Managing Horses with Excessive Tearing
Excessive tearing could suggest a number of potentially serious equine eye conditions. Veterinarians should examine cases carefully and then determine an appropriate treatment course. | Photo: Erica Larson/The Horse
“Horse eyes are awesome,” began Amber Labelle, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVO, assistant professor and veterinary ophthalmologist at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital. “But excessive tearing is not awesome.”

During a presentation at the 2013 American Association of Equine Practitioners’ Convention, held Dec. 7-11 in Nashville, Tenn., Labelle took an up-close look at excessive tearing in horses and what potentially serious conditions it might point to.

The Nasolacrimal System

“They eye can only do so many things—it squints, tears, and gets red; it’s a three-trick pony,” she explained. And the horse’s nasolacrimal (or tear) system and tear film play a very important role in maintaining ocular health. The tear film works by:

  • Providing oxygen and nutrients to the corneal epithelium;
  • Removing debris and waste products from the cornea;
  • Keeping the ocular surface lubricated; and
  • Allowing light to pass from the external environment directly into the eye.

“The old adage ‘no foot, no horse,’ in certainly true; its ocular equivalent is ‘no tear film, no eye,’ ” Labelle said

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