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Corneal Ulcers – Corneal ulcers are a frequent cause of corneal damage in horses. Frequently corneal ulcers are infected with bacterial or fungal organisms. Many bacteria and fungi are normal inhabitants on the equine eye surface, but may start multiplying and destroying corneal tissue following the corneal injury. Corneal ulcerations in horses are serious, and potentially sight-threatening diseases. Veterinary ophthalmologist can establish a diagnosis based on the result of the ophthalmic examination. The aggressive medical therapy is usually initiated using anti-microbial agents, serum, EDTA, topical atropine and systemic anti-inflammatory medications. Since horses are frequently not tolerant of eye drops or eye ointments, a lavage tube is usually placed in the lower eyelid of the horse, through which medications can be injected at the surface of the eye. If corneal ulcers are a very deep or aggressive, a surgical procedure may be needed with a goal of stimulating corneal healing and improving the structural integrity of the cornea.
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Corneal Stromal Abscess – Corneal stromal abscess is a condition where bacteria and/or fungi can get trapped between corneal layers. Once when this happens, the eye becomes very painful and inflammation, which occurs usually destroys the eye within 7-10 days. The most effective solution for this condition is a surgical removal of the abscess.
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Entropion – Entropion (or inward rolling of eyelids) most frequently develops in young foals. Temporary "tacking" of eyelids by placing skin sutures, which can pull the rolled eyelid margin away from the eye, frequently resolves the condition. In rare cases, the actual surgical shortening of the skin must be performed to permanently correct this condition.
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ERU (Equine Recurrent Uveitis) – ERU ("periodic ophthalmia", "moon blindness", "iridocyclitis") is a condition where immune cells start attacking different ocular structures resulting in cloudiness, redness, excessive tearing, pain and ultimately blindness. This is the most frequent blinding disease seen in horses. The condition may affect one or both eyes. This condition is of progressive nature, however blindness may be delayed for years with the appropriate medical therapy. Disease has much better prognosis if treatment is initiated early. Veterinary ophthalmologists can inject different anti-inflammatory medications around or in the eye itself. Slow release device (cyclosporine implant) can be surgically placed in the eye to help with the control of intraocular inflammation. Cataracts (lens cloudiness) and glaucoma (elevation of the intraocular pressure) are frequent secondary consequences of ERU in horses. In some horses ERU can affect only the back part of the eye (retina) resulting in the severe inflammation and retinal detachment, which usually leads to the blindness.
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Eyelid Tumors – The most frequent tumors affecting eyelids in horses are squamous cell carcinoma, sarcoids and melanoma.


Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common tumor of the eye and surrounding(periocular) tissues in horses. Squamous cell carcinoma frequently develops in horses, which have poorly pigmented or non-pigmented eyelid skin. This disease, usually affects older horses. This type of tumor is most frequently found on eyelids, third eyelid (nictitans membrane), conjunctiva (white tissue around the eye) and limbus (the line where conjunctival and scleral white tissue meets clear corneal tissue). Diagnosis of the squamous cell carcinoma is usually made by a pathologist after evaluating the piece of the surgically removed tissue. The most frequent treatment for the squamous cell carcinoma is the surgical removal, followed by freezing, chemotherapy or radiation therapy of the affected region.


Sarcoids are single or multiple tumors affecting eyelids. Sarcoids develop most frequently as a result of the viral infection. Sarcoids can be treated by surgical excision, freezing, and injection of different drugs (immunostimulant Bacillus Calmette-Gaérin (BCG), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), cisplatin).


Melanoma is usually solitary (single) tumor of the eyelid, which is usually treated with surgical excision and freezing.
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