Treating eye injury

Minelson · #1 11/25/09, 06:11 PM

My horse Spencer hurt his eye. It doesn't look like the eyeball itself..the bottom, and outer edge is scraped. I think he did it while rolling and hit a tough root in the ground. It's not swollen. It's all ----ed up and has dried blood around it. I want to clean it, flush it and apply ointment. He WILL NOT let me near it. Throws his head. I ended up injuring myself trying to just wipe it. (I am typing one handed with my right hand soaking in ice water)
Just wondering if anyone has any tips to keep a horse from throwing his head while trying to treat. I do have a twitch but don't feel it's bad enough to resort to that. I do have access to sedatives but, again, it's not that bad....I just wish I could clean it UGH!!!

kscowboy · #2 11/25/09, 06:46 PM

Scratched eyes are very painful for horse or humans , treatment is normally to flush with saline and to apply a topical painkiller. Get a syringe with no needle that will squirt and get some of the saline into the eye to rinse , or use a clean rag and squeeze out over the eye. They aren't gonna like it much. doubt you'll find a vet answering a phone right now but if you can get some painkiling eye ointment it will make em alot more comfortable. alot of times it's a scratch on the inside of the eyelid which i can tell you personally hurts really bad , on a human the eye would be medicated and patched for a day or so.

LisaInN.Idaho · #3 11/25/09, 07:58 PM

I try not to wipe but use warm to hot compresses instead. Once they feel you be still with a compress, sometimes they stop fighting.
I hate the ointments. They are so hard to get into the eye and I always worry about accidentally poking the eye with the pointy tip. I get human prescription antibiotic eye drops whenever I can...you know, the kind we use on kids for pinkeye. They are antibiotic but have no corticosteroids and its so much easier to squirt them in and they don't seem to bother the horse as much as the ointment. I use them on dogs too.

EarthSheltered · #4 11/25/09, 08:08 PM

For eye injuries, I was taught that it is a 'must call' the vet situation.

However, I know some of you are far from a vet. Warm compress will help with the pain, and help to clean the debris. Tie with a halter, then just keep gently insisting. Even if it takes an hour, ask him to drop his head, then very gently apply the compress. Once you can see what is going on, you can see if the injury was only to the outside, or also the eye itself.

If the eye was injured, even just a scratch, you will need anti-biotic eye ointment. That is easiest applied if you put some on the tip of a clean finger (about the size of a small pea) then gently apply to the corner of the horses eye, while pulling down the lower lid, if possible. You only have to get in on the rim for it to be effective, it will spread over the surface of the eye.

Good luck. Once you get him to trust you to put warm compresses on, it will go easier. Just be patient, take your time, and be as gentle as possible. It takes a lot of trust on the part of the horse, when they are in that much pain, and in fear of you causing more.

2horses · #5 11/26/09, 10:15 AM

If he's fighting that much, use the twitch. You can remove it when he stops. It's too important to treat it than not because he won't "let" you.

Minelson · #6 11/26/09, 05:10 PM

Mission accomplished! Thank you to my 2 dear friends that left their family Thanksgiving celebration and came over and did the deed. My hand is completely swelled up and useless so I couldn't do a thing. I gave Spencer some bute this morning and that helped. My friends are horse breeders/trainers with 62 head and years of experience. The hubby actually twitched Spencer using his hand while the wife cleaned him up, examined, flushed and applied the ointment. They didn't think the flush & ointment were necessary but I wanted to do it since we were able to. WHEW! Thank God for good friends and thank God it wasn't worse. Now...my hand is another story! It must have gotten twisted or stuck in the halter when I fell. My middle, third and pinky look like bratwurst and it's starting to take on the color of a rainbow!
Thanks for all your help