nodules - bumps on back - steer away?

[Gomer]

hello everyone,

I've had a 2 year old vetted which had two lumps on his back. both have hairs on. when i went to see the horse earlier the owner said they were flybites which would go down. the horse did have a lot of bites so it seemed plausible. it also did not look like sarcoids or other bumps that I have seen previously.

however, the vet said they were not bites, but nodules, and though there was a small possibility they were sarcoids he did not think so.

he also said they would not go away by themselves, and that although they might not necessarily cause problems, one is in the area where the saddle would be. if it causes problems it would need to be surgically removed.

the horse has never had a saddle on so this is unlikely to be caused by tack however I am a bit concerned that the bump in the saddle area might cause problems later on when the horse is backed.

also, there was a second bump coming up and I am worried that there might be more to come. the vet thought it was an isolated thing but that it was possible with more.

apart from the bump, the vet remarked that the horse had a lot of fly bites and thrush in his somewhat overgrown feet. it also did no have flexion tests in the end because the vet only got around to flexing him for 5 secs before he went up. apart from these things though there wasn't anything, thankfully!

any suggestions/experiences as to whether such a lump should be removed and how successful it is?

- would you steer away from this horse,
-ask to wait and see how the lumps develop,
-ask that the owner has the lumps removed before paying up, or
-ask for a drop in the price, since when we discussed the price earlier on the assumption was that there was nothing wrong with it at all

there are so many helpful and experienced people on this forum, always nice to hear your views

 

[Helena88]

depends whether there was something in this horse (breeding, potential, etc) that made it stand out from other youngsters without these problems

but if you do go then definately go for a lower price

 

[brighteyes]

Think they'll be 'saddle boils' or 'acne' (proper term is nodules!) if they are pea-sized, hard, fixed and hair-covered. They do go down and don't appear to bother the ridden animal. I presume, at 2, he won't be ridden for ages. My pony had two under her saddle and they both went but were present for several months. Doubt they'll be sarcoids - unusual location and sarcoids are usually hairless I think. Could even be bites. If the vet wasn't bothered, I'd go with him, especially if no evidence of sarcoids anywhere else like eyes, armpits, chest and groin. If you really like the horse...... Know what you're thinking, though.

 

[tigers_eye]

My 5 yo has one on the side of his spine which came up when he was about that age. I sent him away to be backed and told them to let me know if it bothered him. It never has. Last year I had a vet try to get rid of it when he had his vaccinations done and he sucked out th contents through a needle, but said it would probably come back which it has. He said if ever it bothered him (or me) it could be removed under local anathetic, but I can't see I'll be needing to. I would not be concerned at all about buying the horse, but would use it as a bargaining tool! Also cite the element of risk on your behalf having not been able to do proper flexion tests.

 

[Gomer]

thanks. the bump was definitively bigger than pea-sized, but looked bigger than it was because of the hairs.

the vet said it 'might be' that it won't cause problems but he was not conclusive either way.

 

[Gomer]

oh and he sounded certain that it would not disappear by itself so if we wanted it to go away would need to surgically remove it :-(

 

[Skhosu]

I would either get a very much reduced price or leave well alone! Or I suppose if the owner would remove them?

 

[sharni]

my arab had lots ofthese. we did endurance rides and she always passed the vet ok at the end. we never found out what they were and neither did the vets but did notice other horses with then too.

 

[lizlew]

My horse also has a couple of these lumps under the saddle, slightly larger than pea size and they seem to come and go at different times throughout the year, never seem to cause her any problems, vet says that they shouldnt cause her any probs, if they did they could be removed but had no probs so far, follow what your heart and head is telling you, if the horse is what you really want which sounds like it is, think of all the pros and cons and see what you come up with, people say you know when you have found the right horse. Speak to the owner and either discuss a price drop or her sorting these lumps out if its really what you want.

 

[miamibear]

Yes i have experience they are called nodular skin disease, nodular necreobiosis i think.

Althought the 2yo only has 2 at the moment they can come and go a lot and more may pop up at any time.

It is believed to be an excess of collagen in the skin.

My old horses never bothered him but at certain times of the year usually moulting time after winter the nodules used to open wanting to be squeezed and would excrete a hard fibrous lump (which is the collagen) he did get infected one time which was when they were excreting puss too but that went away with antibiotics but the lumps never.

They never bothered him, even ones under the saddle but then i never did any showing, they would be no good for a showing career but if you just wanted to jump / dressage / hack where appearance isnt so important they wont hinder his performance at all.

It is possible to get them surgically removed or injected with steroids (i think) but as they dont bother him it would be a waste of money in my opinion.

Hope that helps

If you want any more infor i will do my best just pm me

Mel

 

[Gomer]

thank you for your messages everyone. will pm you miamibear