Bump on horses wither and back

[Callie1993]

These bumps have been there since April are.not going away, any idea what they could be? He doesnt act like they hurt when I touch them

[4LeafCloverFarm]

Are the bumps fairly hard when you press on them or are they like jello and mushy? If the former, they are typically caused by pressure points on your tack, if the latter, it might be a bug/tick bite or other injury that your tack is rubbing and has caused a cyst or abscess to form.

[Marla_100]

They could be habronema a type of fly larva which is injected after fly bites horse. I’ve seen these on squirrels and they can grow quite large before they burst and the larva comes out.

[merrygoround]

![]('ve not dealt with them in years but I have had horses with them and have in general left them alone. They go away eventually. They are warbles. So,long as they are not in a pressure area, leave them alone. If under the saddle get your hands on a thick felt pad., cut out a hole above where the bump is, and wait patiently.You can google warbles in horses.

[IMG]https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/3-s2.0-B9780723436027000091-f003-050-9780723436027.jpg)

[4LeafCloverFarm]

@Marla 100

They could be habronema a type of fly larva which is injected after fly bites horse. I’ve seen these on squirrels and they can grow quite large before they burst and the larva comes out.

:eek: Thanks @Marla 100 . Not going to be able to get that image out of my head all day. :winkgrin:”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹

[Raincityrider]

Those look like they may be bot related however eosinophilic granulomas are another possibility. I had a gelding that we suspect developed those from bug bite sensitivity in conjunction with pressure from the saddle. The saddle fit him very well and he was always clean as a whistle so no idea why he was prone except we lived in a hot, buggy region. They took a frustratingly long time to clear up with steroid injections but he never had issues with them again.

[Lusoluv]

Yes, I believe they are granulomas, esp due to their location. A TB gelding at our barn has them in similar spots. Owner did not get them injected…they’ve been static for about 5-6 years now.

[SolarFlare]

The second photo looks a lot like what my gelding had, which we suspect was a granuloma that started off from a bug bite (we didn’t biopsy it). It was right in the hollow of his withers, where the saddle points sat, and he was extremely reactive when turning right - he would rear up, even just walking, if we turned right. Because of that, I had the vet out and we injected with steroids. I remember he had to come out twice, because the first injection didn’t work. We used a different steroid (I think maybe Depo?) the second time and it broke up within a few days, and the rearing problem entirely went away.

ETA - this is a chestnut TB gelding with a very thin coat/thin skinned, for what it’s worth.

ETA (again) - he also didn’t react when I pushed on them with my finger, even when I pressed very hard, or even with a fingernail.