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  Discussion on Herpes in eye
Author Message
New Member:
Sozkeogh

Posted on Saturday, Nov 27, 2004 - 1:53 pm:

My horse was diagnosed yesterday with having herpes in one of his eyes. It started weeping about 3 weeks ago and initally I thought it was conjuctivitis and just treated it with saline and cold tea. When it didn't clear up, my vet came to examine it. He saw what he thought was a corneal ulcer and left me antibacterial ointment to treat it with. When it still didn't improve during the next week, I called him again and he referred me to an opthamologist who confirmed yesterday that it was herpes. He dyed the eye and showed the lesions all over the cornea some of which had healed, but there was some where the dye had been uptaken which are still active. He said that it was quite difficult to treat. I've been searching the internet for reference to herpes in the equine eye but cannot find any specific information. I would love to hear from anybody who had horses with this condition. How long do the outbreaks usually last, how often do they occur? What ointments are effective in relieving the symptoms? This is quite a valuable showjumper and I'm very concerned about his future eyesight. Any information would be appreciated.
Member:
Redalert

Posted on Saturday, Nov 27, 2004 - 6:34 pm:

Hey Sorrell,
If this condition is the same as my mare has been living with ever since I bought her,some 20 years ago,and I think it is, you can go as long as a year without an outbreak. We(the vet and I)have always treated it symptomatically with Banamine once a day for around two or three days(sometimes adding trible antibiotic, just in case)and she has done quite well. She did finally lose her sight in that eye about three years ago, I guess, and this summer had a few painful episodes, so we put her on a low dose of Bute for around two weeks(1 gram), and again for around three or four days for the other episodes. But until a few years ago, she was with sight and quite fine with the condition. I bet that it depends on the horse as to how many outbreaks there will be and how each individual handles it, but for my old girl, it became not such a big deal. She is blind in that eye now, as I said earlier, but that is not what keeps her from being ridden. She also has other problems with lameness, and the fact that she just did not age very well that have slowed her down... I hope this helps you a bit. I think you will have a long future not affected by the "moon blindness" if you fare as well as my mare did!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Nov 28, 2004 - 10:40 am:

Welcome Sorrell,
Your post stimulated me to finish an article we had in the works on this fairly common condition of horses eyes see, Equine Diseases » Eye Diseases » Viral & Herpes Keratitis.
DrO
Member:
Sozkeogh

Posted on Sunday, Nov 28, 2004 - 3:52 pm:

Thank you all for your kind information! It's good to hear from somebody whose horse has suffered from it. I haven't been able to find anyone who has or knows anyone whose horse has suffered from this. I'm terrified of him going blind or losing his eye. He's only 6 now and is showing fabulous potential in the showjumping ring as well as dressage and it's devastating to think that a horse with such a bright future might have it ended or compromised this way. My main difficulty however is actually treating it. He's very highly strung and it's almost impossible to touch his eye. Hence, my vet is taking him over to his clinc for several days to see if we can sedate him enough to get the ointment in. Even when this outbreak clears up, it's going to cause me several headaches in the future when further outbreaks occur. Plus the fact that he already stresses out a lot doesn't help as I've read that stress can lead to an outbreak. I've been searching the internet and have found several suggestions that extra lysine and vitamin E added to the diet may help keep the virus at bay. I've also read that zinc eyeDrOps may also help. Fingers crossed that we can get on top of this outbreak and put the virus into remission for now.
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