Equine Recurrent Uveitis is an eye condition that has caused blindness in horses for centuries and sadly remains the major cause of blindness in horses today.
Whilst Equine Recurrent Uveitis (ERU) may start as a mild painful episode that improves with treatment, it continues to reoccur over time, each episode progressively more painful and of longer duration until, in some cases, the horse becomes nonresponsive to treatment and eventually blind.
Occasionally, an owner elects to remove the eye in a desperate attempt to relieve the pain for the horse, whilst in others total blindness necessitates euthanasia due to the difficulties involved in managing a blind large animal. Treatment measures have improved over the last few decades; however, there remains a lot more research to be done to improve management of these horses before irreversible damage is done.
ERU should not be confused with uveitis as this also occurs commonly in horses but doesn’t have the recurring episodes that are experienced with ERU. Often a case of uveitis can be treated and resolves completely. Uveitis in simple terms means an inflammation of the uvea. The uvea being the vascular, pigmented layer of the eye that lies between the retina and outer wall of the eye and extends to form the iris, ciliary body, and choroid structures in the eye…
