Torn Eyelids and Vision

[Mona]

This i in regards to a riding horse, but I know I have read on here about several horses over the years that have torn their eyelid. (usually on a pail handle) I have some questions in regards to the end result.

When this happened, was the eyelid stitched back together or was the ripped piece(with eyelashes) removed totally?

If the piece was removed, did the missing eyelashes cause problems for sensitivity to light and/or shadows or did things seem the same?

Was there any permanent damage to the eye itself as a result of the missing part of eyelid?

Was there damage to the eye itself as a direct result of the same injury?

We recently bought a gelding and although he is a stable minded horse, he seems to really look at his shadow, s in he watches it with his head bent way down looking right at it like he is wondering what it is. Not a glance, but staring at it. I am not sure if he sees only shadows now due to loss of vision, or if he has lost all sight in that eye or what. I plan to have the vet check it next time they are out, but won't be making a special call for it.

When we bought him, I noticed the issues with how he seemed to be scared of his shadow on the right side and more jumpy when approaching strange objects on the right, but never thought anything more of it. we had owned him about a month when my daughter mentioned how ugly his eye looked...like it was deformed and that he had no eyelashes on it. I had not even noticed that before!! I do remember thinking he looked kind of "pig-eyed", but never even noticed the difference in how the eyes looked compared to one another. Sure enough, I looked and I am guessing he has had a tear to the lid and had the portion removed, but not knowing if there was damage to the eye too. I am sure the sun must be extra bright for him, because he is a white (maximum white sabino) so has pink pigment to start, and now made worse with no lashes. Would love to know more about how your horses reacted to having their eyelids ripped?? Thanks!

Here are 2 photos of the bad eye, and then compare it to 2 photos of his good eye.

 

[targetsmom]

We have a mini mare that has tried to destroy her right eye and the eyelid many times and she still sees just fine. She ripped her eyelid a few years ago scratching it on something in her stall (not the bucket) and the vet stitched it twice. When she tried to take those stitches out we gave up. She lost half her eyelashes but not all, and she seems to see fine. Has been shown in hunter/jumper and driving with no issues. Then last year she tried to scratch out the eye itself! Had a huge corneal tear which was treated very aggressively and that healed pretty well too. She can still see well enough to jump and drive although she still has a cloudy spot on the eye.

The issue with your guy could depend on the extent of the injurty, how it was treated, or something else entirely. Good luck!

 

[ohmt]

We have a couple of horses with half of their eyelids missing-so only part of their eyelashes remain. They tore theirs-one we are not sure how and the other two froze them to a gate. The damaged portions were just removed in those cases. The little stallion we are leasing tore his almost completely off and his owner had her vet sew it back on. You can't even tell it happened now. She said it was a very clean tear though and was a very expensive vet visit. She only did it because she wanted him shown. All of ours had no damage to the actual eye and see just fine without any sensitivity.

That being said, i'm not sure if you remember my post about my max sabino filly a few months ago. She had extreme light sensitivity for about a month after she was born. She sees just fine now, but she very much prefers to sleep during the day and play hard at night. During the day she keeps her eyes half shut to help with her light sensitivity so I can only imagine she would have a rough time if part of her eyelid had to be removed.

I agree with targetsmom that there could have been other issues when your boy injured his eyelid depending on how it happened. I am hoping it is just some light sensitivity that is going on.

 

[Mona]

Thanks so much for the replies. I am wondering if black streaks under the eyes may also aid in combatting the light sensitivity, you know, like football players do?? Of course it would look ugly, but may help? I wonder how they make out in the winter with the glare of the sun on the snow...people can get "snow blindness" so I wonder if the horses that have light sensitive eyes may be bothered by it too. Wish I knew more about his past, but I don't.

 

[chandab]

If he wouldn't mind it, a fly mask might help with the glare, if that's what's bothering him. If you have one handy, it would be easy enough to find out if it would help.

 

[disneyhorse]

I've had several horses with torn eyelids... only one had a substantial part (upper half) of her eyelid amputated, the rest were stitched back on. They all were pretty much normal afterwards, all healed very well.

Andrea

 

[Margo_C-T]

In my years of horsekeeping, I've had two minis who tore(never knew how)their eyelids. The first, I found immediately, by luck my local and mobile vet was nearby, came right away, was able to sew it back on, and it healed perfectly with no after-affects whatsoever, eyelashes intact. The second,I found late in the afternoon, called the 'afterhours' number of a newer local vet, never received any response. The tear was a VERY thin strip, back toward the front, almost no bleeding nor obvious discomfort, so the next AM I called the same vet's office, got some feeble excuse about why no one had responded to my call of the evening before(advertising promises a response to after-hours calls), went ahead and took the horse in...too late to stitch the strip back on, of course, but it was dangling. Vet gave a touch of 'deadener' to the area, one 'snip' to remove the strip of dangling flesh(which included about half of his upper eyelashes

... ), and charged $80, without a word of apology for the lack of response to my original call(need I say, for that(and additional!)reasons, I do not take my vet business to her anymore.)

