--- In EquineCushings@..., Shari Starr <lifesongfarm@...> wrote:

My cushing's gelding Snickers, that passed this last June 25th, had a change in his sclera coloring in the months just prior to his passing. His normally dark brown sclera had blotches of opaque colored patches that sprung up.

Shari,

Just for clarification purposes, are you talking about discoloration/patches in the colored part of the eye (iris) or are you talking about discoloration of the visible part that is normally white (sclera)?

My QH gelding Pookey Bear developed an odd bluish patch in the iris of his right eye around the time he developed IR. It enlarged a bit over time but has not enlarged over the past two years. I have no idea what it is, and none of the vets who have examined him have ventured a guess.

The changes that occur with Vitamin E deficiency are usually not visible to the naked eye, but through the ophthalmascope, the vet might see changes in the fundus, often at the tapetal-nontapetal junction. Ocular changes are not present in every affected horse: my Pookey Bear had dramatic clinical signs and low serum E, both of which corrected with enhanced Vitamin E supplementation (water soluble, higher dose) However, he has never exhibited any of the specific ocular changes that typically occur with EMND.

Lisa in TX
Pookey Bear
June 2010