Lump on chest

[mustardsmum]

My lovely NF has a hard, marble sized lump under the skin his chest. It can be moved independently of the skin but I think it’s tethered to the skin at one point. It’s hard with a smooth surface and I can squeeze it and he’s not bothered. No sign of injury or anything, but you can see it under the skin. Anyone had similar on their horse? He seems completely unaware of it.

 

[ycbm]

It sounds like a sarcoid and since it's a marble one I would be inclined to band it, but you should speak to your vet, it could be something else.
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[mustardsmum]

Yes will be getting vet. I didn’t think it was a sarcoid as it’s well below the skin- (subcutaneous) rather than on the skin. The shin moves over it and there is no hair loss. I’ll take a pic when I go out later…

 

[mustardsmum]

The lump …

 

[mustardsmum]

and again...

 

[mustardsmum]

Pictures do it more justice than my explanation! I just didnt think sarcoids had hair on them but happy (well not really) to be told otherwise. If a sarcoid, I will be very disappointed.... Will be getting vet out, but this is just to see what others think.

 

[meleeka]

It looks like a sarcoid to me too, sorry. As it’s well covered I’d probably just monitor. It’s unlikely to disturbed by flies and may well just resolve on its own. My cob had one like this under his belly and one in his armpit. As I was having his others removed anyway I had it lasered off.

 

[mustardsmum]

It seems to have grown quite quickly from a little pea about four weeks ago (which I thought was a tick bite) to this marble sized thing. Gutted.

 

[Fransurrey]

I'm going against the grain, here. Doesn't look like a sarcoid to me. More sebaceous cyst. There's a nice outline of lumps and bumps here:

Tumors of the Skin in Horses - Horse Owners - MSD Veterinary Manual

Learn about the veterinary topic of Tumors of the Skin in Horses. Find specific details on this topic and related topics from the MSD Vet Manual.

www.msdvetmanual.com

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

The few sarcoids Arabi has had some had hair some didn't but they stayed tiny and went away on their own quite quickly.

I would get that looked at because it's got so big so quick.

If your horse is not having some sort of vitamin and mineral supplement I would start feeding one, sarcoids are connected to low immunity sometimes after illness or times of stress.

All Arabi's came up after lameness and colic episodes.

 

[rhino]

Prime sarcoid site. My old lad had one there, looked identical to your horse’s one, until one day suddenly it looked sore and raw. The vet was on the yard anyway so had a look, as he did the lump shelled itself just like a pea! It was sent off for biopsy which confirmed it was a sarcoid.

The little hole healed over perfectly and the horse lived another 25 years sarcoid free, so it’s not always bad news!

 

[mustardsmum]

Thanks all for your comments, I have the vet for vacs in a few weeks so will get it checked. Yesterday it actually looked a bit smaller so I am going to measure and monitor until vets here. He has an another weird lump on his rump (which he came with) which his old owner said used to fall of and then regrow. It’s like a little tiny scab (literally couple off mm), comes off and then regrows. I left it and it grew like a weird little horny thing. It sheds very easily and leaves a tiny little hole that bleeds quite a bit before it scabs and the process starts again. I am wondering if that too needs removing. I left it alone as owner said he’d always had it and they just removed the scabby/growth bit regularly. I found it would just pop off if I was grooming him. Vet looked at it when I first got him and said let’s just monitor it for now, and I was inclined to agree. It’s never changed but I now wonder if it is a sarcoid too….

 

[ycbm]

Thanks all for your comments, I have the vet for vacs in a few weeks so will get it checked. Yesterday it actually looked a bit smaller so I am going to measure and monitor until vets here. He has an another weird lump on his rump (which he came with) which his old owner said used to fall of and then regrow. It’s like a little tiny scab (literally couple off mm), comes off and then regrows. I left it and it grew like a weird little horny thing. It sheds very easily and leaves a tiny little hole that bleeds quite a bit before it scabs and the process starts again. I am wondering if that too needs removing. I left it alone as owner said he’d always had it and they just removed the scabby/growth bit regularly. I found it would just pop off if I was grooming him. Vet looked at it when I first got him and said let’s just monitor it for now, and I was inclined to agree. It’s never changed but I now wonder if it is a sarcoid too….

That one sounds more like hyper keratinisation. I've seen it near a hoof, where it looked like a little bit of hoof wall and the farrier used to cut it off regularly with hoof nippers. That was just like some rogue skin cells that didn't know what they were supposed to be. Hers was caused by an injury, yours might have been a fly bite originally?
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[Gloi]

There could be a foreign body in there.

 

[mustardsmum]

That is a really interesting thought @ycbm … on the front of both hinds he has what looks like scars, both in the same place on each leg that look like inch long scars - but I thought did wonder if they were hyper keratinisation. Either that or he had some sort of op, which seems a bit weird? When I had him vetted, my vet just said they were nothing to worry about but didn't expand! They can get raised and crusty and the hair get roughed up a bit. I just remove what I assume is just dead skin (well I guess it is) and the hair then lies flat. I wonder if he has some sort of broader skin thing going on? I would add that none of these lumps and bumps are bothering him in the least - I just thought it was interesting that they might be related.




@Gloi do you mean the round hairy lump? There is no evidence of anything having penetrated the skin and the lump is smooth and even. I did check as he is a NF and likes standing in the brambles and is great hedge trimmer…! If it was a thorn I am certain I would have spotted something before (he comes in every day) or it would be warm/seeping. It’s just round, hairy and solid and can be moved about under the skin which appears unbroken, which is why originally I just assumed he'd had a fly
bite reaction.