Lump on mare's belly where girth would go.....

[GoldenJoe]

Today we noticed a 4" x 2" lump on our mare's belly right behind her leg where the girth would go.....she hasn't been ridden in over a week so it is not from girth....it is not really hard and it is not overly squishy either. I cleaned the area with a betadine type solution and put some wound cream over it just to protect the area. I did a little googling and seems that a common thought would be an insect/fly bite...I know last year our trainer had that issue on the belly of both her mare's and she just kept it clean and covered with a would cream. I also read about pigeon fever, but I thought those lumps were more on the chest.....she is not lethargic and is her normal personality and is eating fine.

I think I will just keep an eye to be sure it doesn't get larger and begins improving.....we are just now starting to use the fly spray so I'm thinking/hoping she just got a bad bite.

Poor girl.

[Sededl]

It could be from a kick from another horse, or if she could have slammed into something in the stall or pasture. It could be a random fluid pocket, from an ole injury, or a hematoma. Sounds pretty straight forward, hope she heals up nicely

[RLStewart]

Usually if its a bug bite you can find a tiny spot near the center that is the actual "bite". My gelding came in last week with his eye swelled shut. Looked terrible, probably stuck out a good inch. Pried it open to make sure the eye was okay, which it was and then looked for the bite mark. Tiny little mark on the eyelid. Did call the vet and get permission to give him a dose of dexamethasone since it was an eye and he was miserable but I'm sure it would have gone down in a day or two anyhow. I have one bloodline that is very bug sensitive and always getting hives, welts, swellings, etc from bugs this time of year.

Hope your mare is healing up and it was just a nasty bug.