Appy Minis

[dreamlandnh]

Does anyone know if mini Appy's carry the genetic makeup for moon blindness as the larger Appy's?

 

[~Lisa~]

Yes minis can get moon blindness or Uveitis I have a few spot mare who has it and is getting worse and worse she has lost vision in one eye and has very limited vision in the other. She goes thru boughts where she is very bad and then it seems to ease up (although not getting her sight back) I keep going back and forth with putting her down seems like by the time I decide ok this is enough she seems to go thru a better time.

I am sure it is painful and she appears to have a headache just by her mannerisims when she is bad. The blindness part is easy enough to get around although she has crashed right into me a couple of times but for the most part gets around pretty well but the pain part is what really gets me the vets said at this stage there is nothing they can do to treat symptoms and of course it is incurable is a horrible position to be in to look at a otherwise very healthy horse and know the end is near

 

[dreamlandnh]

Thank you so much for the info. Our horse does not have this but due to the vet has been here 2x in less then a week he wanted me to check it out. First time was a superficial corneal ulcer and this time he has a lacaration on the other eye (thinking it is from rubbing his head or being too close to the other horse and the tail whipped him).

We love Roger very much and just want to be on top of things.

 

[~Lisa~]

for sure keep on top of it. by the time we got our mare she had progressed pretty far ad both eyes had some cloudiness they are almost creepy looking when the sun or light hits them just right they are kinda yellow and see thru just weird and hard to explain

 

[shorthorsemom]

Has anybody else been told to keep a fly mask on their appy's for protection against the UVitis/moon blindness? My vet stressed that with my appy's I need to be protecting their eyes from the sun as much as possible. I do it, but have wondered if anybody else out there has heard this. just curious.

 

[Willow Tree Miniatures]

I WORK AT A VET'S OFFICE... MOON BLINDNESS CAN ANY OCCUR IN ANY BREED OF HORSE NO MATTER WHAT COLOR ETC. AT OUR OFFICE WE HAVE USED THE CATTLE VACCINE "SPIROVAC OR REPROSTAR" AT THE LABELED CATTLE DOSE IN HORSES TO HELP REVERSE AND/OR RESTORE SIGHT TO THE HORSE. LEPTO CAN SOMETIMES BE A CAUSE OF MOON BLINDNESS. A SINGLE DOSE OF THE VACCINE IS CHEAP. IF YOU GET TO THE POINT THAT YOU MIGHT PUT YOUR HORSE DOWN WHY NOT GIVE IT SHOT. WE HAVE BEEN PLEASED WITH THE RESULTS. JUST A THOUGHT... BUT CONSULT YOUR PERSONAL VET FIRST BEFORE GIVING ANY INJECTION YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH.

 

[CrescentMinis]

So what are the chances a horse (not a speck of Appy in her pedigree) who was diagnosed with ERU as a several-weeks-old foal, could have a NON-genetic form of this? If it's of genetic origin, I don't want to breed her and have it show up in her foal. Apparently there is not a genetic screening test available at this time or I would look into that.

Lisa, I'm so sorry your mare is so far along with this condition. Fortunately, ours does not have severe symptoms (some tearing at times, but not a lot) and eyesight seems fine at age 5 years. Her eyes do have a slightly protruding look, and if you look down from above her, the eyes look clear instead of dark where they protrude. Viewed from the side, her eyes are dark brown and normal looking. During the times when the eyes are running, should she be getting anything for discomfort? She does not act like she's feeling any different at those times. The vet didn't seem overly concerned and just left a tube of eye antibiotic cream in case they looked irritated.