Swellings of the lymph glands

[tracey22472]

Why do most of the horses and ponies on our yard have swollen lymph glands? can anyone help? they have not got strangles our vets have assured us of this, they are not ill as such and have had it recurrently since july this year, after having lived there (most of them) for over a year, some of them over two years. never happened before. the horses live next to Ratcliffe on soar power station? HELP US PLEASE.

[divegirl]

Hi, if they have been seen by a vet, did he not take blood samples?

Lisa x

[lankeela]

Found this:

"Not all such swellings are actually caused by strangles. Many virus infections can cause swelling of the lymph glands around the throat and underneath the jaw. These swollen glands are hard to the touch and not usually either warm or painful. They go down as the horse recovers from the infection, although occasionally one or more of them remains swollen for the rest of the horse's life."

[Noweia]

There are lymph nodes all over the body; I'm presuming the ones that are enlarged on your animals are around the head.

Any infection will cause the lymph nodes draining the infected area to become enlarged - if some part of the head or upper respiratory tract is infected in some way, then the lymph nodes of the head and neck will be enlarged.

When your vet told you that they didn't have strangles, did you ask him what he thought they did have?

[ProperBoPeep]

Could well be parotitis (swelling of the parotid gland) which is just above the sub mandibular lymph node and is actually a salivary gland.

You will often see this in grazing horses during the summer months and is thought to be due to an allergic type reaction, probably to something in the grass.

If the swelling is quite high (often extending downwards from the base of the ear, and is quite hard but NOT painful) this is most likely.

As with most entries here, I would take your vet's advice first and foremost because he/she will have been able to actually examine the animal.

Very important to rule out strangles here!

[allpetz]

Hi my horse recently had swollen glands, I got the vet out straight away and she simply went on a course of anti biotics for a week and it cleared up no problem. She just had a small infection that had localised in that area, other than the swelling she was her normal self. Maybe it would be worth trying a course of anti biotics.
Hope this helps.
Regards
Emma

[sallybb]

One of our horses reacts to buttercups in the same way. I 've been told it is the pollen, . Check your hay, if it was harvest in june/July time and contains buttercup theres a good chance there will be pollen in it, as it is around about this time buttercups flower. Moulds and dust mites in hay sometimes can cause gland swellings. What bedding do you use? May be worth trying one or two horses on haylage to see if that improves. There is also an excellent stable disenfectant on the market STALOSAN F. which is active in killing a wide range of key pathogens and controlling micro-organisms including those which cause. EHV 1-4, CEM, Equine vd, strangles, ringworm, thrush, mud fever, COPD, joint ill, rain scald, salmonella spp, streptococcus plus a whole list of others.