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Discussion on Glaucoma Levels
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Member:
Stacie
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Posted on Monday, Mar 7, 2005 - 3:07 pm:
My Leopard App had Uveitus 1st last October. It then turned into an ulcer that for some reason where the eyelid meets in the middle when closed. It went the from inside of the eye ball closest to the nose to the outside of the eye ball, the whole way across and he also had a very high glaucoma level of 87. We carried him to NC State. If that day he was not abcessing on his front right, they probably would have admitted him to have the eye removed. Since they would have had to put him to sleep to do this, they would not since he was very lame on that foot and was afraid of him trying to get up after surgery and injuring himself. So they wanted me to treat him to get that glaucoma level down. They put him on Banamine twice a day for 500lbs. worth, although he is 1400 lbs. they said that Banamine is better for eyes problems than Bute. They also put him on Cosopt .2CC 3 times a day for the 1st 2 weeks. We had the vet out about 2 weeks ago and the glaucoma level was reduced to 43. He wanted us to continue the treatment for awhile longer and get checked again. Cosopt is $60.00 a bottle of 5CC here, it lasts 5 days - I finally had to order from Canada to be able to afford it. Less than 1/2 the price. Banamine is $25 a tube, it last 3 days. So to my question - sorry for the long post.... The Vet that came out said that if we cannot get the level in his eye down to a tolerable level, he can try killing the eye. He said he could inject some type of anti-biotic into the eye and in 60/70% of the cases it works to kill the optic nerve that is causing him the pain. Has anyone ever heard of this. He said is very inexpensive compared to having the eye removed. Or, what is a tolerable level for Glaucoma that I can just maintain him to keep him comfortable for life. Which I do not mind doing either. We have spent a ton of money on him in vet bills already, so why not a little more for him to be able to keep his eye if this is better overall for him? We have him on Master Jack, Equine Saver, MSM. He also has very bad navicular, bad ringbone and that right foot has had surgery on it for a type of tumor that grew between his frog and sole that had to be removed and his heel is split in the middle that gives him an abcess every 3 months or sole and blows out at the cornary band or the heel, this is from how the frog and sole grew back after surgery, it looks 100 times better than it did last January. We thought that he would need to have a hospital plate on that foot forever. But it grew back almost completely. Sorry for rambling, I just wanted to ensure I explained his history completely. His is my big boy, 17 hands and a big teddy bear, thank goodness. I will do whatever I need to to make him comfortable. BTW - his left eye is fine. Know on wood. His right eye his has no vision that we can tell from, no response to light, this is the one with Glaucoma....I guess too there is not many Equine vets that carry a tonopen, as I had to borrow a brand new one from my dog vet for my equine vet to use.
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Member:
Sandbox
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Posted on Tuesday, Mar 8, 2005 - 11:24 am:
Stacie -
I purchased a TB that had uveitus. I treated it aggressively but couldn't get it to clear up. Tried using a lavage system to assist in getting the meds into his eye. Unfortunately, the lavage tube rubbed on his eye resulting in an ulceration. That finally healed but I was still left with ERU and in turn the horse also developed glaucoma. He was in obvious pain and couldn't be in bright light. So we opted to kill the nerve and live with the outcome of total blindness and a small amount of eye shrinkage. (His eye was already a cloudy blue from the ERU.) I believe the vet injected gentocin (commonly used for uveitus in dogs & cats from my understanding).
In my case, this worked just as described. The eye pain was eliminated and he quickly adjusted to the total loss of sight in that eye (he previously had a slight amount of vision - hazy at best).
Good luck with your situation. Sandy
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Member:
Chohler
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Posted on Tuesday, Mar 8, 2005 - 1:25 pm:
Stacie I have been around quite a few horses with sight in only one eye from injury or ulceration. They totally adjust, and one of them goes on regular trail rides with us. Just think of when you have a really bad splitting headache around your eyes or temples this is akin to what your teddy bear is probably feeling. If making him comfortable means killing the eye, it is not such a bad thing, he will still be your teddy bear just not with a bad eyeache anymore. I even know a lady with a horse that is fully blind he of course is a yard pet but he is healthy and happy you just have to announce yourself so he knows where you are.
