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Discussion on Swollen around eyes
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Member:
pbarlow
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 11:34 am:
Last week one of our boarders started acting a little lethargic. He is a 2 year old dark bay mustang stallion. He was chewing on his lead rope a lot so we started wondering if he is teething. It was only mildly lethargic but we didn't see him playing with the others like he usually does. We kept telling ourselves to check the books about when horses teethe, but we didn't get around to it.
Today after feeding him we noticed that his eyes are really swollen. No real sign of infection but swollen to the point of looking rather like he is squinting. We went out to gather some herbs to make a poltice for him of chamomile and comfrey and then I came in to check HorseAdvice.
The information about heart problems is what has me worried. We went back out and checked and took some photos. There is no sign of edema in the legs. His eyes are watering now and he wants to rub them on us (or his herd mates).
His owner is a cattle rancher who sent Sparky here for training. The owner will not pay for him to go to a vet. The owner doesn't believe in vaccinations for religious reasons. He trades with me for training for pasture for my donkeys. I wormed Sparky and snuck in a west nile vaccine about a month ago. If Sparky is to get any care, it is going to be from me.
We will take his temperature and and attach his photos. Meanwhile, if there is anything else you think I should check, please let me know. We have a stethoscope.
Yrs,
Patricia
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Member:
pbarlow
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 12:13 pm:
Sparky is running a bit low at 97.6F
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Member:
canter
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 12:48 pm:
Poor Sparky! He clearly looks very uncomfortable. Perhaps an eye wash would provide some relief?
Thanks for looking after this guy, Patricia.
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Member:
kshayden
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 1:22 pm:
Hi,
Poor guy.
My horses sometimes will scratch their faces, causing the soft tissue damage if it is windy, flies are bugging them or right now, there is a lot of smoke and debris in the air from the fires, - I will see my old mare scratching on wood posts and the water troughs - can not be good for that delicate skin.
I have a couple of prescription eye ointments that relieve the itching and swelling.
I do think that his temp is really low - hopefully you can figure out what is bothering him.
Kathy
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Member:
pbarlow
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 1:57 pm:
The comfrey may have helped a bit. We also put a fly mask on him (his first!) It looks like a lot of teething things happen at his age so it could be still the cause of his lethargy. These could be unrelated symptoms.
yrs,
Patricia
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Member:
pbauer
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 3:55 pm:
Dear Patricia,
Too bad you can not keep him!? He is still just a baby, and needs a lot of TLC. Shelter from the wind, heat and constant barrage of bugs ( we all battle these elements) would be helpful. Along with the others, I want to thank you for taking such good care of him.
My Best,
Tonya
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 4:28 pm:
Patricia My geldings both had the same thing last week. The older gelding acted a bit off. I'm pretty sure it was dust/mud that caused it. They like to roll and rub the sides of their heads in the dirt.
2 days of washing the eyes with warm water followed by cold rinse..morning, afternoon and night cleared it right up. Hope it is that simple for you.
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Member:
pbarlow
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 5:22 pm:
The washing might be a good thing. Thanks for the suggestion, Diane.
Sparky is from one of the purer Iberian herds in New Mexico. He arrived totally wild, but now he is the horse who will follow you into the house if you accidentally leave the door open. I have offered to buy him, but he is owned by the ranchers teenage daughter. She is afraid of him, but she loves the romantic image of having a wild mustang. She is 13 and her dad just bought her a motorcycle so I doubt that she will ever spend much time with this very nice horse. Two of the young mustangs escaped from my place for a week... the ranchers response was, "I hope you don't find him."
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 5:28 pm:
Oh, grief! Poor you trying to care for this obviously lovely guy with no help from the owners. If the girl has a motorcycle, I'd bet she'd be willing to part with the horse soon. If not, maybe you could lease him with an option to buy, and the lease payments counting towards his purchase? He just looks like such a nice fellow, and sounds like it too. I hope the eye wash helps.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 6:23 pm:
At that temp I would want a recheck Patricia and then if still that low check the thermometer against a normal horse. In order to evaluate this any further, particularly to tell if this is serious, you will need to get a whole set of vital signs not just the temperature and to evaluate the heart auscultation by an experienced person. For more see, Diseases of Horses » First Aid » Taking Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration. Certainly the most common reason for irritation and swelling around the eyes this time of year is fly irritation.
A bigger issue is the owners position. If the horse continues to sicken and does not follow your advice of professional help, I would consider returning the horse to the owner.
DrO
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Member:
pbarlow
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 9:28 pm:
I washed his eyes in cool running water and he seemed to like the sensation. It made a big difference but they started looking swollen again after an hour or so. I think it is a fly problem now... the flies are causing the presenting problem of his eyes and his teeth are a separate but active issue making him chew on everything and not be so Sparky.
I will take your advice to read that vital signs article and then we can practice on the whole herd. That would be extremely useful for a lot of reasons. When I took his temperature, he did feel "cool" for a horse, but he didn't feel that way later in the day.
As to the problem with the owner... if the horse gets any sicker, I will figure out a way to get some professional help. Might have to enlist the rancher's wife instead of the rancher.
Thanks,
Patricia
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Jul 11, 2008 - 7:29 am:
You will find a lot of information on fly control and repellents safe around the eyes at Horse Care » Routine Horse Care » Controlling Houseflies and Biting Flies.
I would consider it abnormal for a 2 year old stallion to NOT chew on something at least a little bit. It is a way they explore their environment and express boredom and/or frustration after all they have a lot more to think about than a gelding. The trick to preventing this from becoming a bad habit is to avoid situations that stimulate it.
DrO
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New Member:
kdbeust
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 18, 2009 - 12:59 pm:
Might want to evaluate the situation for "thread" worms. A whitish discharge may be an actual worm. The runny discharge may be a precursor. Treat w/ Equimax wormer. Would also explain the lethargy.
Puffiness, runny, could be allergies=trihist, histall.
Puffiness, runny could be scratched or ulcerated surface==triple antibiotic ointment and miconozol nitrate (to treat for fungus) onto inner pink area of lower lid. May have clogged tear ducts. Not to mess around w/eyes..get the vet. Not worth the risk of losing sight. Good luck. Sounds like youre trying hard.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 19, 2009 - 7:54 am:
Hello Kara,
The term "threadworms" is a bit obscure. I can think of two parasites of horses called threadworms (Onchocerca sp. and Strongyloides westeri) but neither would present with these symptoms. Is there a particular parasite you are thinking of?
DrO
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