Eloise
Eloise was rescued in April 2026 to keep her from entering the slaughter pipeline. She’s blind in her left eye which the vet indicated had been from past severe trauma.
Additionally, Eloise had suffered injury leaving an infected puncture wound and trauma to her head, leaving the right side of her face very swollen. It was also clear she’d been used as a broodmare.
Some of the findings from evaluation and exams of Eloise by our equine veterinarian revealed the following:
While skull radiographs are some of the most challenging images to take and interpret due to the magnitude of superimposed structures and variability in anatomy, as well as the intercession of soft tissue structures of variable opacities, images were taken. The Xrays would hopefully show whether or not a tooth root abscess was a possible cause for the purulent wound ventral to the right facial crest and eye.
One plain oblique view was taken followed by the introduction of a sterile stainless steel teat
cannula, placed as deeply into the wound as would allow, and to give a sense of directionality of any draining tract, if present. Both images were not diagnostic of any tracts or deeper problematic structures, however this does not always mean there was a reliable absence of such a process, as draining tracts can be the same radiolucency of surrounding soft tissues.
The 12 teeth of all four arcades show clinically significant ramps (caudal elongation) due to chronic malocclusion and the absence of appropriate dental equilibration, which causes tension on the TMJ joint and may induce behavioral problems in affected horses, such as head-tossing, going above the bit, head-shyness, and sometimes aggression, not to mention the level of chronic and acute pain.
Eloise’s left eye is absent a visual dazzle or menace or pupillary light reflex (PLR), and is non-visual or sensitive to light/dark changes. The right eye is visually intact, however a punctate wound in the skin just ventral to the facial crest and right eye has thick yellow-white mucopurulent discharge and is painful to mild palpation within an inch of the punctate lesion.
There are no ventral mandibular draining tracts or other traumatic wounds to the face. It is highly unusual to have a draining tract high on the face, but due to the presence of numerous bony, tooth, nervous and circulatory structures, this wound may pose an infectious or inflammatory threat or origin to multiple systems.
More thorough evaluation for diagnostics, potential treatment and assessment of other health issues to determine quality of life going forward was scheduled.
More About Eloise
- In Assessment
- Chestnut
- Mare
- 2010
- Arab Cross
- Colorado