she’s a good sized yearling (foaled June 28 2022) 3 days ago at turnout (night schedule) she wouldn’t let me halter her. large but not hot swelling under jaw, obviously painful. No exposure to strangles, been on private property with her mini friend only since July 10 this year. No fever, lethargy or nasal discharge at all, eating drinking just fine. initial thought bee sting or spider bite. vet via call suggested 10 benadryl tablets in grain—she ate just fine. Vet appt next morning. Vet expects teething issue and/or salvary gland blockage / involvement. gave benadryl plus banamine in grain, next day swelling still apparent and now yesterday again would not halter. anyway. She’ll be vetted again tomorrow to probably include sedation, mouth/teeth exam and or labs/ultrasound imaging to specifically identify, Any ideas per age of what teething could be an issue? while large for yearling status I can;t imagine molar cutting this early----sure don’t want to have to bute or banamine throughout a long course if possible ---- would love feedback while I await vet review/attention tomorrow! shes such a lovely sweet girl.
Good luck today! It’s probably a tooth or salivary gland issue. Maybe a foreign body from something in her hay? It really sounds like something in her mouth, though. If your vet suits up just in case, don’t be too worried. Some vets are extra careful because they want to be sure not to expose their other patients.
Our Cushings pony had psuedo-strangles after we trailered her cross country. She was depressed, had nasal discharge, and was feverish. An antibiotic cured her, but the swelling was prominent at her throat latch. Nothing along the chin or jaw.
Snake bite? Look carefully for puncture marks.
One of my horses had a snake bite under his jaw with two fang marks, strangles, salivary gland obstruction, and a rhabdomyoma, each presenting as you describe. They happened at different times. He was one unlucky dude. But made it to 36 with the tumor still slowly growing.
did suspect possibility but no fang punctures visible.
Glands under the jaw can simply become infected with a circulating bacterium. It does not HAVE to be the strangles bacterium. It can be something that is not contagious, but is simply currently setting up house inside the gland that is supposed to eliminate it. If so, it will swell and break open just like it does with strangles, but is not contagious. Everyone who sees it will panic, and will think it is strangles. The only true way to prove it’s not strangles is to have it cultured when it breaks open and drains. By the time it has done that, if it is strangles, it will be far too late to contain. If you are SURE that there is no way that this horse has been exposed to strangles bacterium, and you are a private barn that you own and have full control over management and care, and have no outside horses or people coming and going, your handling of this issue may be different than that which would be required at a more public facility. But it is still prudent to take precautions as if it is in fact strangles…although it’s probably too late to do that fully already. Just in case it is.
Hot damp compresses, with some Epsom salt in it, will help it burst and drain, if that is what it wants to do. Good luck.
oh, I’m fully open to getting a culture…vet simply felt no infection at all from zero fever and her palpating/etc. But getting to the bottom of the cause and any appropriate treating is certainly goal of vetting again tomorrow. and yes, this is my little personal farmette with only these two inmates. 
however I know that doesn’t always mean no strangles.
Shes a little young for it but it could be a tooth trying to come in with the baby tooth “capping” it. BTDT. That one was a 2 year old but worth checking.
Bee or wasp sting?
The one I had had no temperature. Felt fine. Tennis ball under sized lump under her jaw. It burst open, and spewed pus all over. Freaky!!! Not strangles. No antibiotics required. Drained itself and got sponged out, and healed up no problem.
early assumption as mentioned in original post, but gravitating away from that as problem at this time…
yup. hoping for no strangles and no ikky ruptures but vet to get real diagnosis tomorrow. ( sorry meant this reply to go to Nancy M)
Not a yearling, but a couple years ago my then 4 year old mare had a large painful swelling under her jaw. No fever and culture showed no strangles. The lump was firm and slow growing. Vet eventually removed it, and it was a lymph node that had gotten some kind of foreign body in it that started an infection. Luckily it was all contained in the single node.
update: second vetting yesterday. nothing ‘new’ in this vets review. Still no fever, lethargy, still eating/drinking/peeing/pooping just as usual. Vet, at my asking did sedate and evaluated inside mouth/teeth/tongue etc. Nothing out of the norm at all or indicating sore / inflamed areas.
so! just to update she does not see any reason to culture for strangles, does not feel there is any infection to treat, (but she did include $80 worth SMZs to proceed to treatment with if infection is building) also doesnt rule out salivary gland involvement or allergies. (Zyrtec suggested IF she keeps indicating itching but not unless/until) and for now, thats about it!
