While ocular issues were common in senior horses, most did not appear to impact vision: Fewer than 6% of the horses had reduced vision on clinical exam. | Photo: iStock

You’ve owned your senior horse for a long time. You’ve been through ups and downs with him, and it’s clear as day when he’s not feeling his best. But do you know how well he can see? Recent study results suggest it’s not easy for owners to spot eye problems in old horses: Owners reported that fewer than 4% of the study horses had some sort of ocular disease, but, in fact, researchers determined that nearly 90% of them did.

“Horses are prey animals in the wild and are, therefore, good at hiding any signs of discomfort or any potential weakness that would made them more vulnerable,” said Fernando Malalana, DVM, GPCert(EqP), DipECEIM, FHEA, MRCVS, RCVS, European specialist in equine internal medicine, of the University of Liverpool Philip Leverhulme Equine Hospital, Leahurst, in the U.K.

“A lot of chronic eye disorders can go unnoticed while the disease process and discomfort continue on in the background,” he said