Learning to medicate a horse’s eye can be hard. It’s understandable a horse doesn’t want a human opening its eye and putting something ‘foreign’ in there! In this short video, Christine Johnson, DVM, walks you through some steps on getting the medication where it belongs.
(Editor’s note: The content of this video is the expert’s approach to the topic. Please consult with your practitioner if you have questions.)
“Administering eye medications can be challenging,” Johnson said. “If possible, grab a partner to help position the horse’s head.”
If you are going to medicate an eye by applying an ointment, she said to gently open the eye using your pointer finger and your thumb to separate the upper and lower lids and expose the eye. Use your other hand to apply a nice line of ointment in the lid margins. Be careful to not touch the application tip to the horse’s eyeball.
If You Have Issues Medicating the Eye
If you have issues getting the medication into your horse’s eye, check with an experience horse friend to see if they can help. Or, you can have your veterinarian teach you how to medicate your horse’s eye when she/he prescribes the ointment or drops.
Make sure to let your veterinarian know if you are having difficulty getting the proper amount of eye medication applied.
Make sure to watch these other videos from MySeniorHorse.com:
- How to Give Oral Medications
- How to Safely Hold a Horse for the Vet or Farrier
- How to Take a Horse’s Respiratory Rate
- How to Wrap a Horse’s Hoof
- How to Remove a Loose Shoe
- How to Take a Horse’s Pulse and Digital Pulse
- How to Recognize and Treat Thrush
Further Reading
Eye Issues in a Population of Senior U.K. Equids. Kimberly S. Brown. MySeniorHorse.com
-
Editors of My Senior Horse are journalism professionals, most of whom are lifelong horse owners.View all posts