Cowpony
Well-Known Member
I'm posting this in case anybody else needs information, because it's a very rare condition and I couldn't find anything about it when my pony was diagnosed.
When I bought her about 2 years ago she had a big lump behind her left ear (not picked up during vetting, but it was less obvious when she was relaxed and had her head down). It was about 3 inches in diameter and was hard. There was just about room to fit the bridle headpiece between her ear and the lump. She didn't seem at all bothered by it, and when I asked my vet (not the one who did the vetting) what it was, he was a bit baffled but thought it could be a fibroid from an old injury.
Last autumn she hit her head again, the whole area swelled up and was very sore. The vet did x-rays and scans, and what appeared was a cauliflower-shaped lump. The vet said this was an old injury which had calcified, in the same way that splints arise.
After 6 weeks off work it seemed to have settled down, so we started riding her again, only for it to flare up even worse than before. This time the vet said the only treatment if I wanted to be able to ride her was surgery. So, around New Year she had the surgery, which was successful. Apparently the lump was stuck very firmly to the bone, so it must have been causing her a lot of pain and explains a lot about her way of going (grabbing the right rein, not bending laterally, falling through the shoulder).
She has a scar about 5 inches long, which has healed very well, was on box rest until the staples and stitches came out, then was out in the field for about 3 weeks. We then started lunging her, and a week ago we put a bridle on her with a neoprene cover on the headpiece to make it more comfortable, and have been riding for 20 minutes in walk each day. She doesn't seem at all bothered about the bridle (although I haven't taken too strong a contact yet) and is much softer and more flexible than ever before.
Today the vet came to check her and was very pleased with how things have gone. We're going to do some physio under sedation because when she was in pain she was holding her neck and back very tightly, and the treatment will loosen off those muscles. But he's happy for us to crack on and bring her back into full work once she's gone through a fittening programme.
So a successful outcome and based on my experience I can recommend surgery for this type of problem (we were lucky and had no infection or any other complications the vets warned us about). Fingers crossed it carries on like this!
When I bought her about 2 years ago she had a big lump behind her left ear (not picked up during vetting, but it was less obvious when she was relaxed and had her head down). It was about 3 inches in diameter and was hard. There was just about room to fit the bridle headpiece between her ear and the lump. She didn't seem at all bothered by it, and when I asked my vet (not the one who did the vetting) what it was, he was a bit baffled but thought it could be a fibroid from an old injury.
Last autumn she hit her head again, the whole area swelled up and was very sore. The vet did x-rays and scans, and what appeared was a cauliflower-shaped lump. The vet said this was an old injury which had calcified, in the same way that splints arise.
After 6 weeks off work it seemed to have settled down, so we started riding her again, only for it to flare up even worse than before. This time the vet said the only treatment if I wanted to be able to ride her was surgery. So, around New Year she had the surgery, which was successful. Apparently the lump was stuck very firmly to the bone, so it must have been causing her a lot of pain and explains a lot about her way of going (grabbing the right rein, not bending laterally, falling through the shoulder).
She has a scar about 5 inches long, which has healed very well, was on box rest until the staples and stitches came out, then was out in the field for about 3 weeks. We then started lunging her, and a week ago we put a bridle on her with a neoprene cover on the headpiece to make it more comfortable, and have been riding for 20 minutes in walk each day. She doesn't seem at all bothered about the bridle (although I haven't taken too strong a contact yet) and is much softer and more flexible than ever before.
Today the vet came to check her and was very pleased with how things have gone. We're going to do some physio under sedation because when she was in pain she was holding her neck and back very tightly, and the treatment will loosen off those muscles. But he's happy for us to crack on and bring her back into full work once she's gone through a fittening programme.
So a successful outcome and based on my experience I can recommend surgery for this type of problem (we were lucky and had no infection or any other complications the vets warned us about). Fingers crossed it carries on like this!