Hope everything goes well.
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Member:
Fpony
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Posted on Tuesday, Mar 8, 2005 - 6:06 pm:
Hi Stacie,
Have you been able to see an Equine Opthomalogist?
My pony had Uveitis and glaucoma for the past 5 years. I managed to keep in under control, until this summer, with Timolol for the glaucoma and ocufen for the Uveitis. Something happened this summer that caused things to get bad and after trying many medications(as well as lots of banamine for the inflamation and pain) to control the glaucoma (although we never got a reading over 40 but suspect it had been worse at times) I opted to have the eye removed. The other meds were painful and seemed to irritate the eye. Timolol worked the best and even that last month(eye removed in Dec) it worked in keeping the pressure down. It was also much cheaper than the other meds. We tried trusopt and Pilocarpine. Both were painful DrOps. A friend who is a human opthomalogist confirmed that the DrOps were not used in humans because they caused pain. They use a new drug Xalatan but the vet opthomalogist said it can make Uveitis in horses worse. Dr. O can tell you more but my friend that was the "human dr" said killing the eye with injection was also painful but they do use it as a last resort in humans. Foxy is so much more comfortable now. He did have some sight as now he holds his head differently, but not being able to control the inflamation and then have ulcerations-I just needed it to stop for him.
Good luck! Kim
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Member:
Stacie
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 10, 2005 - 10:17 am:
Sandy - Thanks much - I will ask when he comes out next week what they would use.
Kim - The Cosopt is similiar to the Trusopt, but Trusopt only had Dorzolamide in it, where the Cosopt has both the Timolol and Dorzolamide.
NC State had quoted me about $1300.00 to remove the eye. That still is a definite option I have been thinking about - I think that when the vet comes out next week - once the reading is done, our decision will come naturally. But of course, it will be what ever is best for "BEN". He has been thru so much and is such a trooper, that whatever keeps him happy. My husband of course has his own thinking, but in the long run he feels what ever makes me happy. Good thing for him huh...I will try and post a picture of him soon
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Member:
Fpony
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 10, 2005 - 5:44 pm:
Stacie, Foxy had his eye removed on Dec 30, 2004.
This was taken last week. He did have some vision and the surgery was about $1800 plus he had some complication with his bowels after so he stayed an extra 5 days. I did everything trying to save the eye but i think i just prolonged the pain. although Foxy is a tough pony and rarely acted as if the pain was unbareable. I'm sure it is better to have the pain gone. My husband didn't like the idea of the cost but knew we needed to do what was right for our dear pony. Kim
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Member:
Sandbox
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Posted on Monday, Mar 14, 2005 - 8:35 pm:
Stacie, I know it's a tough decision to make. In my case, I opted for the injection first (cost was around $150) with plan B being removing the eye if he was still in pain.
I was hesitant to have it removed completely because I feel it's significantly disfiguring. I boarded at a barn with a horse that had his eye removed and it was shocking, at first, see that side of his face. Of course, once you got to know him you could look past it.
I don't want to offend anyone that have had to have an eye remove. I know it's an incredibly difficult decision. Just trying to explain some of the factors that came into play for me. Sandy
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Member:
Stacie
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 17, 2005 - 8:54 am:
Update - Vet was out yesterday - Level still around 40 - he was able to see the pupil now. I had noticed it a few days earlier that it looks less cloudy. He had said he does not feel with the pupil dialated that he has much pain now. He is keeping the eye open now most of the time as well. There is very little wet area when the 75% UV fly mask is removed from 12 hours prior. It is looking promising he said that we can maintain his eye, without removing or "killing it" 4 more weeks with 2 times a day with Cosopt and 1/2-3/4 gram bute 2 times a day. After week 4 - then once a day for the Cosopt and keep the bute the same. He will return then to recheck pressure. If it is able to be maintained, he will push the Cosopt out to further intervals till the pressure is maintained with the least maintaince. Does this sound unusual to anyone?? I know that 40 is high, but I guess different horses have different pain tolerances like people. He is already living with very, very bad navicular and ringbone and not lame with it too often at all now with the different nutrients I have him on. Thank you everyone for your input...
