Lump on face

[soloequestrian]

About a month ago, my boy came in with a long but superficial scratch across his face between his eyes. A few days later he developed slight puffiness under both eyes, which I didn't connect to the scratch - I thought it was a slight reaction to pollen or perhaps a bite. A week later, the vet was out to vaccinate and I asked her about his eyes (which are producing a few more tears than usual but not bothering him as such) and she wasn't particularly concerned. A few days after that, I noticed a lump where the scratch was, and it seems to have grown over the last 10 days or so. The vet has had a look at pictures of the lump and said that it is probably just a periosteal reaction to whatever caused the original scratch, but I am worried anyway. The lump is quite big, and seems to still be growing very slightly. Has anyone else experienced this very slow development of a lump in response to trauma? I've seen the result of facial trauma before, where a soft lump developed first, then then hardened fairly quickly. This lump is solid, not fluidy, but doesn't feel like fully formed bone either - a little bit softer than that. The horse is fine if I rub the lump when itching his face, but if I put pressure on it, he moves away, although not violently.

 

[Tnavas]

My youngster got his halter snagged on a fence outrigger and pulled until it came out, he grew a lump over the bruising.

The scratch your horse had may have damaged the periosteum covering the bone and sent it into growth overdrive. If you can get some ice on it and also if the skin is not broken bathe with wit hazel, you may slow the growth.

 

[Frosty89]

My youngster banged her head last winter and that came up like a golf ball. The vet told me it was increased bone mass from a trauma (a bit like how a splint forms on the leg). I used arnica gel daily for a few weeks but it didn't seem to do anything, but after a few months it slowly started to decrease in size and now it's gone completely.