Large, flakey lump on poll- treatment? Pics included

[Grey_Dove032016]

Hi all

I have a 7 y/o warmblood gelding who has a large lump right on his poll. I believe it to have gotten bigger over the summer, though I haven’t been measuring it. I first noticed a bump there when he had large skin flakes in his forelock. This was in early spring of this year. Further investigation revealed a scaly, flakey bump. (I’m using the words bump and lump independently- to me, lump means large growth, and bump means small, scabby thing). I figured it was a patch of dry skin- he has dry, flakey areas year round- so I put some equiderma on it and called it good. The volume/size of skin flakes has only increased over the past couple months, and now what I originally called a bump has turned into a lump.

The ever-present skin flakes

The lump in all its glory

The lump appears to have a raw spot on the top of it, as if he’s been rubbing it. The rest of it is still flakey/dry. I haven’t noticed any kind of discharge from it. It’s right on his poll, so the top part of his forelock (the part that grows from the mane) kind of drapes over the lump, giving him a super cute “bump-it” look

I’m wondering a couple things- has anyone seen/treated something like this before? Is there a topical I can be putting on it? He wears a fly mask for about 7 hours every day- could this be trapping sweat or irritating the lump? The plan is to go to some rated shows as soon as this fall, so I’m wondering how/if someone could braid around this. Obviously his well being is way more important than aesthetics at a show- I plan to have the vet take a look at it the next time they’re out. Just wondering if there’s something I can be doing in the mean time.

[Equibrit]

Tick bite. Clean + Triple antibiotic ointment.

[Grey_Dove032016]

I did consider a tick bite back when it was more of a bump. I looked it over at the time and there wasn’t any broken skin (or tick, obviously). Would a months-old tick bite grow to this size? I’ll definitely keep that in mind- I was planning to put something like triple antibiotic on it anyway.

Thanks!

[Xanthoria]

Is it hard in the middle? Clearly your unicorn is growing his first horn!

[Simkie]

If this has been going on for awhile, and isn’t resolving (or is getting worse) I’d wanna make sure it’s not a good old fashioned poll evil brewing.

[beowulf]

What does your vet think? The location and the persistence would have me suspect skin tumor and/or sarcoid. They come in all shapes and sizes and not all are hairless or oozing.

If it were me I’d want a vet to look at it rule out poll evil like Simkie mentioned, and then do a biopsy if you are noticing it increase in size.

[StormyDay]

I’ve seen this on horses who are just particularly sensitive and are wearing a fly mask/muzzle/halter for extended periods. I would not fly mask for a week and see how it looks. If no better, probably time to have the vet out.

[Pico_Banana]

I would have your vet out. I once leased a horse with a large bump/lump on his poll that eventually grew to over the size of a superball (remember those?). It made him very uncomfortable putting his head down to eat and wearing a bridle was out of the question. My vet could not figure it out (poll evil was considered) and she consulted with New Bolton and Tufts. Surgery was thrown out as an option, but I asked about that on this board and elsewhere and did not get promising feedback. He also had pretty severe kissing spine. After some difficult, teary conversations with his owner, we decided the kindest thing to do was to PTS. My vet did a necropsy afterward and did not find anything bacterial/did not test for fungal.

I say this not to freak you out but to encourage you to involve your vet sooner rather than later. I really hope yours is something different.

[Grey_Dove032016]

@Simkie

I’d wanna make sure it’s not a good old fashioned poll evil brewing.

I’ve never heard of a poll evil before- I’m always learning something new from these forums! Off to Google…

[Grey_Dove032016]

We’ve been calling it his unicorn horn! It feels like a cyst- not hard/distended, but not like a fluid sac either. It’s slightly squishy.

Thanks for everyone’s input so far- I knew COTH would come through. Sounds like I should ask the vet to make a trip out sooner rather than later, for peace of mind if for nothing else.

[luvmyhackney]

My pony had something similar but further down his neck. We had it removed and vet called it a fatty cyst.

It kept growing to the size of a large pecan and then we removed it.

Call the vet and have a biopsy and possible ultrasound. It healed nicely and no issues after removal.

[Xanthoria]

Dr Pimple Popper would lance that. And put it on YouTube

[Grey_Dove032016]

Don’t think I haven’t thought about it! I used to be a huge Dr. Pimple Popper fan before the TLC show.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

The flaky stuff is exactly the reaction my horses have to a tick in the mane or forelock. But mine never get the huge bump like yours has. I’d have the vet out to lance it and see what you get.

[Mare_Gelding234]

Just wondering if you ever found out what the lump was? My mare has the same thing in the exact same spot with the large flakes on it. Going to have the vet out but wanted to see what yours wound up being.

[Grey_Dove032016]

We never got a diagnosis or anything. It seems to have improved by just keeping anything that traps heat/moisture (like a fly mask) off of it. Otherwise it’s there, but not too noticeable, even when braided.

Do you have pictures of your mare?