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Member:
Fpony
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 17, 2005 - 3:06 pm:
Stacie,
So glad his eye is clearing up. I tried to send a picture of Foxy's eye since the surgery but it didn't upload. i can send another if you're interested. the vet that did the surgery did an awsome job and I paid ($75) for the prosthesis to be put under the lid. I've seen another hoses with the same surgery and it didn't look this nice.
anyway, doesn't sound like you'll have to go there. My friend who is the Human Opthomalogist said that a pressure of 40 doesn't cause pain. It needs to get over 80 for the pressure to be causing pain. Ulcers are very painful and I think the Uveitis is ,too.
Hope his eye keeps returning to normal. Kim
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Mar 18, 2005 - 5:30 pm:
I posted this morn and apparently it was lost in the internet ether but the members have done a great job covering. Pretty much I want to say what Kim above did that 40 on a tonometer (what are those units?) is not painful. The plan seems logical if preserving the blind eye is the most important, otherwise enucleation would seem most logical, economical, and the option that would be the most comfortable in the long run if you believe further episodes of uveitis likely.
DrO
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Member:
Stacie
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Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 1:42 pm:
Just an update - 5 weeks ago Ben was rechecked for his glaucoma level, it was 53. I have been purchasing the Cosopt from Canada, about 1/2 the price. I get 2 10ML bottles for the same price I was getting in the states. We have the vet coming out again this Thursday to check it again, I will mention to him the gentocin Sandy, Thanks.
Kim, I would love to see a picture of Foxy after the surgery as this may have to be the option we go for soon, as I would hate for Ben to be uncomfortable for any reason. Question though - once the eye is removed and the prosthesis is put in, can the eye still become infected. It is sewn shut correct? How would you know when there is an infection? Sorry for all the questions. I will try and post a picture of "BEN". Prior to his glaucoma, as I keep a fly mask on 24/7 now to block out the light and the fly's. Thanks for all the inputs and responses. I will update you soon.
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Member:
Dres
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Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 1:54 pm:
Beautiful boy.. keep us posted please...
Ann
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Member:
Fpony
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Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 2:43 pm:
Stacie,
He's cute!
I'll get a more recent shot for you soon.
These are in March. 
The eye is stitched closed. I beleive they cut the lids so that the edges grow together. Children have asked why he is keeping his eye shut. The lid still moves so it looks like there is an eye under there. the surgery was rough on my 21 y/o but he is doing better now. I think the risk of infection is low if the procedure is done correctly. He was on antibiotics for 14 days after surgery. They also did blood work on him prior to make sure he was healthy enough for the surgery. Kim
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Jun 1, 2005 - 6:40 am:
Concerning the prothesis and infection you have to remember the prothesis is a foreign body so has an increased incidence of infection even years after its placement. Swelling, heat and pain are the signs that it has become infected.
DrO
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Member:
Stacie
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Posted on Friday, Jun 3, 2005 - 6:49 am:
Hey to all - Update - Vet was out yesterday - Ben's pressure was 50. Pupil is dilated so he says that there is very little pain right now. He is keeping his eye open more and it is less cloudy as well. The scar from the ulcer is permanent - it extends across the entire eye lengthwise, right across the middle. I will try and take a picture of it this weekend and post so you will be able to see it. I think that we are going to go with removing it soon so he will not have pain period from it any longer. The vet feels that if I can live without the prosthesis, it would be better in the long run as you had said Dr. O. He did tell me that he performs this surgery outside on the green grass. He says it is more comfortable for the horse. When he puts him out, he lay down and when he comes to, as gentle as Ben is, he will more than likely just lay there till he feels comfortable getting up. He feels it is less likely than to injure himself this way. Any words of thought here on this. He says then he will be on antibiotics for 2 weeks. He did say that this surgery Ben will bleed very badly during it, just to forwarn me on how the surgery is done, I guess then the bleeding is stopped by cortorizing the area Dr. O? I forgot to ask him that. I just feel I need to do something to ensure Ben does not hurt any more in the long run, since the eye is blind already, there is no reason to me to make him suffer for no reason. Anyone input is greatly appreciated.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Jun 3, 2005 - 4:44 pm:
We do this surgery in the field also. I tell my clients that in a surgical suite there might be s a decreased chance of infection, but of the half dozen we have done this has never been a problem. I think the eye is quite painful during surgery inspite of general anesthesia so give pre-op bute, use carbocaine extensively with a curved 4 inch needle to infiltrate the back of the socket before dissecting deep. Then before I close the eye squirt a good dose in the now empty socket. I think they stay quieter during surgery and wake up more comfortable this way. Following surgery 24 hours of torbugesic along with the contnued use of bute is sure to make them more cofortable, immediately post-op. Yes for many folks this would look like a lot of blood but is not really. I have never had to cauterize nor remember having to tie off a bleeder here though I have had to hold some bleeders with hemostats for a short period.
