Lumpy horse.. any ideas?

[RobinHood]

Went hunting for a full day (6 hours) on monday, as usual left saddle on in the lorry on the way home with a thermatex and he was dry by the time we got back. I cold hosed his legs below the knee and then quickly brushed off his back before putting him in for the night some well earned rest.

The next day he was still wired from hunting so I took him for a 30min hack round the village, just walking, and then turned him out for the day.

Thursday morning I noticed some lumps on his back where the saddle sits. Presumed they were blocked sweat glands from not washing him off properly so washed him with very diluted dettol in warm water and then thoroughly rinsed him off. (gave him the day off)

Friday morning horse now lumpy down his left shoulder and on the left hand side of his back. He was a bit sensitive about them being prodded but not overly. Gave him a shot of dex and some bute. (another day off)

So today the lumps have gone down but they are still there. The original ones are starting to scab so maybe they'll all do that and then go. They're not massive lumps, about the size of a pound coin and you can't really see them, only feel them. If it was the summer I'd say they were fly bites and if they were just under the saddle then blocked sweat glands. This evening I washed the area with malaseb, gave him some more bute tonight and yet another day off. I've also taken his under rug off in case he's been getting too hot.

The other horse we went hunting with came out in lumps the next day but his have now gone, his owner out it down to him being covered in sweat and salt under his tack for 6hrs. Considering getting the vet to have a look on monday but he'll probably laugh at me making a fuss about some lumps that aren't even visible. Just wondered if anyone has any ideas.

 

[RobinHood]

Probably should have said that I haven't recently washed his rugs or saddlecloth, his feed is exactly the same and there aren't any funny looking plants in the field he could have rolled on.

 

[CrazyMare]

Did you brush up against any hedges or similar when you were out?

 

[DAN12345]

hi,this may not be of any use but similar thing happend wiv a horse on our yard,he was ridden and nxt day got few lumps on his bak,day after few more appeard,eventually after few days they were down his neck,chest,back area,the vet came and said it lukd like a reaction 2 sumthing and gave him a antihistamine injection and by the afternoon they had nearly gone,
next day they were all gone exept a few,vet was on the yard and had another look cos the few on his back turnd slightly scabby and sed sumtimes with damp weather,saddle clothes ect wen pores open wen sweating,dirt can get in and can get tiny infection in the pores,spots basically!hope that mite help!! x

 

[Natalie_H]

Any change in feed? My horse suffers from urticaria (also known as nettle-rash / hives). Had a little outbreak this week. In the past wre have had skin biopsies & blood tests - but to cut a long story short, we still don't really know what triggers it. It is confined to winter months, and he has been better this year than usual. I use anti-histamines which certainly reduce the aggressiveness of the reaction when he breaks out. I have also found that hot-flannelling him reduces them significantly.

So what I am really saying is not very helpful in that it is very difficult to find out exactly what it is. I would say that in my experience of a years investigation by the vets, they are pretty much flummoxed by these kind of things & several different vets have always told me how hard it is to find out the cause. For that reason, I would say do not call the vet yet - unless they are causing obvious discomfort & distress & are getting worse. The vet will probably just want to give a shot of steroid, or put your horse on a short course of prednisolone (sp?).

As this seems to be a one off, and they have gone from your friends horse, they may well just disappear. I do usually ride my horse in spite of his reactions (as long as they are not too bad) as the exercise actually seems to help get whatever is causing it out of his system.

Hope they go soon!

 

[Christmas Crumpet]

This is exactly what my horse got when hunting at end of Dec. We were in the vale and it was pissing with rain all day and we got very sweaty too. They started under his saddle and then moved all over the place. He had them at the tops of his legs, neck, tummy and back. They shrunk and then turned into tiny little scabs. They went after a few days and I used lots of sudocrem on them.

I did find that the areas I put mud guard on didn't get them. I am hunting in the vale tomorrow and am going to put mud guard everywhere bar under the saddle.

I washed horse off thoroughly with lavender wash so I don't think its got to do with whether or not you washed him off properly. I think its to do with wet conditions and open pores. Some horses are far more sensitive than others. The funny thing is that my horse doesn't get mud fever on his legs or tummy normally so I think def. reaction from sweat and very muddy conditions. I have been feeding NAF Mud Guard to see if that works. Will post on Weds after hunting tomorrow and let you know whether its made any difference!!!