[CHEvent]

My horse has a large lump under his jaw. On the right side only. About 1-2 inches in diameter. It is sort of hard, but squishy toward the edges. He otherwise is behaving normally. It came up pretty quickly. He lost some hair over the area when I was inspecting it, but the skin unerneath looked perfectly healthy and normal (and no broken skin). Should I be worried?

ps. hes a 14 year old TB.

[CHEvent]

So I talked to the person who rode him today (Im out with an injury) apparently he was really nervous and "stressed" is how she said it. And was also refusing jumps and just acting very unlike himself. (He is very mellow usially). Im stumped. Maybe a dental issue?

[Halt Near X]

Is he running a fever? Any nasal discharge, cough, etc? Pulse/resp normal?

It could be a tooth, tic or spider bite, abscess around a foreign object (splinter, etc), or a brewing infection (strangles, pigeon fever in a weird location, etc).

Me, I'd call the vet and run the situation by them and figure out the best course of action from there. Vet might want to do an emergency/weekend visit or might feel it's fine until Monday and let you know what to do/watch out for in the meantime.

[CHEvent]

Is he running a fever? Any nasal discharge, cough, etc? Pulse/resp normal?

It could be a tooth, tic or spider bite, abscess around a foreign object (splinter, etc), or a brewing infection (strangles, pigeon fever in a weird location, etc).

Me, I'd call the vet and run the situation by them and figure out the best course of action from there. Vet might want to do an emergency/weekend visit or might feel it's fine until Monday and let you know what to do/watch out for in the meantime.

I didn't take his temp (I know I should have) but he only has normal clear bilateral nasal discharge that he always has. It seems like it came up quite quickly... like less than a day. The vet is going to look at him tomorrow. (And I get to worry in the meantime. Yay)

[Halt Near X]

I'm not a vet, don't play one on TV, and haven't stayed at a Holiday Inn, so don't put too much stock in my opinion, but for whatever it's worth --

Strangles usually has nasal discharge, so none here is probably a good sign.

Teeth do as well, I think, but not always.

Coming up quickly and a lack of nasal discharge would make me lean more towards a splinter or bite of some sort.

So, I would not be panicking too much between now and the vet appointment. (Actually I would, because I'm never as rational with my own horses as I am with others, but you know... in theory I would not be panicking too much.)

[fourmares]

Abcessed tooth root. My mares lump came up over night... but it could just be a splinter.

[CHEvent]

The vet said it could be a salavary gland issue or a tooth problem. We are putting him on antibiotics for a few days to see if it clears up. this morning he had another lymph node that had blown up- this one on his throat area, also on the left side, so there is definatley something going on. Im still wondering if its a tooth thing since he was clearly distressed when he was ridden.

With the abcessed tooth root, how can they tell? Just a regular dental exam?

[FalseImpression]

And tooth abscess is usually accompanied by a very bad smell. My mare had the white/yellowish and smelly discharge (stunk up the whole barn). Good luck.

[Halt Near X]

They can xray the head to check for a tooth abscess.

[CHEvent]

hmm, I wonder at what point I should suggest that, seems like a bit extreme to jump to this early on. I guess I will be able to tell how bad it is based on how long it takes the antibiotics to work.

[fairtheewell]

Doesn't sound like strangles, which usually begins with lethargy, hanging their head really low, some won't eat, fever, and a dry cough....then comes the lump under the jaw in the middle and lastly the bucket loads of snot.

[CHEvent]

so the bump hasnt decreased much, but it is now oozing puss and blood. The area looks a bit red and irritated. He has been on antibiotics for 3 days.

[Highflyer]

We get horses with this occasionally this time of year. The ones we have had cultured came back positive for strep (but not the strain that = strangles.) We do not usually do antibiotics or do anything but wipe the worst of the gunk away and it heals nicely on its own.

[wcporter]

Are you sure its not an infected tick bite? Those are commons this time of year...

[dangerbunny]

My horse had an abscessed lymph node or salivary gland(it was a couple years ago, i forget) anyway she had a bump under her jaw that would get big, come to a head and drain then repeat the cycle. vet prescribed a course of antibiotics that cleared it up once and for all.

[Beethoven]

so the bump hasnt decreased much, but it is now oozing puss and blood. The area looks a bit red and irritated. He has been on antibiotics for 3 days.

If you haven't call the vet and let them know the progress. I would imagine they would like to take a swab and culture it.

[rhymeswithfizz]

Is he young by chance? I had a 4 year old TB get something similar as his big boy teeth were coming in. Vet was not concerned and it went away on its own.

ETA: sorry just saw you say he is 14. Probably not the same thing then

[Halt Near X]

Second calling and updating the vet if you haven't already.

In addition to culturing, they may want to really drain it now that it's burst and have you start flushing it.

[CHEvent]

the vet came again this morning, he seems to think its nothing to worry about, but we still dont know what it is.