DrO
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Member:
Stacie
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Posted on Friday, Jul 22, 2005 - 8:40 pm:
Update - Ben had his eye injected to kill it today - it was the most horrible experience that I have had to do with him thus far. It was very bloody and his eyelid is so swollen and bloody right now that if he bumps it by accident, it starts to bleed again. I think I am wishing I went with the removal instead, but the Dr really felt that this would have been her 1st step if it were her horse. What timeframe is it that the lid swelling will reduce? She also said it will be very very painful for the next several days - 1000gm banamine twice a day for 7 days. Any words of advise or encouragement are gladly welcome as I feel terrible at this moment thinking I made a wrong decision
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Friday, Jul 22, 2005 - 8:51 pm:
How awful for you, Stacie. I can only imagine the torment you feel knowing that your horse is in pain . . . I hope the pain killers help so that he can eat and sleep until the pain subsides. You are doing what you felt was best and what your vet recommended . . . That's the best you can do . . . Don't beat yourself up over it . . . Hang in there, and let your horse know you are there for him. It must be very hard for both of you right now.
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Member:
Stacie
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Posted on Friday, Jul 22, 2005 - 8:57 pm:
Update - Just got back from the barn - we went down to check on Ben again. His eye is very, very swollen, the bleeding is less now. The Dr was only able to get in 10cc of Gentocin since his pressure was so high. She even had to get a larger needle to try and force it in. 10CC was it and that was putting alot of pressure on the needle when trying to inject. I am sorry for all the details, I just really need for someone out there that had this done to tell me this is all normal for this procedure. He is eating, although he has not pooped yet, so I will have to check that late tonight to see if he has gone. He did poop right after the procedure, not sure if that counts though.
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Friday, Jul 22, 2005 - 10:13 pm:
Stacie, I'm so sorry you and your horse are having to go through all this. He is such a sweet looking guy. If he is eating, that's a very good sign. If he was in a tremendous amount of pain I don't think he would be eating.
Hopefully, he will be on the mend soon. I agree with Holly. You made the best decision you could with the advice and information you had. You can't be second guessing yourself at this point. Sometimes as animal owners (or as parents) we have to make tough decisions. We do our best; that's all anyone can ask of us. Good luck to you and Ben. Although he is an Appy, he reminds me a lot of my old Arab that I had for 28+ years. These old "gents" are something special.
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Member:
Dyduroc
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 - 7:58 am:
Stacie, there's nothing I can add to what Holly and Sara have said. Please keep us posted with updates on Ben's progress.
Cyber hugs to you and Ben.
D.
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Member:
Frances
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 - 11:13 am:
Stacie: you poor thing - I really feel for you, and Ben, and hope thing's are improving today? Does the vet seem to feel things are going as they should?
Thinking of you,
Lynn
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Member:
Stacie
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 - 2:08 pm:
Update to Lynn, D, Sara and Holly, thank you for your great words of hope.
It was a rough night, checked on him several times. He did lay down as he normally does, most of the night as a matter of fact. I had changed his fly mask over to the crusader mask as the eye pleats are further out as his eye is tremendous right now from the glaucoma and 10cc of meds the vet inserted. Just got off the phone with the vet as his eye has a pale yellow gooky coming out. She assured me it was a normal reaction to the meds. It looks like the lid is about 2/3 rolled back under where it should be now. There is still a definite lid rolled out but a little less bloody looking as yesterday. Bleeding has completely stopped now. There is a few little pieces of hay in there so we are going to try in a little while to put a warm wet cloth on it to try and remove it, but the vets says don't force him to do it, his body will expel it on its own soon if he won't allow us. Although I have picked off a few pieces from around the eye already and he did very well. He has pooped and eaten all day. The banamine is doing its job. Thank goodness.
