Lumps on back, Help needed!

Amigo

Amigo

Well-Known Member
Joined
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246
Location
Berkshire
www.aewfineart.co.uk
Hiya,

Our 4 year old had a couple of pea sized lumps on her back in Jan, but they didn't bother her, so we ignored them. However in the last two weeks they have suddenly got alot worse.
They are solid lumps ranging in size from smaller tham a pea to over an inch across and not allways round. They don't seem to itch or be tender, there is no hair loss, but a small scab on some (like a head but a bit bigger). She has been rugged so bites and rainscald are unlikely.
We thought it may be Nodular necrobosis (Granum complex) but the rate at which the number has suddenly increased, and the fact that they change in size each day has lead us away from this. They also grow and get agrevated if we ride her (so have been lunging insted) But the lumps are not just on her saddle area but down her flanks back and to the hip.
Our vet is unsure what it is as he had thought it was NN too, so she is now on antibiotics.

Any ideas anyone?

Pics below, I will try and get some better ones as these are not too clear:
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Thanks!
 
Some kind of feed allergy?? Just blowing in the wind a bit as I'm not a vet and yours is baffled. My mare has problems with lots of different feeds and supplements and has come up in a similar looking thing after having super codlivine although it came up fast and went 24hrs after stopping it. Might be worth checking?
 
Could it be related to her numnahs, rugs being washed in something that could have irritated her skin.? Has she got too hot and got blocked pores? Clutching at ideas really. Seems to be an allergic reaction to something. Anything in field she eaten which could have upset her?
Changed her bedding? Have you bathed her to see if that helps?

Hope you get to the bottom of it.
 
Tried changing her feed - recently soyaoil was added to it and we have stopped it again now, but no change, her feed otherwise has stayed same for months, same with bedding, been on straw since november. She has been bathed several times recently to try calm it, and its not changed, we have tried runnging/non rugging her and she hasn't had numnah on for over a week now and its getting worse! on her nearside its less under her saddle now but her offside is gaining there insted...
Here are some new pics. Anyone know any probs with hair folicles.. maybie?
PS antibiotics are not working yet either...:confused::(

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Hi, they look similar to the ones my horse has. They vary in size (from pea-size to slightly bigger) and shape (round or oval). Some are flatter. They disappear and reappear, right now he only has about 2 on one side and 3 on the other side and they are almost flat, while when the photos below were taken (a couple of years ago) he had 6 on one side and 6 on the other.

They are all very very hard, hair on top has remained beautiful and intact, and they cause him no pain or discomfort.

When they first appeared (only one, when he was 5) my usual vet said he had never seen anything like it and treated it with cortison. It disappeared, but half a year later it reappeared - with friends.

I contacted another vet (supposed to be one of the best in the area) who told me to de-worm intensively (can't remember what but I had to use three different wormers within a few weeks....), that did not make any difference.

Among the options I tried:

- Possible allergy to detergent I used to wash the saddlecloths/numnahs in the washing machine: so every single time I washed my saddlecloths (with little detergent), I washed them again with no detergent immediately afterwards (one full cycle again). I only ever bought 100% cotton saddlecloths too. Did this for 2 years (as it didn't cost me anything anyway..just a pain to do 2 cycles per washing!), not one iota of difference

- Possible allergy to food: ruled out when we moved abroad and completely changed hard feed, hay, grass! However I have heard of a friend's horse who had the same problem, and they disappeared with a change of hay!

- Possibly sarcoids...I was told this was unlikely but advised not to do a biopsy because then I would have had to treat them

- Possibly related to stress: they appeared when he started competing regularly (competitions back then were always 2/3 hours away and always involved staying in temporary stabling Fri-Sun). When I moved down to Munich, he had a very easy year with no competing and an extremely regular routine, and they did indeed go down, almost disappear...

In the end, the third and final vet I contacted, a very very good vet here in Warendorf (same practice as Dr Heuschmann!!), told me that he had seen them before and he thought they were only "an excess of fatty tissue", hence the movement/change of size and place.


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Ok, thanks for the help!
Had a look at the lumps again today and some have a little scab in the middle, which if you pick gently has a 'core' like bit, a white bit thats like a stalk from the scab to underlying tissue, so thinking again that it could be nodular necribosis /granum complex. thing is I know not much about it.
Did yours ever get lumps this bad? These are solid too but not even shapes as pic shows. did they not rub or cause discomfort when riding? Her lumps are really bad at the moment so we are not riding her. As she is only 4 she is just starting to be schooled and we dont really want to give her any excuses to misbehave or be a pain doing it in future!
 
