Do you think this is just setting in kind of stuff?

[Mominis]

My gut instinct is that this is just settling in stuff, but I really would like your take on it. Steak-n-Shake bumped his eye and got a minor cut on his lower eye lid the day he got here. His eyes were running yesterday but just clear-runny. This morning, the barn manager mentioned that he had some green goo in the corner of his eyes. She washed them with saline and they went back to just clear runny. I think he's rubbing his eyes on the stall wall trying to look over since it is a bit high for him. I'm going to ask the barn manager if I can get him a different stall door that he can see through and I hope that will fix it. Do you think that's it, or do you think I need to call the vet? My plan right now is just to keep an eye on it and see how it goes, but if you guys think I should call the vet, I'd sure like to know.

Also, he ate his oats last night (he came to me on a pound of oats twice a day and alfalfa hay, but I cannot find any decent alfalfa around here, so he's just on brome), but today he didn't finish his breakfast. After his turnout and we worked a little in hand, I brought him in and groomed him and he mucnched on them some more, but hadn't finished them by the time we left. I thought I'd keep an eye on him and if he slows down his eating any more than it is, I'll call the vet and get him some Probias and maybe a B12 shot.

Do you think I'm being a little too easy going about this or do you think I should call the vet? I'm so new to minis, I'm not sure about this. If it were a big horse, I'd keep an eye on him and call the vet if either condition worsens, but not knowing about minis, I wanted to get your thoughts.

Thanks.

 

[disneyhorse]

I'm sure he's just fine.

His eyes may just be a little irritated from shipping and such (wind blowing small bits of stuff around and such) and I really wouldn't worry about his eyes unless there is swelling or he is having trouble keeping them bright and wide open.

As for the feed... NOTHING tastes as good to horses as alfalfa. He's probably just not sure about the brome grass hay it definitely won't be as yummy as the alfalfa. He'll get a taste for it.

Andrea

 

[MountainMeadows]

I would add some triple antibiotic ointment 2X a day & continue to rinsing out his eye 2 or 3X a day, and you can also put him on SMZ's , just in case there really is a scratch - won't hurt and it will help a bunch. If he is rubbing it you will need to cover it so he doesn't irritate it more - and a little banamine goes a long way to relieve the sting of an eye injury - just don't go there without talking to your vet about it.

Might try some wet beet pulp with soaked alfalfa cubes with his oats - would give him that alfalfa taste and help keep him hydrated a little while he is getting used to the brome - I am always worried when my horses don't eat all their food, but I am a worry wart anyway.

Stac

 

[albahurst]

I tend to err on the side of extreme caution when it comes to eyes. If he has a scratch and has green goo, I would highly suspect he has an ulcer and now an infection, since he did bump his eye hard enough to create a scratch on the lid. Absolutely have the vet stain his eyes and give you the correct medication for his problem. Never use a medication in eyes that has a steroid in it if there is the slighest possibility of a scratch or abrasion.

Eyes can and do go 'south' quite quickly. Do keep an eye on it and I would highly recommend you consider vet/treating it as per the vet.

Good luck with your new boy

 

[wildoak]

If you can't find good alfalfa, you might check Tractor Supply for TNT - it's a chopped, bagged alfalfa/timothy mix that my horses love. It's readily available at least around here and I would suspect most TSC stores would have it. Purina also sells a very pretty bagged alfalfa.

Take a deep breath LOL, and for things like minor cuts and scratches treat him as you would a big horse. If it worries you and you think it merits vet attention, go with your gut - otherwise, watch and wait may be fine.

Jan

 

[SampleMM]

Personally, I would call a vet to check out his eye. In 25 years of owning big horses, I never had one eye injury. For some reason though, the minis seem more prone to them. Two out of the three eye injuries did have ulcers and were promptly treated with no problem but I hate to think what may have happened if left untreated. An ulcer is nothing to monkey around with and it's hard to know without staining the eye. I'm sure not trying to scare......these are just my thoughts and opinions.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

I agree with having a vet check the eye, but I'm also a big fan of flysmasks for helping to protect the eye, along with treatment.

 

[AnnaC]

You have received much good advice about his eye, so I just want to cover something else you said -- he may have bumped his eye trying to see over the high edges/walls of his stable. IMO any good barn owner/manager would have addressed this knowing he was a mini. If his door can't be lowered, then at least find him an alternative so that he can see out through it. No horse should be kept contained between four walls, particularly any new 'arrival' at a new barn. Horses do need to look, see, smell etc to find out who and what at a new place, before they relax and settle down. Once he is happily satisfied, he will probably relax and eat up his food with no problem. Also there will be less of a danger of him banging his eye/s again on the walls while trying to peer over the top.

Hoping his eye is a lot better today

Anna

 

[Mini Brook Farm]

"but today he didn't finish his breakfast".....

My husband says I'm a Nervous Nelly but if he did not finish his grain (and it's the same "grain" and portion as he was accustomed to) I'd take his temperature. Also, I don't like the sounds of "green goo".

