horses.... Read More
Article
Corneal Infection Treatment
July 01, 2007
Silver sulfadiazine (a topical drug frequently used to treat burns) could be an effective treatment against common corneal fungal infections, according to researchers at Purdue University. Fungal keratitis is a serious, painful corneal... Read More
Article
Derby Horse Storm in May Flying Half-Blind
May 04, 2007
Storm in May will be flying nearly blind in Saturday's Kentucky Derby. Trainer Bill Kaplan paid $16,000 for the colt last April, getting the bargain basement deal because Storm in May is completely blind in his right eye. "It doesn't... Read More
Article
Clogged Tear Duct
April 01, 2007
What treatments are available for a clogged tear duct in my horse's eye?... Read More
Article
Moon Blindness
February 01, 2007
"Moon blindness" is a chronic, painful eye disease, and it's the most common cause of blindness in horses. It was so named during the 1600s because people thought recurring attacks were related to phases of the moon. This eye disease might be one o... Read More
Article
LSU Equine Eye Surgery Sparks
December 04, 2006
The extraordinary efforts of globe-trotting surgeons, dedicated Louisiana State University (LSU) veterinarians and technicians, and a determined team of horse owners recently combined to preserve the sight of one 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare... Read More
Article
The Eyes Have It at NC State
November 11, 2006
One problem guaranteed to make horse owners cringe is an equine eye problem. But whether your horse has a corneal ulcer, eye injury from a bucket handle, tumor, or what have you, the veterinary ophthalmology department at North Carolina State... Read More
Article
Uveitis and a Detached Retina: Surgery to Save Horse's Vision
October 21, 2006
The horse, Lexius (Lexi), a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, had an infection in the vitreous that caused chronic inflammation and uveitis in both eyes. The most likely cause of the infection is the bacteria leptospirosis.... Read More
