RV is a 21 year old thoroughbred, and I have had him since the age of 13. We were successfully showing the hunters when he had his first flare-up. I remember his eye being swollen, and when it didn't go down in a couple days I had called the vet. I don't exactly remember what the vet perscribed him at the time, but I remember it being "no big deal." We treated the eye and were hopeful it wouldn't come back.
Little did I know at the time, this was only the beginning of this horrible disease. RV wasn't diagnosed with uveitis right away until he started getting flare-ups frequently. When he first started with the disease, his flare-ups were once or twice a year, and were easy to maintain. He was on topical ointments (Atropine, Diclocenac, and Neopolybac w/Dex Opthth ointment) along with an internal steroid (Prednissolone) and Banamine (inflammatory) that would help heal the eye. Also, when he first started with uveitis it was only attacking his left eye, again little did I know it would soon work its way to the other eye!
As his flare ups started becoming more frequent, he would come in with swollen bottom lids and a lot of tears. I started getting in the habit of calling the vet as soon as I saw this. The one thing I have learned with this disease is that time is not on your side, it needs to be treated right away or it only gets worse and is harder to treat. The vet had explained that before we could treat the eye he had to check to make sure there was no ulcer or we could not use steriods becuase it could permanently blind him. This is when I started really researching the disease, and found that there was really no cure for it, and vets are not sure where it comes from. I remember thinking to myself that this was going to be a battle since his flare-ups were occuring once every couple of months by this point. It was very upsetting for me to see him suffer. At first I had a really hard time dealing with it, but I knew for his sake I had to be strong!
Jessica
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