Reasons for hamster cheek!! Stumped?

islandspirit

islandspirit

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Took new horsey hunting for the first time and had a fab day but 7 days later the glands behind the jaw and under the chin came up, horse was very listless and vet was duely called. Vet took bloods which supported his theory of a virus and we quarantined for 10 days as a precaution. Said glands gradually decreased in size and he became more himself and was slowly brought back into work. He was ridden on Saturday and on Sunday the huge glands were back again along with a swollen area along the upper left jaw the size of your hand which was slightly warm and left a huge dent when pressed. I called the vet again and he wants to come out for another visit, more expense, as he said the cheek shouldn't swell like that. His grass glands have been coming up since the grass has started growing but the vet feels that the swelling is too severe for this to be the reason. The face is now back to normal size but it took a few days to drain. He is also sore in his back, despite a treatment the week before last and he has also developed a slight toe drag on the right hind!! I do have the vet coming out but any thoughts on what the problem is would be very useful, also which problem is the primary one? Do I try to sort one out and then the others or all at once. Should also say, this is a new horse as of December, passed a 5 stage vetting and new saddle fitted by respected saddler. Many thanks for hanging on in there, a long post I know! :)
 
My horse quite often comes in with swollen glands that are sometimes so filled you can leave a dent like you described have had if checked by the vet blood tests etc and turns out he is allergic to the new grass coming through as he only gets it spring time when the grass is coming through!! I don't panic anymore on the plus side I know when grass is coming through before you can see it!!! He has been coming in like this for the last week as the grass is growing. May not be the same thing but may help!
 
I'd say it was new grass coming through.

Some horses seem very sensitive to the spring grass in first flush; Millie's glands come right up and she gets lumpy cheeks but Vinnie is absolutely fine on the same field.

Can help to restrict the grazing or turn out overnight and bring in during the day so they are grazing when the sugar levels are lower.

Mine are in this routine now and Millie's fat cheeks have gone.
 
EmmaR, does your horse also have swelling on the face? My boy is swollen on the left along the face in line with his teeth. The swelling has come back up tonight but the saliva glands aren't enlarged at all this time! Just the face and the gland underneath between the jaw bones is now enlarged and feels grainy.
 
Another vote for grass glands - only one of my horse's seems to get affected - her glands have started playing up this last couple of weeks.
 
mine always get hamster cheeks this time of yr - it's never seemed to affect them though so I dont worry about it. I just use it as a cue to cut their feed down as grass must be growing.
 
No one is turnIng out overnight yet so can't change routine, trouble is that he is very sensitive to the bit, tried 7 until I found one that works and don't feel I can work him in a bridle until I know it doesn't hurt. He's so sensitive that when I tried a myler, bit 6, he tried to buck me off when I took a light contact!
 
My boy swells all over his face and his lips too sometimes. His grass glands come up a lot but not always at the same time as the sides of the face. He swells right up to the ears enough that I use a larger browband to ride. Doesn't normally affect his mood but if it's round his mouth I wouldn't ride. Vet thought it was an allergy but said it would be very hard to determine what exactly was causing it. I have a pic of his lips somewhere I'll try and find.
 
Islandspirit yes my boys actual cheeks swell along the line of his teeth and look like big balls of fluid on his cheek looks like a hamster lol. But is definitely the grass! It doesn't affect him at all and he is one of the most sensitive horses I've known, vet said fine to carry on riding him but obviously if it is really swollen don't ask him to come down on the bit to much as it will restrict him but other than that I just ignore it.
 
Mine is coming in from the fields in the evening looking like he's done several rounds with Mike Tyson his face is so swollen from the grass. It looks horrible and when I bridle him I have to put his throatlash and noseband on a lot looser than normal. However he seems fine in himself and he always gets this around the beginning of spring. My horses face and galnds go down after a few hours off the grass though, does yours? I'm sure it's nothing to worry about..
 
My boys cheeks take about three days to go down then nothing for up to a week, then bam, all off a sudden they are up again. He comes in from the field slightly swollen and they grow larger and larger over about 4 hours and then slowly reduce over 3 or 4 days.
 
Another here who has a horse whose face blows up like he's been in the boxing ring! Massive glands, all down his cheeks on both sides, sometimes up towards his ears. It's always all gone by morning having been off the grass. There are three others in his field, and they never get any swelling at all. I think some horses are just really sensitive to it!
 
hopefully I just have an overly cautious vet, as so many of you have the same symptoms :) The first year with a new horse can be quite stressful as you just dont know what is normal for them.
 
My cob gets hamster cheeks too, more now as hes getting older. I thought it was due to his salivary glands not coping with the amount of water being ingested, as recently it has always happened after wet weather. It can be a slight swelling on his cheek (s) or his glands behind his jaw or a swelling that appears to go right up the side of his face on one or both sides. He's never been off colour because of it and it usualy goes down overnight.

Dizzy
 
Another with a hamster horse. As others have said, still ride just possibly don't ask him to flex too much or I get up early and ride before he goes out. He is the only one on the yard whose has hamster cheeks and it seems to happen whichever field he is in.
 
We have a yard full of hamsters at the moment. I've never noticed it until I moved here. Nickel has a swollen glands and also puffing on the outside of his cheeks so he does indeed look like a hamster. I still ride him but don't ask for an outline until he is ready, or I ride in the morning. One of the horses at the yard is so badly affected that he can't put his head down to eat his dinner off the floor.
 
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