I have a 3 yo who developed hard lumps on both sides of her neck at the base where it attaches to her shoulder. It showed up in spring and has been here since then - some times less swollen than others. She otherwise acts completely normal. My theory is that it is a chronic reaction to insects because we have a ton of biting insects here. Any ideas ?
There are large lymph nodes there, I’d have a vet look at that the next time they are out. Or text a picture to your vet.
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I’d have a vet out to look at that, highly doubt it’s from bug bites. 
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I highly doubt that is bug bites… I would want that seen by a vet…
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Count me in as I wouldn’t think this is bug bite related.
How does it feel? Hard? Squishy? It looks like some edema I have seen but is up a little higher.
I agree that a vet consult is needed. The fact that the lumps are on both sides of her neck points to the possibility of something other than a local reaction to insect bites.
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Thanks for the thoughts. I have the vet coming next week for something else so I’ll get him to look at this as well.
The swellings are hard. In the beginning when she first got them they were hot and hard. Now just hard. I do notice sometimes they’re less big than other times.
I’ll update after the vet comes in case anyone’s interested.
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Please do. I’m interested. 
Update if anyone’s curious:
Vet came put a few weeks ago and had no idea what it is. Said it’s likely something with the lymph nodes since it’s bilateral. Took bloods which showed infection. Ultrasound showed that the one on the right was fluid-filled and the one on the left (which was larger and the first to appear) seemed to be already changing because it was hard to see anything on the ultrasound. Because they are quite deep he didn’t want to biopsy it to avoid dragging up infection through the healthy tissue and He also didn’t want to lance it for fear of causing a big wound which would then be overrun with flies. So he prescribed antibiotics.
After a few days the one on the left turned soft in the middle, grew a big bump, and then exploded. It’s been draining for about 2 weeks now. The lumps still remain although they’re smaller.
So, still no answers. Kind of regret paying the vet €500 to really do nothing in the end. Given that the one on the left had already changed it’s likely it would have exploded without the antibiotics anyway.
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Antibiotics were the right form of action for this, as was the ultrasound. Even though the abscess ended up draining, it is supporting the body to help clean up that tissue. Antibiotics don’t just help to keep things from popping, or to reduce inflammation. They are designed to attack the bacteria that is present in the space and support the horses immunity. While it seems simple, there can be a chance that the blood could have gotten infected as well.
Blood poisoning happens more often than people realize and can shift a horse from sick to septic quickly. Just a few weeks ago we had a horse pass away due to sepsis from a routine castration. The total time was 6 days.
I would advise you to get a culture of the drainage to ensure you have the correct antibiotic being used. There can be issues if a wound is being treated via gram positive meds but in fact needs gram negative.
Edit: you may also want to consider a Pigeon Fever titer if this is common in your area. A few horses have presented in this fashion and were found to be positive. (I am in the states. So I am not sure if this disease is common in your area.)
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