Just been searching for a post exactly like this! I have a mare that has solid lumps just like this around her saddle area. Every vet has said don't worry, they don't hurt her at all. They were there when she came over from Ireland last year and went in the winter and have just come back again bigger than before. We have moved yards and changed hay and pasture so did think that might have something to do with it. First of all thought it was an allergy but since they come and go the only thing I can think of is that it is when she puts weight on when they come back seeing as she is a little fatty at the moment. Glad she isn't the only lumpy pony out there!
 
I've got a lumpy one too!
People who sold him too me thought barley reaction but he has been barley free since I have had him and old lumps getting better but a couple of new ones have popped up!
Not sure whether it is an allergy / heat related / infection related but he is completely not bothered by them so I just ignore them.
 
my old boy used to get these on new grass - protein lumps. So maybe worth looking at feed, grass hay/haylage. Also rugs - is he hot...sweat??? Ive heard so many story this year about these its weird, havent heard anybody talk about them for years!
 
Mine has had identical lumps for the last few weeks. She's never had them before and nothing in diet/lifestyle has changed. They are non-tender, covered in normal soft coat and don't appear to have a head/scab.

Everyone I've spoken to about them says something different.
 
Mine has had these little lumps since Monday! They look exactly the the same as FB's pics (same area etc) and don't bother her at all... I was hoping that they would just go down by themselves.
 
My horses ones have got bigger, they do not bother her in the slightest. The only thing I can think of is Protein lumps. Every vet I have shown says something different and says not to worry. They are unsightly now, the pressure of the saddle seems to disperse them after exercise which is strange. I am going to try a tens type product on them and magnets. So weird!!!
 
My boy gets these unless I wash and change his Num ah weekly. They are exactly the same, have a little scab in the middle etc, pop up then disappear. Washing Num aha weekly resolved this for my boy altogether.
 
when you say a white bit comes out the centre what is it like??? warbles are fly larvae that come up in lumps through the back and have a breathing hole...they eventually drop out. They are pretty rare now in the UK but maybe have a read about that online and see whether that fits? Or could be as many people have said, reactions to food, other allergens; a type of urticaria.
 
I know a horse who had something similar and developed a sensitivity to sugar, had same feed for ages and then these started popping up, reduced sugar, no more lumps, weird.
 
My 5 year old NF mare has some as well - seems like they are everywhere! She only has 3 or 4 and they are small compared with some of the pictures shown here, probably small pea-size maximum, or grain of rice. No head/scab and absolutely no apparent pain or irritation associated with them, even though they are under the saddle. I have read they could be associated with dying worm larvae after worming (mine appeared within a week or two of worming with Equest) or the warble fly mentioned above but I too thought they were rare and decided it probably wasn't them. Apparently they can disappear eventually but have read minor surgery sometimes required. Her injections are due towards the end of June so I intend to ask the vet about them, assuming they haven't got much worse before then.
 
I posted something similar on here a couple of days ago, my old boy has had similar lumps since Sunday which seem to come and go, but seem worse when he's been in field all day. Having googled it looks like it's an allergy to something. Ted's lumps don't seem to cause him any discomfort and he seems quite happy. His feed and routine haven't changed at all, only this year there is much less grass and I think that he might be eating other plants that he wouldn't normally eat.
 
My horses lumps are huge now, they seem to have got 'flatter' tho. I got another vet to have a look and again another vet saying as they don't hurt her don't mess around with steroids etc.. he thinks it is an allergy of some sort so I am going to try her on piriton everyday to see what happens, magnet therepy and tens machine! I will try and post a pic if I can.
 
Mine too has suffered with these type lumps - they tend to come up under his saddle area but can also get the on his shoulder. They vary in size and also have a 'head', but appear painless.

My vets first thought was warbles, but could not get any of the 'heads' to produce anything. He was also put on anti biotics in case it was a bacterial infection, but these did not really help.

I had my saddler look at them and he thought they were from him sweating under the saddle out hunting and advised me not to use woolen numnahs and to wash his back off straight away after untacking. I am now careful that he has a clean numnah on at all times and only wash his numnahs in water with no soap.

The lumps eventually healed up on their own, but have left several small hairless scars on his back which is annoying as he is shown.

To this day I still don't know what they were - with a finer summer coat no new ones have come up on his back, but occasional ones still appear on his shoulder.
 
My pony has lumps. Has had them for 7 years. They arent as bad now as they were as there used t be hundreds of them and you never really saw the full extent until he was clipped. He just has the odd few now and I just pick the heads off when they have them and just leave them alone. Somebody once said it could be something to do with his liver but I dont know
 
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