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  Discussion on Lumps in saddle area
Author Message
New Member:
Kezz

Posted on Sunday, Oct 15, 2006 - 9:11 am:

I have a horse that has developed hard lumps in and around the saddle area, ranging from 1 to 3cm in size. They have no discharge or head on them and leave no indentation after pressing on them as they are hard lumps. they don,t even seem painful. He has about a dozen of them, more on one side than the other. Any ideas or suggestions?
Member:
Kathleen

Posted on Sunday, Oct 15, 2006 - 11:44 am:

Kerry,
Exactly where are the bumps. Our gelding Yogi had some small bumps next to his withers that looked like just thickened skin after a while. Turned out it was damage from an ill fitting saddle before we got him, and they wondered why he was bucking. He, also, showed no reaction to palpation. They ended up being a sarcoid that we had removed. Just FYI, something to keep in mind until you find out what the lump are.
Kathleen
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Sunday, Oct 15, 2006 - 8:42 pm:

Insect bites, including the fly larvae of summer sores can leave very hard lumps that can last a very long time. Things that penetrate the skin, like splinters, can also encapsulate into hard lumps.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 6:16 am:

Hello Kerry,
We describe various skin lumps and bumps at, Diseases of Horses » Skin Diseases » Bumps / Nodules / Warts / Tumors » Overview of Bumps, Nodules, Warts & Tumors. It should help you flesh out your problem.
DrO
New Member:
Kezz

Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 8:56 am:

Thankyou all for your reply,the lumps are in the area where the saddle pannels sit and a few on the wither where the saddle has no contact. I do think the saddle is not fitting him and I am in the process of having it corrected. Summer sores did cross my mind but would they be on more parts of his body and not just on his back? I did research the skin disease site for lumps and bumps and nothing seemed to fit. I have a vet coming tomorrow, so I will update you with the results.The other thing I thought it might be is heat lumps from a thick synthetic saddle blanket.
Member:
Green007

Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 10:19 am:

Kerry,

Do you wash your synthetic blanket? I just did a full allergy panel on a horse I had that was breaking out in hives and I was amazed at the things he was allergic to! One of the things he was extremely allergic to was wool. Bye bye wool coolers and wool saddle pads! And, he is allergic to timothy hay, but negative to alfalfa. Have to rethink a lot of things now.

You don't have to do a full allergy test on your guy as mine was expensive, but you can do the "rule out" technique. Try a different saddle pad, maybe a wool one or a cotton one, or wash your saddle pad in different detergents (like Dreft or All Free Clear).

Good luck figuring it out.
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 10:50 am:

Another thought -- fly spray under a saddle pad can cause problems there too. And if you wash your saddle pad be sure to rinse it thoroughly -- double rinsing is a good idea. It will be interesting to see if your horse's lumps eventually open up and drain.
Member:
Imogen

Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 6:45 pm:

TB type horses with thin/sensitive skin can get small pressure sores about the size of a pea even when the saddle fits well. I know Dr O thinks these are actually small areas of rainscald/dermatophilus from previous discussions. I've never been able to prove or disprove this but I know most people who deal with TBs will have seen this type of lump and that they are pressure related (when horse is rested they improve).

All the best

Imogen
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 10:29 pm:

The difference between a pressure sore and dermatophilus would be that a pressure sore will first have the hair abraded away and then form a painful erosion while dermatophilus starts as a painful thickening under the unabraded hair and that evolves into a scab that removes with the hair embedded. There is also a poorly defined entity where it is supposed that pressure creates a keratolytic nodule in the skin itself that usually remains haired, nonpainful, and persistent but I have never convinced myself these are the actual cause of these nodules.
DrO
New Member:
Kezz

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - 8:39 am:

Hi everyone,
I have taken everything you have all said onboard. I am changing saddle blankets to woolen,double rinsing when washing (can't be too careful) and giving him time out from riding until the lumps are gone,as the vet today believes they are pressure related and may take up to 3mths to clear.Dr O it does sound like Keratolytic nodules actually, as the lumps have remained haired,reasonably non painful and quite persistent. They have begun to reduce in the past 2 weeks of not riding. Thankyou all for your input it has been very helpful.
Member:
Kathleen

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - 10:48 am:

Kerry,
Is there any way you could post a picture? It is hard to visualize what you are describing, but it sounds so familiar to me.
Kathleen
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - 11:07 am:

The problem with the diagnosis Kerry is that there are many things that will exactly like those bumps and therefore requires a biopsy to confirm, until then they are unknown bumps or nodules of the skin.
DrO
Member:
Qh4me

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - 1:58 pm:

Hi Kerry,

I brought my 3 year old home in June from training.

I noticed he had a couple of these lumps on his back. They sounded exactly like yours. They were about an inch in diameter, non painful, no hair loss etc. I asked the vet about them and she thought the same as yours, possible pressure points. I asked her if I should give him a break from riding, but since they weren't painful, she told me to continue, but just keep an eye on them.

I continued to ride, and within a couple of months, they were gone. I am not sure why they disappeared, but the saddle and pads were all different as I was using my own tack and not the trainers.

Hope yours turns out the same, and they will disappear.

Shawna
New Member:
Kezz

Posted on Saturday, Oct 21, 2006 - 10:52 am:

Hi Kathleen, I tried to take some photos for you but the lumps have almost disappeared and don't show up but I can still feel them. So he is on the mend. These horses can be a worry but i would never be without them.

Shawna thanks for your post, I am definitely changing his saddle and blanket. Hopefully this will be the last we see of these lumps.

Kerry
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