Lesson and open sores on horses face?

[Sol]

To start on a good note - I finally had a lesson on Dante today

(fell out with my last instructor and never got round to finding another... no excuse really both YO's give lessons now!)
Only 1/2hr flatwork but came away with lots to remember and work on

On another note, a few days ago he had a few lumps on his cheek. Figured they were just bites and like normal, they'd go down. However, this morning they were weeping, and this evening when I bought him in they were worse and bleeding too

He seems ok in himself though, so I still worked him (though took the throatlash off his bride so that it didn't catch the sores) and I'll keep an eye on it.
I'm just wondering, is it possible that it's a reaction to the new feed he's having? He's only been having that since a few days before the lumps appeared... I don't think it's likely but I've stopped giving it to him just incase :/ He's fine otherwise, I've just never seen anything like this before! If they ARE fly bites, they're from monster flies!

 

[Gingerwitch]

What feed are you giving? I have had one of mine in the past over react to sugar beet when it was warm - it just seamed like she "overheated" and had heat lumps all over. But the flys are pretty bad round our way at the mo, so it could be that.

 

[ester]

Frank seems to get the full range of fly bites and heat bumps and sometimes they do get very weepy/bleedy. I find sudocrem sorts them out in a couple of days so tend not to worry about them anymore.

 

[Cyberchick]

I thought this was interesting and might help you distinguish what it could be and what might help to treat it.
http://www.todayshorse.com/Articles/SkinConditionsandHomeopathy.htm

Well done with the lesson

 

[Sol]

Thanks Cyberchick, will check out the link now

He's just been having a tiny (and I mean tiny...) scoop of some competition mix - that I managed to forget the name of...

However I know that my last horse had a reaction to something not too dissimilar once and it turned out she was allergic to one of the ingredients, though the reaction was different. Still, I'd rather worry too much than not enough!

Just put a little of the antiseptic cream that we use for just about everything on them and he didn't seem too uncomfortable, which is good. I think I will just see how they go. He just looks a right state at the moment!