Eye Injury - Poor Little One

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AppyLover2

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When I went out to feed last night, this is what I found.

My poor new little one. We're having a terrible time getting things together here. Some of you may remember she had a VERY long transport; I can't put her in with my gelding; and now this.
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I can't help but wonder what's going to happen next. But maybe (since I just listed 3 things) all the bad things are over.

Vet said he was surprised there was no injury to the eye itself since it was such a traumatic injury. But, good news is...he came, stitched her up...and she should be fine. Just gotta use eye meds and watch for infection. (And try to find out what the heck she did this on!)

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I'm sorry the pix are so large. Gross enough without being wide screen. I'll try to make them smaller.
 
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Donna it's horrific but take heart!! Some time ago I posted, without the pics, something very similar. The filly was not only better in days but the eye has healed COMPLETELY on it's own!! she did not even have a/b's . I put a fly mask on her and I dressed with Aloe gel each day- I would not have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes. She now has a normal eye to the point that she is back showing and only a rakish scar that grew through white (she is black) above her eye, making her look as if she has gone a couple of rounds with Zorro!!
 
Oh Donna

Thank the Lord, she did not get the eye it self. She will heal. I would check the

fence, the feeders, everything. I had a filly who cut her eye open. But it was the

eye. It had already started to melt out. We were able to save the eye. She has

total vision in it. I found the what to. It was the new $50.00 feeder. It had a sharp edge on the corner, and I did not know. I pulled it and we have never used it again. It had the hay rack in the top of it. Bought it at the feed store.

Just keep doctoring it, and I to would see if she would wear a fly mask. Wishing you well.

Vicky
 
You will be amazed how quickly she will heal. Be extra loving and offer cookies or treats when ever you have put in the drops/ointment. Fly mask is important but you will see in about a week how good it should look. Hope things get better. Like you said that's 3, so it's all good from here.
 
Thanks for the encouraging words ladies.

Dimi - I wish I could find a treat she likes. She evidently hasn't ever had anything like that. I'm even shredding carrots to put in her feed and she eats around them.

Jane & Vicki - thanks for mentioning the fly mask. I wouldn't have thought of it. Don't have one, so I will get one immediately (or as fast as possible).

I did go out and walk the fence and checked the barn. Found a couple of possibilities and got rid of them; but who knows what the heck it was.

Now - would somebody please give me some tips on how to put ointment in her eye by myself?? She wasn't pleased with the attention this morning and I'm not sure if I even got any in there. Suggestions please.
 
Eyelid injurys are pretty icky to look at but are also pretty common i have had a few - some ripping the whole upper or lower eyelid off like your filly but they all healed fine in fact most of them youhave to really search for the scar.
 
Oh my goodness...that sure does look nasty! I sure hope your little girl will be OK! Good Luck with her.
 
You can try putting the ointment on your finger first, then rolling out her lower lid and brushing the oitment into it. Clients often complain they are afraid they are going to poke the eye using the ointment tube, so in many cases the finger works much better. I prefer using drops instead of ointment; most horses are much easier to do drops. The downside is ointment lasts longer, so you have to go 3-4 times a day with drops instead of 2x a day with ointment.
 
Poor little gal-nothing is scarier-looking than eyelid tears! I had this happen a couple of weeks ago, to a 4 YO filly-no evidence of how she did it, but luckily, as with yours, the eye itself wasn't injured. My filly tore her upper right lid, backwards, from just forward of the center of the eye-taking virtually all of her upper eyelashes with it! Discovered it at 6 PM(naturally!)-just put on a fly mask and called my local vet. He is now only in part-time practice, and was apparently out-of-town, as I heard nothing back from him, so the next AM, called my "in-town" vet, and ended up hauling her into town to him. Luckily, the skin flap still had a good blood supply; he stitched her up, gave me drops to put in, we came home. Misplaced the drops after a couple of days, so finished up with ointment-antibiotic,non-steroidal. I can second Dr.Pam's advice about using your finger to lay ointment inside the lower lid; it's what I've always done, and works well.

Had to wait until I got back from my ride a weekend ago to get her stitches out. The vet is over here on my side of the mountains every Wed., came by and removed them last Wed. She looks fine, and you'd never know it happened.

She was eating hay out of a couple of muck buckets; one had some pieces missing out of the top edge-not sharp edges, but....anyway, I replaced it, as well as going over her run with a fine tooth comb-found nothing that really looked like the culprit, so....you just never know.

Am sure your filly will be fine; prompt attention is the key!
 
For a treat..try Cheerios. Most minis LUV em and a small handful goes a long way to get her to stand for you. I wore a rubber glove when I medicated my girls' eyes and applied with my middle finger. MUCH easier. Treats before and treats after. Best of luck.
 
Use your finger to put the ointment in- wash it well and make doubly sure the fingernail is clipped short and clean. Put a generous amount of ointment on the finger, lean your elbow against her neck, pull her head round the elbow and slightly towards you. She will now be looking at your free arm wondering what is going on. The arm in contact with her is not a threat as she can feel it. Move the lower arm steadily towards her with a firm movement and swipe gently down from above, over the eyelid and onto the wound. If you get it right the arm will continue on down and she will never even notice. Restrain as little as possible- a horse instinctively fights if tied short or held tight.
 

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