Poooooo VERY LONG

[Molineux]

Found this which is quite intresting - a girl saying her horse has lumps over his body and more so under the saddle.

Dear Alison These rather unsightly lumps are called nodular skin disease ( also known as collagen necrosis). They sound quite harmless and, generally speaking, never cause a problem. But they do look unsightly. Most lumps develop under the saddle, and I have seen horses with upto 40-50 on its back. However, providing they are painless to touch and they don't grow in size, I wouldn't be at all worried about them. We have tried removing such lumps in the past, and having histopathology done on the lumps. However this has not helped us either in the diagnosis or the treatment. Very occasionally, the odd lump will break through the skin (ulcerate) and become quite painful, red and sore. These were common in the work horses in the past, and were called Sitfasts. When they get to this stage, the only resolution is by cutting them out. Nodular skin disease, because of its unsightliness, is a big problem in show horses, and the only treatment I have found to be any use at all is by using a steroid based cream and massaging it into the offending lumps on a daily basis for two to three weeks. There appears to be a seasonal basis to these lumps, and they seem to appear in the spring and the autumn. It is thought that, although they are related to tack, sweating, the sweating in these areas created by the tack may be a factor. So the rule of thumb is, if they are not painful to touch, and they are not growing, they are best left well alone. Best wishes, Stuart

 

[BBs]

You dont know the hell i went through to try and get Alfa Oil lol
I ended up with Hi Fi Lite and Oil, which made him go loopy - although thats what we thought.... as thats when all the trouble started with the rearing and napping *when i put him on the chaff and oil diet*
Thing is the spots never went, so i bought him ride and relax, which as yet he hasnt had lol
Hes out 24/7 now and will stay that way without anything other than grass.

I telephoned D&H about the problem a week ago, they suggested it could be the barley in the build up cubes.. but to keep him on the Ultimate Balancer but take him off SB which i had anyway.

Weve drawn a blank everywhere atm, so now its over to the vet.

Thanks hunny. Im still working on going to Mattingley

 

[BBs]

DC.
The lumps winston has are caused by a reaction by pressure to the skin. They are hard and unsightly but dont cause him any pain. The geleze pad has cured them now

but they do appear if i dont wear the pad on him.

I telephoned D&H about the lumps a week or so ago, they sent me loads of information and they too are bringing out a specialist feed for horses with allegies to certain feeds etc.

Now hope the vet can shed some light....

 

[Folara]

Oh and at about 4 years old (Gen is now 6) he developed an allergy to Garlic and then Sugarbeet and also Alfalfa. Same as with the Barley - lumps all over his back (concentrated under the saddle area where he gets hottest). Ive had Gen from a foal and he used to be able to eat literally anything but nowadays he is really sensitive.

Sometimes the lumps would disappear and I would think it was all ok only for them to reappear a week or so later.

I did a fair bit of research and it has been linked with the increase in workload and stress levels etc. and also with sugars.

With the Barley and Sugarbeet: the more work meant that Gen was 'using' the energy more and so there was less of a build up and so less of a reaction. I likened it to 'tying-up' but getting lumps instead. However the 'build up' of extra 'energy' can take a while before it becomes a problem.

If put in a stressful situation the lumps would get worse and I seem to remember something to do with the release of endorphins (sp?) and lactic acid and how the body deals with this.

Not sure how it works for the Garlic and Alfalfa tho!

HTH and makes sense.

 

[madhector]

Not sure if I have told you my 'spot' story yet

might be relevent...

...my old WB mare started getting these bumps, they started on her neck and chest and each day she would have a load more, they drove her mad, she was so itchy and grumpy, although fine when ridden until she got them on her back under saddle, she then started bucking, and her atitude to work completly changed, we stopped ridden work as I could put a saddle on her. Had vet out who said it was an allergic reaction, and was just a case of finding out what she was reacting too.

so we started the exclusion diet, she had dry hay nothing else for a week and was stabled, the bumps went down. so a week later we introduced hi fi again, and still no bumps, so then we tried suger beet, and still fine, etc... then we turned her out and still no bumps, till we moved her into the other field, she came in the next morning with a few bumps again, the only difference i could see between the fields was the poplar trees round the edge. so she had a week in again to get rid of the bumps and then i fed her some poplar leaves, next day we had bumps again! so eventually we worked out she was allergic to poplars, and we kept her from eating the leaves and she never had another bump.

hope this is some help

 

[lorenababbit]

Hi Vic, just a smal point . nettle rash also called uticaria generally has nothing to do with nettles. it is called that because of the raised lumps on the torso which resemble those which humans get when stung by nettles. usually an allergic reaction of some kind and may also be caused by too much protein or excess carbs. usually the lumps not really painful unless under the saddle like yours but often itchy. sweat seems to irrritate and as i said in my post there has been alot about this year. i was talking about the very thing to sharon hunt last week one of hers covered also and her vet said the same.
with our one there was no reason nor with sharons. nothing had changed in feeding or regime and the grass where we are not that lush yet .
mostly they give you some sort of steroid treatment for it either cream or jab or tablet or a combination of those thats why i couldnt go that way these will tet and we had to do the CIC** last week so i looked at the alternate therapy which seems to have worked. especially recomend the calendula cream if skin sore and/or rough.
give Katie R my regards if you do call her out and let me know hw you get on xx

 

[kp31]

Poor Snoops hope you get to the bottom of it. Sounds like something is upsetting him.

 

[KarenX]

Oh no.. poor Snoops & you! Fingers crossed you get to the bottom of what is causing it.

Keep us posted please.

Karen

 

[bandit]

(((hugs to both you and snoops)))

I'm sure you will soon find out what the issues are, and snoops will be back to normal in no time.

Don't beat yourself up, we all know we do the best for them, and at the end of the day you were doing what you'd been told to do.

Snoops will enjoy the rest - perhaps he's been talking to Bon Monster!!! LOL...

Fingers crossed you'll find the culprit, but barley reacted with Bonnie too, but only in tmerperment not with spots.

Bx

 

[Alibear]

Oh door not so great but then if lumps come up whilst you're on board you have no chance of spotting them.
Big cuddles from me and I hope the vet can sort things out for you.
Mind you yay Winston might be back

 

[SillyMare]

Oh no, poor Snoops!

At least it is something obvious though - now you know what has been causing the behaviour you can do something about it.

I'm sure he will bounce back once you have worked out what he is reacting to.

 

[the watcher]

Urticaria is a nightmare, because it can take a long time to identify the irritant, and once the horse is sensitised it will then react to anything..which explains why simply riding is causing lumps, because pressure on already sensitive skin will cause them.

I can only recommend plain cold water hosing at least twice a day, as this will releive some of the heat in the lumps..your vet may be more help with anti histamines