This past Saturday when one of our volunteers, Misa, took Aurora out to groom her, she noticed that Aurora’s left eye looked a little cloudy. We looked at it, and determined it would need a vet examination, just in case it was Uveitis.
Uveitis is fairly common in horses, especially older horses with compromised immune systems. It is actually an auto-immune disorder, not outside disease. The body’s immune system for some reason actually attacks the healthy tissue of the eye. The result is a lot of pressure on the eyeball and some discomfort.
Thankfully the vet was able to come out Monday afternoon to look at Aurora. She looked at both eyes, and noticed that there was some indication of the beginning of Uveitis in her right eye as well as her left. She stained both eyes to better see the different parts of the eye and any changes that would indicate another diagnosis.
The vet did confirm that there were some issues besides the Uveities with Aurora’s eyes, and while she is able to see now, she is slowly losing her sight. At 29 or 30 years old, that is not uncommon, and there is really nothing that we can do to prevent the natural progression of her sight loss- it may be another 10 years before she is completely blind. The vet did give us some medicine, however, to put into both of Aurora’s eyes to help alleviate the inflammation and to reverse the damage that is being caused by the Uveitis. We will continue with that medication for a week, when the vet will need to come out again to recheck the eye.
Aurora was not thrilled when I put the medication in her eye, but overall she was a very good patient. We all hope that our very sweet girl will be feeling better soon!