Uveitis and daily anti-inflammatory

[Hollywood]

I have a horse that is in the midst of a severe uveitis flare up - in both eyes now, started with the right with an injury last year, and now it has traveled to the left. He's been seen by my vet and an ophthalmologist, and we are treating with dex, atropine, and daily banamine. I am now gathering information on the cyclosporine implants, and will likely be getting this procedure in the coming months. It appears the vision is cloudy at best with the right eye, but the left eye still looks good and healthy, and I want to keep it that way.

The reason for my post is b/c we are weaning off the several times a day dex/atropine and the banamine - swithing over to a gram of bute daily starting Thursday.

The bute or aspirin are now required daily (forever) to prevent inflammation and try to reduce future flare ups.

So my question is for those of you that have alot more expeience with ERU than I, what are you using as a daily anti-inflammatory, and how much?

My vets are suggesting a gram of bute daily. But the aspirin may be gentler on the stomach.

Just curious what others are doing to maintain.

Thanks.

[ChocoMare]

I found aspirin to be cheaper and easier. I used human ones and whizzed them up in a coffee grinder to mix with feed. Even chucked in a couple of fruitie Tums to help with tummy issues.

[EventFan]

Something else I would suggest is to get a Guardian Mask. They block 95% of the sun's rays which in turn makes your pony feel much better. They aren't cheap, but they work!

There's only one place to get one, but the guy is really helpful in measuring and helping you figure out what to get. One of the horses where I board wears one for turnout, and my horse uses one for riding because of an old eye injury.


http://guardianmask.com/

[WW_Queen]

That is a good question, I will have to talk to my vet about that. I thought that daily meds were only required for severe cases but obviously if your vet warrants them then better to be safe than sorry.

We are currently weaning my guy slowly off the meds....we will know by the weekend.

My guy now wears the mask too. Looks dorky as h*ll but whatever makes him comfortable. :)

Apparently MSM can work as an anti-inflammatory for some cases. Maybe get the mask and try that as well?

I have heard good things about the implant. I am looking to try it as well except my guy is on his first "flare up" and don't know if he's eligible yet for the implant (or whether it's available in Canada or not).

[Hollywood]

Thanks Eventfan, I did order one and it came in last week. I am having to double mask him though b/c my other gelding thinks it is great fun to pull it off. My horses go all summer without losing a single fly mask...I put the gaurdian on and it's off within the first 30 minutes...I was not happy. So now I have a draft size fly mask with double velcro over the gaurdian mask.

I should probably email a suggestion to gaurdian to make the masks with the double velcro.

Chocom - I do feed a daily GUT, and my vet thought with that I would be ok with the bute. But ultimately I am leaning towards aspirin based on cost. How many human pills do you grind and feed?

[mjrtango93]

My mare had horrid uvietus as well and was diagnosed at 8 years old. She went completely blind in the left eye at 11 and has limited on the right. I sold her at 13 as I had outgrown her but she is now 21 years old and still loves her life. I would not recommend daily bute for a horse under 20 years as it does effect the other organs and is a bit tougher on the tummy. Foxy lives on 1/2 a horse pill of aspirin (they are huge!) and never had any issues. She has been on it for over 10 years with no issue, plus if your showing you aspirin clears the system faster if you have to go off for shows, and sometimes you can even declare it and still give it depending on the show. Not so with bute.

[Hollywood]

My horses are on daily MSM, and apparently it has not helped my horse.

I am also looking into chinese herbs - both feed through and drops for the eyes.

My guy is only 8yrs old - it's so sad!

[ChocoMare]

Chocom - I do feed a daily GUT, and my vet thought with that I would be ok with the bute. But ultimately I am leaning towards aspirin based on cost. How many human pills do you grind and feed?

It was for a 750 pound Appaloosa: 25 human pills once a day. Granted, the grinding was a pain but I was short of $$$$ then and it was cheaper to buy a big honkin' bottle from Dollar General. Star lived on aspirin the rest of her days.

[EventFan]

Oh bother I bet that looks funny! We had one gelding who insisted on pulling the Mask off as well-but he's moved to another barn (thankfully)!

If the mask is getting torn off I have a suggestion so that you can FIND it in the field. I tied a florescent reflective ribbon on mine, it's a bear to find in grass or mud. But if you wait until dark and shine a flashlight around the field the florescent ribbon will glow.......DON'T EVEN ASK ME HOW I KNOW THIS! LOL!:cool:

[mjrtango93]

Not sure if you use smartpaks or not but with vet RX faxed in you can get it pre-ground and measured in your smartpak!

http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductClass.aspx?productclassid=187&cmPreserveSource=true&cmPreserveCategory=true

All things considered that is under $20 a month for long term care.

[Mamare]

How does uveitis present? Can you explain what it looks like? I'm waiting on the vet - my horse's eye looks kind of smaller and sunken in, not inflammed, irritated or swollen, just weird.

[Sanity Rules]

It was for a 750 pound Appaloosa: 25 human pills once a day. Granted, the grinding was a pain but I was short of $$$$ then and it was cheaper to buy a big honkin' bottle from Dollar General. Star lived on aspirin the rest of her days.

Ecotrin Aspirin :D You can toss these babies WHOLE into their grain and most horses will consume them. They're coated, so that helps with tummy issues as well. 300 tablets for $13.99

[Truthiness]

Mamare: yes, an affected eye may begin to shrink and recede in the eye socket. This is generally a sign that sight has been lost. Test your mare by covering her good eye and walking her through an obstacle course you've set up (buckets, cones, chairs, etc). If she walks into the objects, you'll have your answer. You will need an equine ophthalmologist to get a full assessment. Good luck.