If you have any doubts I'd call the Vet. Always better to error on the side of caution.

Congratulations on your purchase! He's a beauty....hopefully he's just fine this morning!!

Carol

 

[Gini]

Please call the vet. Many on here may remember CMHR's Emmy when she came to us she had scratched her eye. With 3 weeks of 3-4x a day treatment we ended up having to remove her eye. She came to us with the scratch and we tried. Not trying to scare you but before you put anything in the eye other than washing it out. Please have the vet check for an ulcer.

 

[Mominis]

Thanks for all of the input. Today I am picking up some diapers and duct tape and I'm going to line the stall wall (which would be perfect for a large horse to hang his over, but this place has never had a mini there before, the little man can only see over it if he stands on the footer of the stall and raises his head up) with it until the barn manager can get a foam liner up there. Her husband, who does all of the repair work on the farm, was injured in a riding accident on Monday and is on crutches and was quite sore yesterday, so it did not get done yesterday as he had said. This will at least be a stop gap while he gets better.

After reading all of your stories, I think I am going to call the vet if it isn't markedly better today. I'd rather be out the cost of a vet call and be safe. Thanks for that. Anyway, I'd like to have his teeth checked and a flu/rhino booster wouldn't kill him. He last had a booster in January. I was planning on having him out soon anyway, just to meet the little guy (who is still barn nameless, though we are getting closer to choosing one).

The barn managers have been very nice so far and have seemed to be right on top of things with his injury. When I say the cut is minor, I mean that it is so minor that you can hardly see it. But they handled it as well as I could have asked for. I have no issue with how they have handled this. None of us knew what to expect from a miniature, so we are learning as we go. Today I'm going to meet with them about getting a new stall door on there. I'm willing to buy it, I just want their okay to put it up. I don't see that it will be a problem. I want to get him one that he can hang his head over and see down the aisleway. Does anyone have a gate on their stall like this so that I can get an idea of what to build. Or even better, does anyone know where I can order a stall door that would be what I described?

 

[Mominis]

What is your opinion of this, please?

http://www.bigdweb.com/detail.aspx?id=26480

I emailed them to get the measurement from the ground to the lowest part of the yolk. If it is too big, they do have a smaller one.

 

[disneyhorse]

I definitely think a yoke door is the way to go... but make extra sure he can't get his hoof caught through it. They will really paw and strike at that gate around feeding time sometimes!

I would be careful with the duct tape, diapers, foam, etc. if he is anything like ANY of MY horses, he will eat it and totally destroy all that within a day. I'd tried all that when I had my horses in chain link stalls, and in the end just tried my best to move them out of those stalls when others became available. They ate anything, took off any zip ties, and just had fun. I don't really think they ingested any of it, but be careful.

You may be able to get something custom made at a local fencing shop. I had a pipe corral divider built specially for a stall I had, it was only $70. Maybe they can make something for your guy, and put welded wire or just plain pipe corral bars close enough together that he can't stick his head through but legs won't get stuck, either. And you could have it made at a good height he could put his head over.

Andrea

 

[Carolyn R]

What is your opinion of this, please?
http://www.bigdweb.com/detail.aspx?id=26480

I emailed them to get the measurement from the ground to the lowest part of the yolk. If it is too big, they do have a smaller one.

I purchased those for my new barn.

I actually started making wood doors, but went to a yearly "hoofty" sale as I affectionately call it. I was able to purchase 5 that were in excellant condition, one tall full size one (great if I ever get a BH again or even for an unruly mini that may try to go over) two were the size pictured (great for stalls with foals they go from the ground up, no rolling under the gate) and The opposite side of the aisle has 3 that are the short size, they float about 12-15" above the floor but are at the correct height to hang their head over the yoke.

I only had to buy 1 smaller one brand new, it was $112 locally, the others I happily paid a total of $97 for

Good Luck with your boy.

 

[Mominis]

Thanks for the opinions. Shake (his official barn name, thanks Leia) isn't much of an oral horse, but I will really keep a tight eye on him with the diapers and duct tape. I put them on today and it worked well, except my barn manager is calling it the ghetto stall

Her husband said he'd go buy the foam tomorrow, so it must be bad. lol

His eyes were much better today, not even clear goo. They were just kind of runny. I cleaned him up with baby wipes on his cheeks and some saline near his eyes. I hung his Gatorade bucket today and he really seemed to enjoy it. He also saw the farrier for the first time, he was kind of wiggly so I tipped the farrier to curry good relations.

And finally, I wormed him with Equimax. Tomorrow morning he starts his Strongid daily.

The barn manager said he wasn't really interested in his morning feed, but then she put him out for an hour because he seemed like he needed it and brought him back in and he went right to it. I also went and bought some of the Timothy-Alfalfa shopped hay that you suggested. I'm going to start him on a pound of that a day tomorrow with his regular rations and see how that goes.

Thanks for all the good input. You are very kind to be so helpful.