Fat head / grass glands

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Morrigan_Lady

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I bought Arch in yesterday and his hed was massive! Looked abit like a hamster storring its food! This happends most days, but yesterday was the worst its been. The vet did take a look last time they were up and just said he's prob allergic to something in the field and not to worry!
It really didnt look good yesterday though and was solid and worse on one side than the other, but did go down after Id ridden.
Has anyone else experinced this? What was the outcome?
 
Grass glands is relatively common in the spring when horses often stuff themselves morning noon and night but I've never heard of it in the winter. Has horsey just been turned out on brill grass?
 
my youngster used to get this all year round on one yard-especially when grass was very wet or very short. he would come in looking horrific but they had always gone down in a few hours or overnight.since we moved yards he hasnt had it at all.
 
mine have had this occasionally. it doesn't seem to bother them, unless it's really really filled under their jaw, in which case i don't try to work them in an outline until it's gone down.
i even had a BHSI say to me that it might be caused by high winds (can't quite get my head around that one) filling up their cheeks or something.
 
Kerilli, that is really interesting what the BHSI said, my horses get this from time to time in the winter but only when it is really windy and in the winter - they also live right on top of a hill above the tamer valley so very windy! It definately can't be my grass as by the time winter comes I haven't got any!

I used to think I was mad thinking it was the wind! (agree don't know why it happens thou)
 
MoonWalker, my vet said exactly the same as your vet.

When Cat had it, we drove ourselves nuts shutting him in the top field for a few days, then the bottom field & electric fencing off this & that, but none of it made any difference.

Adrian got it a few times in the late summer. I HATE the hamster look, but it does seem to be harmless, apart from as Kerilli says not being able to work in an outline. I have to wind my throatlash round the cheek pieces if it won't do up & then work v long & low to try not to close up the angle of the jaw too much.
 
My horse gets this too, and he has been quite bad recently, coming in swollen most days. My vet said it was his salivary (sp?) glands and totally nothing to worry about!
 
Just be aware and I don't want to scare anybody but my horse got hamster cheeks and glands up under her jaw a month ago and I've just to have her pts as she had cancer..obviously thats very rare but wanted to just point it out..
 
My horse has done this for years. Eventual diagnosis is an allergy/sensitivity to sugar ... bear with me. When grass is stressed it produces more fructan, soluble sugar. This happens in a number of scenarios, frosty grass - worse when in direct sunlight, wet grass drying under sunlight, short grazed grass, over fertilized grass, and fast growing grass - Spring/early Autumn, not sure where the wind idea fits, I'll watch that one. It's as if the horse produces more saliva to cope with the extra sugar in the grass but doesn't get enough chewing for the saliva to go anywhere - if that makes sense. It's a bit like humans with apple drop sweets/lemon sherbets etc, you know the feeling you get in your jaw, that's what's happening to the horse.

My horse gets worse if fed grain - oats/barley etc as the sugar content is high. Can't have carrots/apples etc very high in sugar and happily munches sugar free polos.

His diet is hi fibre hi oil no grain. If he comes in from the field with swollen cheeks a handful of dried hay seems to do help. He normally gets wet hay. If the swelling stays for 2-3 days with no sign of going down or if there is heat in the swelling I give bute 2x for 4 days. Massaging helps and getting him to yawn. I also wouldn't stress him to ride in an outline but riding does help to reduce the swelling as he does lots of chewing.
 
I have been having this problem with my horse since the spring i had the vet out twice and twice he just said it was a protein allergy and that the swelling was in the salivary glands and it didnt hurt them and i could continue as i was.
my mare is uncomfortable when asked to work in an outline when her glands are swollen and this caused me a lot of problems in dressage phase last season competing. We had been wracking our brains to see what it was she has been at the same yard for 5 years and i have had her 9 and this had never happended before.

It is great to know finally what it is and ways of changing it I feed speedi beet as a general rule but was given a bag of shreds recently which i have been using and have found her worse on that as well.

I do find that in strong winds that the condition is likely to be worse if anyone can explain why i am all ears.

Thanks for the answer to my confusion everyone
x
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I have just moved my mare to a new yard and have experienced this problem most days, she has never had it before despite being in a similar area. The only difference in the turnout is the length of the grass. She is now in a heavily grazed field - so under stress as Franki has said.
I havn't noticed a major link with particularly windy days but the yard is right down at Land's End so its always windy!
The condition has been seen in a lot of the horses on the yard apparently but hasn't affected riding or anything, it goes down on my mare when I ride her and overnight. It certainly does not affect her enthusiasm to have a look at everything!
Quite comforting to know that it seems to be a common problem as after 15 odd years of owning horses I have only seen big glands like this when some of ours had strangles..
 
thankk got for H&H eh? my horse came in on fri with the biggest set ive ever seen, they were even going down his cheeks. I had YO check and no sign of anything more sinister. rode him long and low and after 20 mins they had disappeared! they are a worrying sight though. thanks for the diet tips too.
 
Hi.... I have just bought a little tb ex racer and he is suffering from this fat head complaint. It started about 3 weeks ago. We noticed one morning when we fetched him in from the field that his face was really swollen, under the chin, around the muzzle and behind the jaw area. Really swollen. vet came out and gave him cortisone. It went down immediately. However, it has come up on a regular basis since. I have come to the conclusion it is spring grass. Have read the posts on this page and that kind of confirms it. I have heard from one friend that magnesium can counteract the excessive fructins in the grass at this time of year. Anyone else heard that? The swelling goes down during the day when he is in. I dont want to have to keep him in at night as they seem to thrive being turned out and are calmer! Am hoping that this is just a spring/autumn thing? He seems absolutely fine in every other way...... will keep u posted! SLJ and Mr Ed. (elephant man!!)
 
Most of the horses at our yard have swollen glands in the evening. Vet said the same its just the grass coming through. As long as they go down nothing to worry about. Mine looks like a hamster :D
 
I read a comment on a forum recently saying it may be a build up of saliva in gland and duct...
Just thought I'd add another idea. :D I've never seen this luckily myself.
 
Another here with a hamster head last night, and fine this am. Sure doesn't look like the grass is coming thru the mud, but it must be, as they all have 'grass brain' too!
 
hi - yes thanks for those. Someone else mentioned the blocked saliva glands and something about the fructins in the grass at this time of year prevent the saliva glands from draining properly or something. hmmmmm. anyways.. they were huge after his night out in paddocks last night and were down to normal by the time I turned him out again this afternon. still looking ok at 7 pm when i last checked him. Cant do his flash up today, and noseband was on looser hole. Doing a loading dose of liquid magic to see if the magnesium might help as i have heard that is a good alternative cure. Watch this space. best wishes from me and fathead!!! hahaha. x
 
My mare Smartie first got this last year, I thought it was something to do with the grass as it was the first spring that I had been at that yard and she'd never suffered from it before! I've recently moved yards and she's getting it again but SO much worse! Definitely a hamster face! I've found that putting her out at night when the sun has nearly gone down, and bringing her in by day when the sun has only just risen reduces the swelling a lot! But there are no other horses at the yard who have this? Strange.
 
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