My husband said today that he wished we had never gotten horses, as the two we have, are our 1st, and since we had them, it has been hard on me. It is not the money that hurts his pocket, it is the heartache that he has seen me have with them. I tried to explain that I would not trade it for the world, even though we have been through more than a lot of horse owners have in their time of owning them. Ben has won my heart and I would trade him for the world, he will be with us till his end.
I will update you all later on tonight. Thanks again for the hope
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Member:
Redalert
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 - 2:25 pm:
Stacie
I've been following your posts, and want to add my thoughts and prayers for you and your dear horse. Yes, horses will break your heart, it's true, but as you know, that is because they make your heart so full with whatever the word is for what it is they do to us, that also makes us happier than we could possibly be without them! I hope that very, very soon, your hearts will be filled with that other kind of love that does not hurt so much!
Nancy
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Member:
Lilo
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 - 3:37 pm:
Stacie,
My thoughts are with you. In over 10 years of horse keeping we have had our share of heartaches, but, also many good times and good memories.
Best of luck to you and Ben,
Lilo
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 - 4:56 pm:
Stacie,
Having horses is like having children, or maybe like being in love. They can be a challenge and a pain in the butt like kids, and are a major responsibility like kids, but they bring so much joy, fulfillment and pleasure into your life that you can't imagine life without them. They are like being in love because when they are with us and all is going good, we go around happy "in love" and then when one leaves us or gives major problems the hurt is so great we swear we won't have another one; but we usually do get another (lover or horse) because the highs are so great that the lows are worth bearing.
Sounds like Ben is coming along o.k. I'd bet at the end of the week he'll be doing quite well. Hope you both are!
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Member:
Frances
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 24, 2005 - 10:24 am:
Hi Stacie, so glad to hear there are some visible improvements, and that your vet believes things are progressing as normal.
Hang in there!
Lynn
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Member:
Stacie
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 24, 2005 - 2:50 pm:
Hey to all of you! Ben is doing much better today - My husband and I have put warm wet cloths on his eye now 5 times. He seems to enjoy it, after we start. He brings his head down to us, as with him being 17 hands, when he does not want us to reach his eye, all he needs to do is lift his head and even my husband who is 5'11" can't get to him. We have not forced him to do this, but he is such a great trooper, I think he knows it is helping him. He and I have bonded extremely over the last few years with all his problems, that I think whatever I do to him, he knows it is to help. But this time, I really doubted myself till today, when he looked at me and did not seem to be in much pain. His eye is still very swollen, his lid has moved back under where it should be though. He is able to at least keep his lid shut now. He keeps pulling his mask off, so we have to keep a close eye on him, go into the field and put it back on. He has not lost his appetite the entire time though. Never missed a beat with that. I am thankful every day for the love my boys have given me and the joy it is to see them run to me when I call. Even after all I have done to Ben, he still comes to me when I call, when I come into the field, when I sit on the swing, he comes to make sure I am ok. Once he checks to make sure all is good, he goes about eating closely, but never too far as he may miss something I do. He always makes sure that when I am rubbing Dusty that he too gets my attention, like a kid. He pushes Dusty away and gets between us. Never to hurt either of us though, just to break the love I am giving to Dusty as well, jealousy. Worse than my husband, it is rather funny. But I give in. Every time. I have to, he is my boy.......The strongest love I have ever felt, other than the love for my best man, my hubby, my best friend, bye for now
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 24, 2005 - 4:00 pm:
You are very lucky Stacie! You gave me goosebumps with your post 
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 24, 2005 - 7:12 pm:
Oh, my gosh, Stacie . . . Where're the hankies when I need one?
