How to Treat an Equine Eye Infection

Eye infections in horses can be serious problems. Prompt treatment is essential, or the horse may lose sight in the infected eye. A horse needs its eyesight in both eyes to judge distances and jumps, and a one-eyed horse is at a significant disadvantage. Horses have eyes on the sides of their heads, which gives them a wide angle of vision. It also makes their eyes particularly prone to damage from being knocked into objects or from bites from other horses.

Things You'll Need

  • Saline solution
  • Ointment
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Contact your veterinarian immediately if you think your horse's eye might be infected. Signs of infection include crusty deposits on the eyelid, swollen tissue around the eye and excessive blinking.

    • 2

      Examine the horse's eye carefully, looking for any foreign objects such as splinters, pieces of gravel or dirt.

    • 3

      Rinse the horse's eye with sterile saline fluid. This liquid will wash out any debris that may be irritating the surface of the eye.

    • 4

      Examine the eye for a bluish or whitish film. This film is a sign that the cornea has been damaged.

    • 5

      Follow the veterinarian's directions in regards to how to apply medication. Ointment can be administered by pulling down on the horse's lower lid and squirting the ointment into the gap between the lid and surface of the eye.