Help! Jerry is covered in bumps

[madhector]

Really need some ideas for people. About a week ago J had a couple of bumps come up, one on his side and one on his shoulder. I didn't think much of it until a few more appeared and then a few more, I took him of the new feed I had introduced thinking maybe that was causing it, but he has yet more bumps 24 hours later. I know that it will take a while if it is the feed to sort itself out, but looking at where the bumps are it looks more like something to do with his rugs, as they are always under where his rug sits. He does get bumps under his saddle if you don't wash him off after exercise, so thought maybe it was something to do with him being too hot

I am loathed to change anything else till I am sure it isn't the fed, but if anyone has any suggestions would be most appreciated as he is very bumpy now.

I had a mare last year with an allergy who got bumps, but these are very different, hers went to a scabby head and then got sore and itched, these are just lumps without scabs, no itching or anything.

Any ideas at all? Please!

 

[_jetset_]

Grace gets these when her feed is changed, and they get worse before they get better... Leahurst phoned me the other day to say she had the lumps and I just laughed and said I had been expecting them to say that. Hers start on her shoulder and a bit on her neck then gradually spread all over her body

At first I suspected her rugs, but soon learned what it was.

I just carry on feeding the new feed (slowly over 5-10 days) and they go down in about 3-4 days.

 

[madhector]

Thats interesting, I have already stopped feeding the new feed (parinoid me

) so will see what happens, just they look kind of similar to the bumps he gets under his saddle, hence me thinking it might be heat related.

 

[_jetset_]

Grace's are not warm or regular in size... just everywhere by the end before they start disappearing. She was covered in them when I picked her up yesterday

But I don't think you can see them very well on the pictures, but they are most definitely there! They seem to get worse when she gets warm too.

 

[madhector]

These are all the same size, about a centimeter in diameter

 

[the watcher]

It is almost certainly the feed that is causing this. Have a look at the breakdown, have you increased the protein over the old feed? These bumps are quite a common response to this.

 

[_April_]

April gets them in the summer MH and I am really not sure what it is either, we have guessed maybe the midgies or some sort of biting insect... so we slather her in insect repellant.

that's not much help lol sorry but what might help you is that we used Arnica gel on the lumps and it brought them down very quickly. Might help you in the interim whilst you try to find the cause.

 

[madhector]

Well the new feed is high in protien as its a conditioning feed, problem was I spent ages finding something that was low in starch on vets advice, but he needs more wieght on. I am very wary of what o give him as he is so exciteable.

If is is the protien is it somthing he gets used to or am I right in stopping the feed?

 

[madhector]

Thanks, will try some arnica gel on them, they dont seem to bother him much, just make him look like he has chicken pox

 

[kirstyhen]

A friends horse used to get this is reaction to sugar in its feed, it was fed an allen and page feed that was specifically for this problem and it soon went.
Its called sugar and ceral intolerance diet.

 

[the watcher]

You could reintroduce it slowly, and maybe also increase the oil in his feed.
Cool sponging might take any potential irritation out of the bumps in the meantime.

It might be worth speaking to an equine nutrition specialist at one of the feed companies - cases like yours are what they live for !

 

[madhector]

Thats a good idea, it was through one of them that i found this feed for him. I introduced it so slowly in the first place, as I am pariniod about that sort of thing

 

[Happytohack]

I would think it is certainly the feed. As you have now stopped the feed, the lumps should gradually disappear. In the meantime, you could use aloe vera on them and put a freshly washed cotton summer sheet under his rugs to avoid any more irritation. I'd get in touch with an independent equine nutritionist (someone like Clare Macleod) who doesn't work for any particular feed company for some advice.

 

[madhector]

Think it had to have been the feed as bumps seem to be getting better rather than worse. Thankyou everyone for your input

 

[_jetset_]

Yep... Grace's have started to go down too. Hers came up on Christmas Day and are now getting much better

 

[SteveD]

My daughters pony came up in lumps about 2 weeks ago, and still has some, they are all over her back & sides.
She has not had any change in feed at all, so I concluded that her medium weight rug was making her too warm in the mild weather, so I have turned her out without rug whilst the weather here stays mild. She is only clipped in a bib, so is quite hairy.
She has been very itchy and her coat looks quite dull and lifeless and not in the good condition that she is in usually. She still has the lumps although they are drying up and healing.

So I still dont think that this is anything to do with feed, although I have seen protein lumps on horses stemming from a change of feed, but these lumps are different from these ones on our pony which are more scabby, like dirty grease lumps at first...In fact when I first saw them I told my daughter off for not grooming her pony well enough, as the lumps were around the saddle area.

Any other clues and guidance is welcome of course.