Corneal ulcer, also known as corneal ulceration, is one of the most common eye diseases in horses. It is not a growth, but rather a tissue defect that does not heal chronically and can vary in severity. The treatment of a corneal ulcer can be very frustrating, and untreated or incorrectly treated corneal ulcers can lead to serious visual impairment or even loss of the eye.
The cornea, medically known as the cornea, is the outermost transparent layer of the horse's eyeball and is involved in refracting light rays. Together with the lens, it forms the optical system of the eye. The cornea is approximately 1 mm thick in horses and has no blood supply of its own. The cornea is supplied with nutrients via the inner eye, the adjacent sclera (the white part of the eye) and the tear fluid, which ensures that the surface of the cornea is always moist and clean. A branched network of sensitive nerve fibers runs through the entire cornea, which explains why injuries cause severe pain.
The cornea is made up of several layers. At the top, directly below the protective tear film, is the constantly renewing epithelial layer, which is bordered by the stroma. This is the thickest but also the most pain-sensitive layer of the cornea. The stroma is followed by the Descemet's membrane and the sensitive endothelium membrane underneath. The Descemet's membrane is extremely resistant and protects the eye from leakage, even if the epithelial layer and stroma are already damaged.
Corneal ulcers that only affect the epithelial layer are called superficial ulcers. Deep corneal ulcers are ulcers that involve both the epithelial layer and the stroma. The danger of deep ulcers is the increasing (sometimes very rapid) melting of stromal tissue and potential perforation of the Descemet's membrane, which in the worst case can lead to leakage of the eye and detachment of the retina.
The causes of a corneal ulcer can be very diverse. Relatively common triggers are injuries or foreign bodies that the horse picks up in the stable or pasture, but infections of the eye with viruses, fungi, parasites, or bacteria can also cause a corneal ulcer. Furthermore, abnormalities of the eyelids or eyelashes, as well as functional disorders such as insufficient tear fluid, can lead to severe mechanical irritation, resulting in a corneal ulcer. A corneal ulcer can also occur in connection with diseases of the inner eye or due to chemical irritation (fly spray).
The signs of the disease can vary depending on the cause and extent of the corneal ulcer. The first symptoms noticeable to the owner are often increased sensitivity to light and increased blinking, painful squinting, increased tearing, or even mucous discharge and reddened conjunctiva. In cases where the condition has been present for some time, a milky-white, dull spot on the eyeball and blood vessels sprouting into the cornea may be visible to the naked eye. If the cornea or conjunctiva is additionally colonized by bacteria, the discharge may also be yellowish and purulent.
If you notice any suspicious symptoms in your horse's eyes, do not hesitate to call a veterinarian, even if the changes appear harmless, as you cannot tell how deep a potential ulcer has already penetrated the layers of the cornea.
The veterinarian will perform a thorough general examination and a special eye examination. For a detailed examination of the eye, he has several modern devices at his disposal with which he can examine both the cornea and the inside of the eye in detail. Another useful tool is staining the cornea with fluorescein. This is particularly helpful in cases of minimal lesions that are difficult to see otherwise. If the cornea is intact, the dye cannot adhere to it. If the epithelial layer is defective, the fluorescein accumulates in the exposed water-containing stroma.
If an infectious change is suspected, swab samples are taken from the eye and examined in the laboratory for microbes so that the correct preparation for treatment can be selected.
The type of treatment depends primarily on the cause of the ulcer. If the trigger or underlying disease is known, it should be eliminated or the disease treated. Corneal ulcers are usually treated with medication first. Depending on the cause, different active ingredients are used, which are administered locally into the eye. These include pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, or antibiotic preparations.
IMPORTANT: Please do not use eye ointments or drops on your horse's eye without consulting the attending veterinarian, especially if they have already been opened! In particular, eye ointments containing cortisone must not be administered under any circumstances if there is a corneal defect, as this can lead to dramatic complications during the healing process.
In cases of advanced disease or if medication is ineffective, surgery is the treatment of choice. Minor defects of the epithelium and stroma can be filled by the veterinarian with a special tissue adhesive that dissolves during the healing process. In the case of more extensive, superficial defects, healing can be accelerated with the help of a conjunctival flap. This involves temporarily suturing part of the conjunctiva to the cornea so that the cornea in this area is supplied by the vessels of the conjunctiva. In the case of deeper defects, a corneal transplant may be the only promising treatment option. This involves transplanting healthy cornea from a deceased horse into the affected horse. Experience with this surgical method has been very good, with very few cases of tissue rejection and vision being preserved. However, the cost of the operation is very high.
When using pupil-dilating medication, care must be taken to ensure that the affected eye is reliably protected from sunlight in the following days. A darkened stall and a fly mask offer good protection for horses with eye diseases.