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Member:
Shirl
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 24, 2005 - 7:36 pm:
Stacie, It is very true that when one of our horses is ill or has a lot of pain/medical problems that must be dealt with each day, several times a day, we do get much closer. I know that from experience. At the time it isn't fun, but after you can be grateful for the closeness and extra bonding that has happened. You've been through a lot with Ben. My prayers are with both of you. Shirl
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Member:
Fpony
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 24, 2005 - 7:47 pm:
Stacie,
You are so right! All this stuff can make you feel so close to your horse. Even though i knew i did the right thing, I felt terriblly guilty for putting Foxy though it all. 7 months later I know it was the right thing. He is so energetic and happy.
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Member:
Stacie
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 28, 2005 - 8:05 am:
Hey there - update to all.....
Kim, Foxy is looking great!
Thank you everyone for all your kind words about Ben. I have started today giving him a 500lb dosage of Banamine once daily to see if he could get along with that little, we will see. He is doing much better the last few days. The swelling is still tremendous, but his eyelid he is able to move a little now on his own as it is not so swollen, so his expressions are a showing a little, I hope I explained that right? He is keeping his eye shut 24/7, I hope that is normal? Once the swelling goes down more and hopefully the eye begins to shrink, will he continue to keep that eye closed all the time? I will try and get a picture of it this weekend and post for better understanding. He is not so sensitive to me putting the washcloth on his eye anymore, but he has decided he was going to be a pill on me giving him his meds. He walks away from me now and I have to follow him till he stops, sometimes the whole way around the barn to the feild to the barn, but I finally catch up with him. He does not have his halter on any longer as he pulled it off each time, so the mask he has left alone, so I will let him be with only the mask. We installed 17 misters in the barn, what a mess. We have screeings as a floor base, now it is a big big mud puddle and neither of our boys will go in there to cool off as it hit 106 yesterday where we live, so we turned them off and sure enough, they both went back into the barn once we turned them off. They did go in the barn with them on to eat, but the rest of the day they would not go back in except to get water from the tank. Oh well $$ down the tube, I am sure my husband is thrilled as he is the one that installed it while I was at work in the 100+ temp. Oops  , glad he loves me so much, thank goodness for my boys and my sake. Gotta starting working now, again thanks so much for everyone's notes to Ben and I.....
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Member:
Redalert
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 28, 2005 - 9:35 am:
Stacie
SO GLAD to hear about the improvement! I, too, had a very long haul with one of my horses and his eye, so I just want to give you a "heads up" on what happenned to him as a result of treatment for the eye ... gastric ulcers. Long term use of Banamine was one of the culprits, as well as stall confinement(even though he was hand walked each day), and just the stress of the pain. Now, if I have any sick horse who has more than one day of Banamine, Bute, etc. they also get Gastrogard during the treatment! It is probably not always indicated, and, even though gastric ulcers are becoming a "very popular" condition, I think stress along with long term use of any NSAIDS, indicates the use of Gastrogard! Again, just giving you a "head's up" on my experience. Hopefully, this will not be the case for you. Maybe DrO can comment on this.
Again, SO HAPPY to hear your guy is coming along!
Nancy
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 28, 2005 - 6:51 pm:
Actually Nancy a connection between gastric ulcers in horses and NSAID's is not as well established as it is in humans. In horses the right ventral colon seems to the site of predilection and I don't ever feel the need, with the exception of foals, where any disease seems to predisopose to ulcers, to use antiulcer therapy with NSAID's.
DrO
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Member:
Stacie
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Posted on Wednesday, Aug 10, 2005 - 6:58 am:
Update to everyone -
Ben is doing much better. It appears to me that the eye is beginning to shrink. The swelling is to the point where it is about the same size as his good eye. He opens it a little every once and awhile but not very often. We are off the Banamine for the most part. Every now and again he head shakes, so when we feed him, I will give him a little dose of Banamine, but if I feel there is not much pain at all, I do not give him any.
