Lumps under the saddle

[happihorse]

Over the last couple of weeks I have noticed that two small lumps have appeared in my horses saddle area.

The lumps are under the back pads of the saddle with one each side of his spline. They are not symmetrically placed, so couldn't be due to the saddle.

The lumps are about 1cm across (like a penny) and only stand a couple of millimetres off his back. They do not have a head so I wouldn't have thought that they could be bites.

I wash the saddle cloth weekly and he has a bath after work every day. I have been using the same shampoo for years. I have tried washing them in Hibbiscrub but this does not make a difference.

One of my previous horses had a similar problem, but the lumps were sore and did have a head. They were a bit like a blackhead. I don't theink that the current problem is the same as this though.

Does anyone know what these lumps could be and / or caused by? What can I do to get rid of them.

I don't really want to call the vet out as the lumps don't bother the horse and are not sore. I just don't want them to turn into a bigger problem!

Help!

 

[PapaFrita]

Antifaz developed 3 lumps about the same size you describe in the saddle area a few months ago. They're hard but don't cause him any pain so I left them alone and now they're actually shrinking. I think someone suggested they could be blocked ducts... but I could be talking rubbish! In any case, if they're not causing any pain, I'd leave them alone. OR if you've got a good relationship with your vet just give him/her a ring to check.

 

[luie123]

They could be bites even without a head

 

[Morrigan_Lady]

Sounds like blocked hair folicles to me. My horse has a few on his back and as long as you can prod them and munipulate them quite hard and he's not bothered by it, then I really wouldnt worry, just keep an eye on them.

 

[Shipley]

My TB that I had, got these I had the vet out to inspect and they never caused an issue, the vet told me if they are not causing pain to leave them as they are relly difficult to remove. I could have tried injectingwith steriods but as they were hard this was deamed to probably be inefective. I usedto washmysaddlecloth regually and bath butmade no difference. What type of breed is your horse?

 

[SSM]

Donkey has them too - I found they were worse in the winter when it was harder to keep her clean - much smaller now

 

[only_me]

they could be caused by a rich diet... my pony got a couple of lumps but they were very small and not sore, and the vet said they could be caused by the rich grass! diet time for my pony...

 

[merlinsquest]

They sound like granulomas (I think) and merlin used to get loads under his saddle. A saddler told me they were sweat bumps and to always wash his back off after exercise.

He also used to get two roany patches each side of his back just behind the withers.....

Since washing his back religiously he has not had bumps and when his coat came back to summer coat, there were no roany bits either....... result!!!!

 

[xxcharlottexx]

my horse has lumps under his saddle too. they went down and have no got bigger again.

I got the vet to have a look at them and he said he thought they were lumps of collagen (sp?) and that they were nothing to worry about.

They dont seem to cause him any pain so i have left them

Though quite a bit of hair did fall out when i picked them as even though i brushed him everyday his fur had got quite matted underneath from sweat, so i sponge him off after ive ridden him and it seems to help.