The prognosis for healing a superficial corneal ulcer is good with timely and consistent treatment. The defects usually heal completely within 3 to 7 days. With deeper ulcers, the prognosis can vary greatly depending on the extent and severity of the disease. The timing of treatment and potential complications such as secondary infections (infections with an additional pathogen) are also decisive for the prognosis. If the inside of the eye has already become infected, there is little chance of saving the eye. After a deep ulcer has healed, whitish opacities may remain on the cornea, which can impair vision depending on their size.
A good stable environment and early treatment of potential eye diseases are the best preventive measures to reduce the risk of corneal ulcers. Check your horse's stable and pasture for potential hazards (sharp objects) and remove them.
Bitless riding simply means riding without a bit in the horse's mouth. There are many different reasons and just as many ways to ride a horse without a bit. Of course, there are always disadvantages as well as advantages. Think about which bitless bridle suits you, your horse, and your riding style in advance. And finally, practice makes perfect.
Sebadenitis is a progressive inflammatory change in the sebaceous glands of the skin in dogs and cats, which ultimately leads to their irreversible destruction. The disease was first described in dogs in 1986.
The most common types of horse husbandry are classic stabling, free-range stabling (active stables), paddock trails, seasonal grazing, and open stabling. One thing should be clear to every horse owner. Horses want to run. In the steppe, they sometimes spend up to 16 hours a day searching for food and water. They graze as they roam across the land. Now, our horses have been bred and domesticated for our time together with them; they are no longer steppe ponies. We feed them and care for them. Nevertheless, horses need exercise. We should definitely keep this in mind when choosing how to keep our horses. This also means that keeping horses exclusively in stalls without a sufficiently large paddock for free movement is not species-appropriate. In addition, contact with other horses must always be ensured, as horses are herd animals.
Twice a year, our horses have a strenuous job to do: when they shed their coats, they need to perform at their best because their metabolism is working overtime. Some older or sick horses struggle with this. As a horse owner, you can help your horse get through the coat change more relaxed.
Dummkoller, formerly known as star gazer disease, is an incurable brain disease characteristic of horses, which fortunately is rarely seen today. Until 2002, this disease, which severely impairs consciousness, was one of the main defects that allowed a horse to be returned within 14 days of purchase.
Even after centuries of domestication and breeding, the horse remains a flight animal. Some behaviors are undesirable to us humans, but they are not behavioral disorders; rather, they are part of the horse's natural nature. These include, for example, shying, bucking, or bolting. A typical behavioral disorder, on the other hand, is cribbing.
Vaccinations for horses serve as preventive healthcare and protect against possible diseases and their spread. Depending on what you want to do with your horse, different vaccinations are recommended and even mandatory for competition horses. All vaccinations are correctly documented by your veterinarian in the equine passport.
As a general rule, every dog needs a certain amount of grooming, some more than others. For some dogs, it is even worth taking them to a professional groomer. As a dog owner, you can also do some grooming yourself at home.
Taking in a foal and choosing the long road to happiness on horseback is a real adventure! It is an opportunity to form a bond that can mature over many years and to watch a foal grow into a horse. But it also requires commitment on your part.
Doesn't every rider dream of an unforgettable ride on their four-legged favorite? Whether over hill and dale, along the coast, or simply from place to place. The feeling of sitting relaxed on your horse with the wind in your hair is amazing. Exploring nature together, perhaps racing neck and neck in a riding group or bravely riding into a lake to swim – you probably have all these images and stories of wonderful riding trips with happy horse-rider pairs in your head right now. We all know that it's not always sunshine and roses on four hooves and that some riders work up quite a sweat when riding through unfamiliar terrain. But with a little preparation and a few precautions, you can create the right conditions for returning from your ride full of enthusiasm and wonderful memories.
Almost all of us are familiar with asthma in humans. But chronic respiratory diseases are also becoming increasingly common among our horses. Over the past few years, various terms have been established to describe a similar complex of diseases. In English-speaking countries, the umbrella term "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease" (COPD) was used for a long time, as it was assumed that the changes affected not only the bronchi but the entire lungs. In German, the term "chronische obstruktive Bronchitis" (COB) was mostly used. Although these terms are still often used today, in veterinary medicine for horses, a distinction is now only made between "RAO: Recurrent Airway Obstruction" and "IAO: Inflammatory Airway Disease." The central component of all terms is always the obstruction or narrowing of the small bronchi, which leads to breathing difficulties and coughing. The precursor to these chronic diseases is usually acute bronchitis.
This rapidly progressing muscle disease, also known as grass disease, has only been known since the beginning of the last century and is feared by horse owners because most of the horses affected die from it and the causes were unclear for a long time. It primarily affects young, well-fed horses that graze on rather unkempt, nutrient-poor pastures.
