The described horse was a Belgian Warmblood (Belgian Half-blood) dressage horse, male, two years old, weighing approximately 370 kg.
Blepharitis, photophobia, conjunctival redness, severe lacrimation and periocular allopecia were noted during the first clinical examination. The ophthalmic examination revealed a diagnosis of blepharitis. According to the owner, the horse had no remarkable past medical history, and no systemic or seasonal allergies were noted during the past years.
Lymph node examination was unremarkable, body temperature, heart rate and the respiratory rate were in normal ranges. According to the owner, the lesion started as patches of raised hair, several days later the hair detached leaving bald and gray areas around the periocular area. In an attempt to diagnose the etiology of periocular allopecia, skin scrapings and culture examinations were performed. Skin scraping was unremarkable, samples were collected and cultured on mycobiotic agar, as described previously5, and microscopic examination revealed the isolation of Trichophyton equinum. Complete blood counts were within referrence ranges.
The erythematous, scaly plaque localized to the right lower eyelid, had a well-defined border and formed a characteristic annular lesion. The results of the remainder of the ocular examination were within normal limits. A mycotic cause was suspected on the basis of the characteristic red, scaly, annular appearance. Following clinical and culture examinations, a diagnosis of mycotic blepharitis was made. The early treatment began on the first day with topical terbinafine hydrochloride 1% cream four times daily (Lamisil 1% cream®, Novartis). Follow-up examination revealed fading of the active border, a decrease in conjunctival redness and photophobia was cured on day seven. However due to the nature of the dermatophytic disease, allopecia was still present on day seven. On day ten, there was no evidence of the disease and patches of hair regrowth were evident. The treatment was continued, for a total of five weeks, until mycological cure and complete disappearance of the total lesions was achieved. There was no recurrence during 11 months of follow-up.