Cataracts
Symptoms
Eye looks glazed, and all or part of it opaque. The horse may become more anxious and spook and shy at objects more often. It may stumble regularly, walk into things causing an increased number of injuries than usual and hold its head differently.
Cause
Some horses may be born with cataracts, either because they inherited them or because of a problem during the pregnancy or birth of the foal, such as malnutrition or an infection. Some horses may develop them following trauma to the eye or due to old age. Although some cataracts may affect the horses vision, most may not cause a problem although they should be checked every year to make sure they do not change.
Treatment
Affected lens needs to be removed and surgery is the only possible way of doing this. Your veterinary surgeon will need to check there are no other problems with the eye and that the cataract is serious enough to justify surgery. A full recovery is unlikely and the horse will most likely have reduced vision in the eye that was treated. Cataracts do not cause any pain so if the horses vision is not affected to a large extent then they should not cause too may problems. If you find there is pain associated with a cataract this could be due to a secondary problem and should be fully checked by your vet.
Please remember this information is provided as a guide only and professional advice should be sought before any diagnosis or treatment is applied.