Eyes running all the time

[CrescentMinis]

My almost 4-year old mare has a chronic eye thing going on.... daily, I take a damp washcloth to her face to wash off tearstains. When I bought her, I was told there she had an ongoing eye issue (a little sensitive to bright light and that her eyes ran at times), and also (I hope I have this right) that it was due to an infection her dam had that affected the foal in utero. I should mention the tear stains are clear and her eyes do not appear to be irritated. I don't see any extreme light sensitivity, watching her moving between the shaded and sunny areas when she is turned out.

Anyway, just looking into this to see if anyone has heard of anything along these lines before. I do have the vet coming on Friday to update the girls on a couple of things, so we will be covering this, but I like to do as much homework as possible beforehand.

Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[wiccanz]

This may not apply to your mare, but when my boy was in his 3-coming-4 year, his eyes ran constantly. I put it down to teething, there was no discharge as such, just clear tearing.

The following year, it stopped by itself and stayed gone

 

[dali1111]

what kind of environment do you live in? I mean is it dry, windy..what's the soil like? I live on a giant sand hill and my one gelding's eye is constantly runny from the wind getting sand in hs eye. ISTRONGLY recomend that Clear Eyes stuff for horses i think Farnam makes it but i'm not sure.

 

[Wisteria]

Hi Faith,

I've had this happen before. I was told the mare's tear ducts needed to be FLUSHED. Your vet will know what to do.

Good luck!

Monette

 

[dali1111]

Just wanted to back Monette up. That is a very good idea.

 

[CrescentMinis]

Thanks everybody, I appreciate the input.

My "big horse neighbor" actually mentioned the tear duct flush. Interesting that it could be as simple as teething too; maybe it'll resolve on its own. She still has tooth bumps and I wonder what the vet will say about that.

Oh, and our climate is the wet and rainy northwest corner of the US. She is bedded on pelleted bedding (sawdust) with cedar shavings on top. I can't tell if that is complicating this or not.

 

[Mona]

I agree with those that said to check the tear ducts. Many years ago, I bought a mare/filly package, and the filly's eye kept running all the time(clear fluid), and when I had the vet check her, it turned out she had no tear duct on one side so the tears had nowhere to run but down her face!

 

[runamuk]

Thanks everybody, I appreciate the input.

My "big horse neighbor" actually mentioned the tear duct flush. Interesting that it could be as simple as teething too; maybe it'll resolve on its own. She still has tooth bumps and I wonder what the vet will say about that.

Oh, and our climate is the wet and rainy northwest corner of the US. She is bedded on pelleted bedding (sawdust) with cedar shavings on top. I can't tell if that is complicating this or not.

You might want to switch the cedar to pine or fir. Cedar can be irritating to some horses.

Another thing I did with a horse who had a running eye was to keep a fly mask on when turned out. Seemed to help alot.

And I agree with the others get the tearduct checked

 

[Marty]

Blocked tear ducts

 

[Megamini]

It could be that your mini has a lowered immune system especially if her dam was sick while pregnant.

 

[The Dynamic Duo]

My almost 4-year old mare has a chronic eye thing going on.... daily, I take a damp washcloth to her face to wash off tearstains. When I bought her, I was told there she had an ongoing eye issue (a little sensitive to bright light and that her eyes ran at times), and also (I hope I have this right) that it was due to an infection her dam had that affected the foal in utero. I should mention the tear stains are clear and her eyes do not appear to be irritated. I don't see any extreme light sensitivity, watching her moving between the shaded and sunny areas when she is turned out.

Anyway, just looking into this to see if anyone has heard of anything along these lines before. I do have the vet coming on Friday to update the girls on a couple of things, so we will be covering this, but I like to do as much homework as possible beforehand.

Thanks in advance for any info!

