Denise & her horse "Love" - November 2000

November, 2000

Dear Sid,

I wanted to drop you a note to let you know that "Love's" surgery to remove her eye afflicted with ERU went ok.  Her eye has healed and she is back to her old self.  It took a good 3 weeks before she could feel comfortable and not be afraid to go in and out of the stall - to the new run.  Now she flies through it. 

Jacky and I want to express our sincerest thanks for inventing the Guardian Mask and for having such a great web site.  I truly believe that if we would have had the mask last May right after Love scratched her cornea, I think  her eye could have been saved.  I do know that after being stalled for 3 months she became depressed being in a dark stall 24-7 and losing a pasture mate definitely had a major impact on her immune system being able to fight back.  Once we got the Guardian Mask on and she was able to go outside again, her psyche totally changed.  We saw great changes in the eye until the end and I believe what constituted the eye to go bad was three major factors.

#1 -If the vet had told us to keep a mask on at all times with some type of dark shading over it like you suggested to do with the plant shading material or better yet if they would have known about the Guardian Mask with the 95 sunshades, there would have been a better chance.

#2 -The eye ointment needs to be put directly into the eye and not on the eyelids.  It wasn't until a vet on call had to come out approximately 6 weeks into treatment that she showed us how to take your fingers and put one above the eye in the wrinkle of the eyelid and push up while holding the bottom lid also, doing this with one hand and then administering the ointment very carefully making a ribbon of medicine in the eyelid.  Again had we been taught to do this plus had the Guardian Mask, it could have been different.

#3 -The heavy medication, Banamine, was so hard on Love's stomach that it became necessary to give her bandaid pills first so she could withstand the medicine and still be able to eat.   

I tell you, I have learned so much about treating horses with ERU and how devastating a disease it is for not only the horse but the owner also.

All in all Sid we owe you our deepest gratitude for taking the time to talk with me over the phone and sharing your expertise on the disease and how the Guardian Mask will help.

I hope some day I can come and thank you in person.

Fondly,

Denise Lucero,

Littleton Colorado

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