Ridecamp: [RC] A puzzling phenomenon

Everyone, I have made some observations this week that have my vet and 
myself  puzzled tosay the very least.

I had planned to attend the GERA Classic this weekend, but am not going, 
for two reasons, one of which has to do with a hoof problem, but the 
other has my vet and myself puzzled.

Beginning Sunday afternoon, I nootices swelling on the jaws of both my 
horses. I though it unusual for both horses to have similar swellings on 
both sides of their jawbones. I thought it may be insect bites. In the 
morning, Monday, the swellings were gone. Both horses seemed to feel 
fine, were eating and drinking well, I thought no more about it. Monday 
evening, when I went to check on them, the swellings were back. I 
thought this might be worht asking the vet about, but it was already 
past his closing time, so I did not call him, since both horses seemed 
to feel just fine. Tuesday morning the swelling was down and both horses 
appeared normal. Tuesday afternoon the swellings were back, on both 
horses. I called the vet. He has never seen or heard of anything 
similar. It is highly unusual for two horses to be bitten by insects in 
the same patterns on the same days and exibit identical swellings. If 
the puffiness were behind the jawbone, in the throat area, then... I 
could describe it as "mumps like" but equine.But it's not like that. 
This is swellings of about quarter to half dollar in diameter, puffy 
places along the jaw, on the side of the jawbone, not underneath. 
Wenesday followed the same pattern of smooth jaws in the morning and 
puffiness in the afternoon. Today, the swelling stayed gone all day. 
It's as though the horses are being exposed to some irritant during the 
day, and not at night. Yet, it only persisted for a few days. The horses 
have plenty of energy when they are ridden, moving forward like always, 
alert and energetic with no signs of feeling pain or illness. No fever, 
eating and drinking normally. It's a puzzle.   I just want to know if 
anyone may have a clue of something that may point us towards finding 
out what might have caused the swellings.

I hesitate to try an endurance ride if the horses are coming down with a 
potentially serious illness.
If it's an irritant or allergen, I need to know what to remove from the 
pasture. It's puzzling.
Lucie/SC


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