Sweat patch appearing on flank

[ElleJS]

I have a 2yo warmblood gelding that I have noticed develops a weird sweat patch on his flank after he has exerted himself or if he gets hot.
It appears in a line downwards from his flank approx 15cm long and 1-5cm wide in a jagged type pattern. Very very strange and I am worried he has some kind of muscle damage. He is not lame or sore at all but this same pattern appears on his flank every time he is hot.

Not really sure what I or a vet could do and if it is some kind of muscle problem what would be best to do apart from letting it sort its self out over the next few years before he is backed. Another funny this is that the hair colour is starting to change where the sweat patch appears. He is a dark grey roan and more brown hairs are forming where the sweat patch is!

Any ideas would be gratefully received, thank you if you can help

NB My only thought is that he got very very ill earlier in the year after a mysterious bacterial infection in his stomach and was very thin and weak- we did wonder if this could have had an affect on him as he lost a lot weight and muscle in an intense 48hour period when he has a temp of 105!! Perhaps tore a muscle but we wouldn't have noticed lameness as was box bound? It is a mystery

 

[ihatework]

I've known a handful of horses with this.

I believe the sweat is thought to be caused by localised neuromuscular damage, the coat change likely linked to the sweating.

It hasn't been an issue in the one's I knew.

My current horse shows similar on the inside of his hock, he had onset of a stringhalt and thermography showed up a cold/sweating patch indicative of local nerve damage.

 

[gunnergundog]

It's likely to be a sympathetic innervation problem - get a good chiropracter.....chances are they will find an issue in the thoracic/lumbar area and it will be sorted easy peasy.

 

[ElleJS]

interesting, thank you, think i will book my chiro guy to come out, not sure why I didn't think of this before- he is a genius so should have been my first call!

 

[Britestar]

Interesting. My lad has started getting a small sweaty patch just on his neck. Never had it before, and he's going as well as ever. I did wonder about it being a nerve thing.

Will get someone out to see him.

 

[madhoss]

My mare had something similiar on her neck. The hair in the patch changed colour due to the sweat bleaching it in the sun. Showed it to the vet during a visit and they described it as a sympathetic nerve something-or-other, said it's nothing to worry about and suggested a chiro may help.

 

[1life]

My friend's had a dark, jagged oblong shaped patch appear sporadically on his neck. Casual conversation with visiting Vet suggested it could be a trapped nerve. And yes, chiro was her first port of call too . Oddly, it has left the area very slightly darker but at the moment it has not happened again....

 

[Daytona]

My mare had that in shoulder vet said nerve damage and not to worry about it