Assessment of corneal thickness, intraocular pressure, optical corneal diameter, and axial globe dimensions in Miniature Horses.

The research involves an in-depth analysis of the corneal thickness, intraocular pressure, corneal diameter, and axial measurements of the eye in miniature horses. It confirms that despite the size, these components in miniature horses resemble those of full-sized horses and do not significantly change with age.

Objective and Methodology

• The primary aim of the study was to evaluate the corneal thickness, intraocular pressure, horizontal and vertical corneal diameter, and axial dimensions of the anterior chamber, crystalline lens, vitreous chamber, and eye globe in miniature horses.
• The study involved 41 healthy miniature horses whose ocular components were measured using methods such as ultrasonic pachymetry, applanation tonometry, ultrasound, and Jameson caliper.

Results and Findings

• The research found that the average intraocular pressure and corneal thickness were 26.0 mm Hg and 785.6 micrometers, respectively.
• The researchers noted no correlation of age with intraocular pressure or corneal thickness. Likewise, there was no significant difference in these parameters between right and left eyes, or even between female and male horses.
• On examining the corneal diameters, it turned out the average horizontal and vertical corneal diameters were 25.8 mm and 19.4 mm respectively. Unlike the former parameters, optical corneal diameters showed positive correlation with increasing age.
• The axial measurements of the anterior chamber, crystalline lens, vitreous chamber, and eye globe in miniature horses were smaller compared to full-sized horses.
• This difference was however, not seen when comparing between sexes or between the right and left eyes in miniature horses. In contrast, these measurements did reveal a correlation with age.

Conclusions

• Overall, the study concludes that corneal thickness and intraocular pressure in miniature horses are similar to those in full-sized horses and they do not increase with age.
• In terms of development, vertical corneal diameter, horizontal corneal diameter, and axial globe length in miniature horses continue to increase until the horses reach ages of 5, 7, and 2 years respectively.