Vet Visit

One good thing about watching the horses by the hour is when something is not right it is easy to pick up on. Lily's uterus is not clean after the birth, she is starting to show pus. Dr. Hoerr's office was called to make an appointment today we don't mess around with infection there. The other reason I wanted him to come was we noticed that her filly's right eye wasn't right. It looked like there could be a cataract. I didn't want to write anything about it in case I didn't know what I'm looking at as this is the first time we have ever seen anything like that on any of the foals we have had over the years. We can tell she is not blind but can't tell how much she can see. Well Dr. Hoerr checked out both eyes and the good news is her pupils react to light but the bad news is yes there is a cataract on the right lens but the left eye which we thought was ok isn't right either. He is going to call a well known horse ophthalmologist to see if there is anything that can be done or what the prognosis would be for her. He told us this is a very rare thing but does happen. Of course I had to google it and this is what I found:
Horses can be born with cataracts due to developmental or heritable causes--known as congenital cataracts. Foals with cataracts often present very early in life, usually at 1 to 2 months of age. Typically, the owners will notice the whiteness in the pupil of one eye almost immediately after birth. This change is often followed closely by the other eye. Visual problems experienced by the foal are noticed through behaviors such as hesitancy to go anywhere without the mare or outright bumping into things. Otherwise, the foals are usually systemically healthy, and the eyes are not painful.
Congenital cataracts in newborn foals are especially amenable to surgical removal. Veterinary attention should be sought as soon as possible. Signs include a milky-appearing pupil or evidence of impaired vision as mentioned above. Immediately before and after surgery, the foal is given a number of medications including topical antibiotics, topical anti-inflammatories (steroidal and nonsteroidal), and systemic anti-inflammatories (usually Banamine).
The surgery is performed using a technology known as phaco-emulsification. This is the exact same technology and equipment used in human cataract surgery. Most of the foals spend about 5 to 7 days in the hospital after surgery. Rechecks are usually required at approximately 2 weeks and 2 months after surgery, although the interval and frequency is determined by the presence or absence of complications.
The most common post-operative problem is glaucoma. During the post-surgical period, the medications are usually reduced. Cataract surgery will usually result in the horse being far-sighted (not able to see things up close), but many go on to live productive lives.
So depending on what the horse ophthalmologist says, it kind of looks like I will be taking a trip to UofI soon.