Eye conditions including uveitis, corneal ulcers, and conjunctivitis are painful and common in horses. Early recognition and prompt veterinary treatment are essential to prevent suffering and vision loss.
Eye disease causes acute and chronic pain in horses that is often underestimated relative to musculoskeletal conditions. Uveitis flares are intensely painful, causing photophobia, blepharospasm, and profoundly altered behavior in affected horses. Corneal ulcers cause immediate, severe pain that impairs function and welfare rapidly if treatment is delayed. Because horses are prey animals that instinctively suppress vulnerability, early behavioral signs of eye pain are often subtle and missed. Regular observation of eye appearance and behavior, combined with prompt veterinary assessment of any eye change, is the foundation of good ocular welfare management. ERU management requires long-term veterinary partnership and owner commitment to medical or surgical treatment.