See the special diet we have developed for a horse with Uveitis

Tim

We welcome Tim! He is a 16h 14 year old Appy gelding. He was almost totally blind. He has cataracts in both eyes, with his left eye beginning to shrink in size. It has a large yellow cataract that allowed no light in. The vet said that the eye is probably too far gone and despite anyone's efforts he will never see again in that eye.

Ah, but I love a challenge! We have successfully regained the sight of blind horses in the past, once our beautiful Taz was totally blind. It took two years, but when Taz died three years later at 30 years old he could see again. Two others, Ben and Fancy, have had recurring problems with uveitis for years. When Ben came to Eye of the Strom five years ago Lindsay Robbins (our vet) said that in five years Ben would be blind. Well, this spring, looking into his eyes, she found no trace of scar tissue or cataracts. His eyes were crystal clear and perfect. The same with Fancy. She had small white spots forming on her pupils and they are gone.

Tim is a very kind and trusting horse. He is a thinker and does not panic easily. He is handling his blindness well and that's good because he's a very big horse! He walks with his left nostril touching my sleeve and trusts me not to lead him into danger. We do not usually take blind horses as they often do not adjust to a new environment and are very fearful. But I just had a feeling about Tim. With the success we have had with other uveitis horses, and the need for a new challenge, I decided to give it a shot and try to save Tim's vision too.

After five weeks weeks with us I noticed that he was no longer walking with his nose against my arm. He was also snorting and acting a little spooky on his left side. Could it be that his eye was actually beginning to improve already? Only time will tell, but I believe it will.

His right eye is easy. That will improve, the large cataract will dissolve and he will see again in that eye. But the left! Has an eye that has actually started to shrink ever returned to use? We'll see. In his favor, he is only 14 years old, has lots of years left to heal, has a really good attitude and trusting spirit, and he came here to us. It doesn't matter if he can never be ridden again, we have the time to give him and the knowledge of the cure.

And now the cure. We feed him in a way to encourage eye health. Here is the list of supplements to add to your horse's feed to help regain vision.

Diet for Uveitis horse Tim (1200 pounds) to be added to regular feed.

BREAKFAST:

Vitamin E with Selenium - any feed store. We use Pegasus Tack in Acton or Erikson's Grain in Acton. (WARNING: if you live in a part of the country where the soil naturally has high levels of Selenium don't feed any more, it can be dangerous.)

Super E - Valley Vet Supply, Item # 27431, 2 pounds costs $22.95.
Call 800-356-1005. This is additional E without Selenium

¼ cup of linseed meal and 1 tablespoon brewers yeast - Just plain good for them. We buy it from Erikson's Grain in Acton.

MSM - (Methyl Sulfonyl Methane) - Helps break down cataracts, helps make the eyeball soft and porous again to neutralize pressure within the eye.

DINNER:

Vitamin C - Erikson's Grain, Pegasus Tack Shop or Rider Sport in Acton, or any feed store near you.

Grapeseed Extract - Valley Vet Supply, Item #23857, 4 pounds $43.99.
Note! Do not feed this if horse has Cushings Disease as it has sugar in it. Instead get rose hips or dried lemon peel. !/4 cup of either contains bioflavonoids to work with the Vitamin C. You can get these from a health food store in bulk, like Debra's Natural Gourmet in West Concord.

MSM - same as breakfast.

¼ cup of linseed meal and 1 tablespoon brewers yeast - same as breakfast.

C-Complex - 1 scoop. This is bioflavonoids and caritoniods, plus additional Vitamin C. From Sprigtime Inc. 800-521-3212

One 2 quart scoop of hay cubes soaked in approximately 1 gallon of water.
Make sure you get the 50% alfalfa and 50% timothy blend. The trace minerals in alfalfa are important and all of the dry supplements stick to it. From Erikson's Grain in Acton.

Remember - This is for a 1200 pound horse, so feed according to instructions on the labels. The yeast can be given at the measurement to any size horse. Give ½ the measurement of linseed to ponies.

Believe me, this works! It takes time, but I have proof!

Nina

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