Strange lines on torso

[BlueDrifter]

He is five. I have only owned him 10 months, since September. He didn’t have these lines then, and I didn’t notice them in the winter, only when he shed out.

They don’t seem to be from riding/spurs as they are too high up on his torso. And, they didn’t go away when not ridden for two weeks. (But they are on both sides so it ![ makes me think it must be riding. He doesn’t need any leg though…)

The skin underneath is completely smooth – you can close your eyes, rub your hands over, and not detect any difference in hair or skin.

He has them on both sides. They don’t go away with a bath.

He has a utility broom brush in his stall that he can scratch against, but is seems odd the brush marks would make such uniform line.

He has sensitive skin, but these do not bother him in the least.

Any ideas?

[Fiesta01]

No idea but interested to hear from everyone. He appears to be chestnut so more prone to skin issues. that someone has some ideas.

[widge]

I don’t have an answer, but a bay in my barn has this too. I’ll try to ask next time I see his owner.

[Highflyer1]

They are stretch marks just like people get-- can be from weight gain/loss/rapid growth etc.

[luvmyhackney]

Look like fascia lines to me. Get some body work and see if they go away.

[greywithchrome]

My horse gets these too from time to time. In the summer only. So I think it may have something to do with how her body reacts to twitching all the time to get rid of bugs. There was a thread last year where someone’s horse had vertical lines:

Vertical Lines on Barrel

Has anyone experienced lines like this on their horse before? They are on both sides, aren’t from rain/getting rinsed, or wearing a fly sheet. They look like wrinkles, don’t brush away, and are smooth when I run my hand over. I originally thought they may be from his fly sheet, but today he didn’t need it and they were apparent when I brought him in. They are completely unnoticeable where he isn’t clipped. The vet is coming out next week for dental/vaccines so I was going to have him take a look…

[BlueDrifter]

He is a dark buckskin, but has a very fine, silky, coppery coat, and doesn’t really like grooming.

[BlueDrifter]

Oh gosh, I wouldn’t have thought of this, but it seems most logical. Although his weight has remained the same since I got him, and neither vet nor anyone at barn thinks he is fat. But he is well-sprung.

He came from a ranching background (buckskin QH learning dressage) and thus probably DID get more work and exercise than he is with me. He is ridden 5 of 7 days a week and has a huge corral, but that doesn’t compare to where he was living with acres of pasture and hills to roam and work.

Maybe they are a result of losing some muscle?

[BlueDrifter]

Interesting. I suspect the flies will choose him when they come out in greater force, but so far we have been lucky. I’ll be on the lookout for any twitching. With his prior owner he lived in a fly sheet as the bugs were a lot worse there, than his new home here in SoCal.

[WildGooseChase]

Fascia lines, probably from twitching away bugs. I’d start with body work, then chiro, then more body work to release tension and put things back into place.

[candyappy]

If you had a cow I would say " happy lines". Can horses have their own version? No idea but here is a definition.

“Lines may appear in the mid-thoracic region. These are known as happy lines and are the sign of a healthy animal on a high-forage diet . What these lines are, he said, are deposits of volatile fatty acids, high in acetic and propionic acid, with little butyric acid.”Aug 11, 2017

[BlueDrifter]

Oh man, is that interesting. He is on an all forage diet with TC30% as a balancer. But this is SoCal, so he is stalled, not grazing.

Now that I think about it… all my horses have been on this type of diet and none of them have “happy lines.”

He is very happy though. I have been calling them stretch marks, but I am off to google happy lines.

Thx!

[FjordBCRF]

I just body clipped my guy and if you zoom in you can see his lines. His coat hides them!

[endlessclimb]

In my experience, these are only in the summer from the twitching off bugs. I’d see if he still has them in the winter, and if yes I’d go for some body work.

[FjordBCRF]

My guy anyways, has them year round but you can only see them if he is clipped. He gets bodywork done every 6 weeks year round as well. Our bugs haven’t started up that bad yet and when they do, he gets a fly sheet so less twitching.

He HAS lost weight since Ive had him, and kept it off so there might be something to the stretch mark theory.

[chestnutmarebeware]

That mane!

[FjordBCRF]

It was my first fun trim attempt, I think it suits him well!!