Comparing the effects of intraocular pressure and tear production measurements in horses in two different environments: Horse stable and medical barn.

Abstract

To date, there are no studies on the impact of two distinct environments-one familiar to the horse and another unfamiliar-on intraocular pressure (IOP) and tear production. To compare the measured IOP and tear production values in horses between a horse stable and a medical barn. Cross-over. Thirty healthy male Arabian horses, aged 6.88 ± 3.34 years were used. IOP and tear production measurements were assessed in both the horse stable and the medical barn, with a paired Student's t-test and Bland-Altman analysis conducted for comparison and agreement, respectively. A significant increase in IOP was observed in the medical barn (34.2 ± 6.8 mmHg) compared with the horse stable (29.5 ± 7.2 mmHg, p = 0.02). However, no statistically significant difference in tear production was found between horse stable (22.1 ± 2.8 mm/min) and medical barn (23.6 ± 3.4 mm/min) (p = 0.09). The standard error of the slope was 0.36 for the IOP measured in the medical barn, indicating a difference of -4.7 mmHg compared with the IOP measured in the horse stable (p = 0.02). The bias was fitted to y = -7.9350 + 0.1003x. The standard error of the slope was 0.39 for the tear production measured in the medical barn, indicating a difference of -1.5 mm/min compared with the tear production measured in the horse stable (p = 0.09). The bias was fitted to y = 6.1530 + -0.3367x. The absence of horses with ocular disorders and an assessment of the potential impact of transportation. A notable increase in IOP was observed in the medical barn compared with the horse stable, while tear production exhibited no significant variance between the two environments. The Bland-Altman analysis highlighted a discrepancy in IOP measurements in the horse stable, emphasising the potential influence of the environment on ocular parameters in horses.