The little horse has had no problems w/o half his eyelashes. Vet did have me use a plain eye lubricating ointment in the eye for a time, and periodically if needed, and that seemed to help; might be something that could help your horse, also.

With all due respect, I really don't like pink skin around an animal's eyes; I believe it puts them 'at risk' in several significant ways, esp. at high altitude(thinner 'air'= stronger sun's effects) and/or where there is/will be a lot of snow 'glare'..and personally, I also just really don't like how it looks!

That said, my suggestions would include: a daily-use, year-round,fly mask to protect the eye from many of the elements that the eyelashes provide some protection from...strong light, bugs, impact to the eye(when the eyelashes are intact, they provide an 'early warning' to the eye to SHUT the eyelids!), etc. Some maker...it might be Cashel?...advertises a 'riding' fly mask...horse can easily see well through it, but it still provides the same kind of protection from all the above that any 'regular' fly mask would. (I have one mini mare who has partial pink skin around one eye; at age 29, she has ALWAYS worn a fly mask during the spring, summer, and fall...as much for protection against the sun as against flying insects...and she hasn't developed 'cancer eye' or any related condition.) ('Cancer' or 'pink' eye, was a large reason why Hereford(or 'whitefaced') cattle have fallen out of favor in many areas of the US...it is directly related to the white hair/pink skin around the eyes). I might also try experimenting with some sort of 'make-up'(safe around eyes!)to put ABOVE, or even completely AROUND, BOTH his eyes.(Football payers put a black strip BELOW the eye on the cheekbone, which 'protrudes frontward' a bit, so that helps to cut down on glare, but not sure it would work the same way for a horse, since its facial structure isn't quite the same...?)

Agree that having the horse's vision checked when a vet visit is due is a good idea, too.

Keep us posted, OK? My experience has been that the loss of eyelid has not been a problem, but the effects of the eye being virtually surrounded by pink skin could make matters worse.

Margo

 

[REO]

I've had horses tear their eye lids off on chainlink fence.

Some were sewn back on and some had part snipped off. All healed great with no problems.

If he is a riding horse, try a shadow roll on his bridle and see what happens. Poor guy looks like the sun shining right into his eye causes him to tilt his head to escape the glare (to me) If only there was a way to put a hood over his eye (like lashes) to see if that eases him. All I can think of is a fly mask.

 

[Mona]

Thanks again. I do have fly masks here and do use them off and on. I was actually leaving them on all the time, but with them having free roam in the pasture, and amongst trees etc., it is always a concern to me. They also ruin them pretty quickly when left on them all the time, so that was the main reason I started taking them off of them.

Thanks Robin...I'll have to look that up...I've never heard of a shadow roll before.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

My broodmare Sugar has half of her eyelid including the eyelashes missing from her right eyelid and she sees just fine with no sensitivity whatsoever and it doesn't require any extra maintenence or anything. Her vision is fine and she is a wonderful and athletic little mare.

 

[REO]

They used shadow rolls on TBs during races. They couldn't see their shadows then. Like a big fuzzy nose peice.

 

[Mona]

Yes, I looked them up after I read your post and found that out. I was hoping it might have been something that would help with the sensitivity. His bridle does not have a noseband so I guess we'll make sure without one. It's not that he's crazy about seeing his shadow, but stares at it like he is waiting for it to get him or something...like staring at it wondering why it is moving with us! LOL!

 

[REO]

I'd hoped that you could make him a shadow roll and ride him with it and see if that (his shadow & not the sun in his eyes) is the cause.

Is it only while he's being ridden? If not, make a shadow roll for his halter and watch him walk around in places where his shadow is more "there" IE: dirt vs grass.

Still, if he is tilting his head down on the side without lashes, it may be him trying to shade his eye from the sun.

 

[Sue_C.]

As a human who doesn't grow eyelashes, I can tell you...it is much more aggravatingly difficult than when I did have them. I get much more dirt in my eyes, and I have severe sun sensitivity. You have no IDEA what-all your nice thick lashes do for you until they are gone.

 

[JAX]

Sue_C have you ever heard of Latisse? I know someone who did it and loved it. I dont know your situation or if its available in your area... but just thought I'd mention it!

http://www.latisse.com/?cid=ppc_gg_latisse_eye_lash_growth

 

[Sue_C.]

Sue_C have you ever heard of Latisse? I know someone who did it and loved it. I dont know your situation or if its available in your area... but just thought I'd mention it!

http://www.latisse.com/?cid=ppc_gg_latisse_eye_lash_growth

Mine isn't a "growing older" thing...they left when I was still in my 20's, and it is some sort of hereditary "thing" that I unfortunately share with my Mom, her sister...and likely their Mom. I might just give this stuff a try anyways, I mean, after all who knows, it just might help.

 

[Mona]

Thanks Sue for that perspective on things. I am sorry you have to go through this yourself, but thank you for sharing with me how it does affect you.

 

[ontherisefarm]

I dont have anything to add really. I just wanted to say that your riding horses are beautiful....

 

[Mona]

Thank you Alicia.