My freind minihorses4ever (Breanne) realized that her horse, Willie, had runny eyes like your describing. She took him to the vet and found out he had allergys of all things so you may want to ask about that

 

[sams]

i agree it could be tear ducts, but my yearling had runny eyes as well and she was on shavings, when i switched her to just the pelleted bedding and wet down her hay the eyes cleared up right away

 

[kaykay]

just an fyi be careful that its not moonblindness. The sensitivity to light and tearing etc would make me consider it.

The common symptoms of moonblindness include conjunctivitis (red eye), increased lacrimation (tearing) and blepharospasm (half-closed, painful eye) and each episode lasts 1-2 weeks. There are also significant changes to the back part of the eye, posterior uveitis, which can ultimately lead to blindness. Treatment includes anti-inflammatories (Banamine granules) and topical steroid/antibiotic opthalmic ointment for a week to ten days.

 

[CrescentMinis]

This is great! Thank you. Now I'll have more background talking with the vet about possibilities.

I have also noticed with this filly, that when you look at her eyes, say if you are standing in front of or behind, that the rounded part that protrudes past the eyelid looks transparent from that angle, yet with the other 2 mares seems to be dark. Also seems to stick out a bit more compared to the other 2 mares. Yet her eyes do not appear to be especially big when viewed from the side.

 

[Ginia]

Is your filly silver with intense silver in her pedigree on both sides? What you are describing sounds like a genetic disorder that is common in the Rocky Mountain horses, but also occurs in the small breeds that carry the silver dapple genetics. It is called (and I may mis-spell this, but you'll get enough to look it up on your own,) "Anterior Segmented Disgenesis". I have seen it in a couple of minis in the past.

 

[silverstar]

Hi, my mini suffered from this, hes a yearling. He was checked for blocked tear ducts but this wasnt the issue. He was transfered to an equine hospital and was found to have "entropion" which is turning in of the lower eyelids. The eyelids turn in and rub on the eyeball causing irritation thus weeping. You cant see it yourself. He had them stitched out which has cured one eye but he may need an operation on the other to have it corrected.

 

[CrescentMinis]

Hmmm, it'll be interesting to hear the vet's opinion. There are so many things that could cause this.

Ginia...she is as chestnut red as they come; I know her sire is also chestnut and I'm not sure about her dam.

I'm a little familiar with entropion (in dogs) and hadn't considered that here. It's possible.

I think we can rule out shavings for bedding being a contributor, because apparently this has been going on her whole life, and the breeder she came from had the horses out in pasture/lots most of the time, not stalled.

 

[disneyhorse]

My mare has one eye that is always slightly weepy. Probably not allergies, as it is not bilaterally symmetrical. Probably not something too serious, as it is only slightly irritated. Who knows sometimes?

One of the more interesting things I'd seen was a shetland/mini I rescued a long while back. His eyes were both very runny all the time.

Turns out he was born WITHOUT any tear ducts! It was either an expensive surgery to create ducts into the sinus cavity, or keeping a flymask and flushing his eyes out with saline solution every now and then. The family I gave him to opted to keep a mask on and keep the eyes clean. So weird!

Andrea

 

[CrescentMinis]

UPDATE:

The vet was out this morning and here is what she said...

Didn't see an infection.....but

Blocked tear ducts caused by TOOTH BUMPS; therefore instead of sedating and flushing them now, she wants to wait and do that after the bumps go down, because they will continue to be in the way till then. So there's nowhere for the tears to drain except down her face

I will continue cleaning her pretty little face daily till then.

Oh, and I asked about how her eyes protrude and you can see through them if you look down; the vet said this is an inherited thing and her foals will likely be the same, but nothing is "bad" about this.

Oh yeah, the BIG NEWS.....Sofie was palpated and she's definitely pregnant!

We will have a Landry's Cowboy Del baby in May if all goes well!!!! I am so happy! One of the main reasons I bought her, was the hope of getting a Cowboy foal!!! Woo hoo!

 

[Mona]

So glad you now know what caused the runny eyes, and CONGRATULATIONS on your new upcoming foal!!!