I have to tell you all a little story about Monday. He pulls his halter off if I have both the mask and halter on together usually. So lately, he has only had his mask on. Very hard for him to stand still for me, as he knows I will not pull the mask to make him stand still, which will make it touch his eye, so he has figured me out. Well. I decided I was going to put his halter back on. I took his mask off and wow, he knows he is free. He walks off from me. Well I am 5'2", he is 17 hands, so you know who thought they were going to win. Well, I immediately went and got the lead, why I did not put the lead around his neck prior to removing the mask, ignorance, he always loves me so he will stand still for me, wrong.....Not this time. We have closed in our personal side yard, since Dusty is still working on healing his Digital Flexor Tendon and Sheath that he tore, so we wanted them both to have the best grass in the alloted time they are allowed out. Ben would not let me get to his face again to put everything back on and wash his eye, every time I would come up beside him, he would turn his head enough to see me and wait for me to get close and then RUN!!!! He did this to me many times in the side yard, until he actually ran down the side of the workshop, back into the barn, thru the barn and out the other end into the upper field. Sneaky little devil he is. Dusty just standing there I am sure saying to himself, Mom is going to get you Ben, RUN....Finally I walk to the upper pasture, with a few corn stalks and amazingly, he just walks right back over to me, allows me to put the halter and the mask on after I wash his eye down and then he gets his corn stalk treats. 20 minutes it took me to finally get him controlled. At one point in the side yard, all 4 feet were off the ground as he bucked and pooted in the process of running from me. This is a horse that is blind in one eye, has terrible navicular and ringbone. He was feeling his oats this day. I was killing myself thinking about what he had me doing, he is such a trip, this folks is the reason I will bury him in my field when it is his time to go. He will never have to worry about someone else not loving him or worse. I thought I would share my evening bout with my boy so every one could have a laugh....Ben, Dusty and Me included. Oh, but the way, thank goodness, my husband was in the shop and never ever saw what was going on for him to laugh at me. Take care - Stacie}}
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Member:
Dyduroc
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Posted on Wednesday, Aug 10, 2005 - 9:13 am:
Stacie, thanks for the update! It's wonderful to hear that Ben is feeling a bit frisky! He sounds like such a scamp.
Big hugs to you and Ben.
D.
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Wednesday, Aug 10, 2005 - 10:11 am:
Ahhh . . . the things we do and the fools we make of ourselves . . . all for the love of a horse. . . . All because it's worth it . . . and I'm so happy that Ben is enjoying his life . . . all due to your love, Stacie. Take care and enjoy.
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Member:
9193
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Posted on Wednesday, Aug 10, 2005 - 12:47 pm:
Hi Stacie,
Thank you for the uplifting update on Ben's eye condition, his spirits and your continued devotion to your horses and hubby. I have been following your journey with sympathy and concern.
Ben is a very handsome fellow and also a lucky boy to have such a caring couple as yourselves to manage his welfare.. I hope his good healing continues and he makes his adjustments to a one-eyed world with minimal problems.
Is getting back to riding him a possibility in the near future?
All the best to you and your family,
Debra
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Member:
Stacie
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Posted on Tuesday, Nov 8, 2005 - 4:45 pm:
Hello to all,
I will try and post a picture next week as I leave in the dark and get home in dark. Ben is doing great. But the last week or so he has a little light yellow drainage/gooky stuff going on. I called the Vet and she told me to apply some Neosporin in the eye for a few days to see if that helps, she told me it was cheaper than his usual triple antibiotic if we needed to continue it further, any advice from past experiences from ya'll? It is very difficult to put this in his socket with him being so big his socket is huge. I feel like I am hurting him as when I open his lid I feel like my fingers go in so far into his socket. It is hard to explain. Any better ideas on how to open his lid wide enough to put the ointment in? When I post the picture you will see how deep his socket is. The eye has completely shrucken to nothing now. The 3rd eye covers most of it. We keep him masked 24/7 since he does open the eye even though there is nothing there. The Vet does not recommend sewing the eyelid shut why? Any thoughts on this. Sorry - questions questions questions, I always love to learn from everyone and read how others deal with similiar situations. Thanks much for everyone's warm wishes for Ben's full recovery
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Nov 9, 2005 - 9:07 am:
If you get opthalmic ointment, it has a small nozzle you could introduce without opening the lids. Or perhaps you could but the Neosporin in a catheter tip syringe? I am not familiar with the procedure of killing the eye and so am uncertain about sewing the lids shut now. I suspect infection might be difficult to control at this time.
DrO
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