Abscess under skin - what next?

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MGKIRA

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I had my vet out on Friday (24th March) as I was concerned about a lump on my horse’s head in the middle under where the throat lash goes. The vet said it was likely an abscess and wasn’t overly concerned about it but gave me antibiotics (trimediazine) for 5 days and 4 days of bute.

The lump has gone down, it's not hard anymore but it is still there. Will it continue to shrink, e.g. infection has gone but fluid will still drain? Should I leave it a few more days? Or am I best to get the vet back out to decide what’s best next?

Thanks - if anyone has any similar experiences, please share :)
 
I'd give the vet a ring to discuss.

We had one with an abcess there that ended up being put down because the infection had eaten into the bone and destroyed the jaw. You would never have know! We only got him xrayed because he refused to have a bit in one day when he had been perfectly happy the day before so we were worried he had banged it.
 
Elf On A Shelf said:
I'd give the vet a ring to discuss.

We had one with an abcess there that ended up being put down because the infection had eaten into the bone and destroyed the jaw. You would never have know! We only got him xrayed because he refused to have a bit in one day when he had been perfectly happy the day before so we were worried he had banged it.
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That's awful - sorry to hear that! I'll definitely give them a call in the morning!
 
I had one like this!!! Possibly different as we never really knew what it was, we ended up lancing the lump twice and a very small amount of fluid came out, treated with antibiotics etc and eventually it just shrunk and shrunk until it pretty much disappeared. If you poke around under there you can still feel where the thicker tissue is, but there’s no noticeable signs of anything unless you know.

We did however do a dental exam, X-rays & ultrasound to try figure out what it was - along with testing the sample of fluid that came out. It was a type of infection but was resistant to the licensed antibiotics on offer. We were going to trial the unlicensed ones but it just went away in the end.

Our investigations were over a period of few months, the initial antibiotics made it shrink slightly, but it only really started to shrink after we lanced & flushed it daily. It might be completely different to what you’re experiencing but happy to discuss further :)

ETA - We also tested for strangles as that was my first thought, but came back negative.
 
I managed to buy my horse many years ago with a large oozing wound under his jaw. The well know vet in the area who vetted him apparently missed it 🙄. My head vet X-rayed and came to the conclusion that my horse had managed to impale himself on something when putting his head down to eat. I had to inject the horse daily with, which I assume, were anti-biotics - (it was a long time ago). He still has a crescent shaped scar under his jaw.
 
MGKIRA said:
I had my vet out on Friday (24th March) as I was concerned about a lump on my horse’s head in the middle under where the throat lash goes. The vet said it was likely an abscess and wasn’t overly concerned about it but gave me antibiotics (trimediazine) for 5 days and 4 days of bute.

The lump has gone down, it's not hard anymore but it is still there. Will it continue to shrink, e.g. infection has gone but fluid will still drain? Should I leave it a few more days? Or am I best to get the vet back out to decide what’s best next?

Thanks - if anyone has any similar experiences, please share :)
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Hi. Do you have any update on this please? We have a horse with a similar sounding lump?
 
My mare developed a lump end of last year…no fluid came out of it..it’s hard. Vet dentist said it’s probably a tumour but if it’s small and not affecting her then don’t meddle as surgery on the head area is fraught with potential nightmares due to the amount of nerves and blood vessels. She rubs her jawline occasionally and causes soft swelling further down her jaw but she’s eating and not reacting to bridle/grooming etc so benign neglect is my watchword.
 
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