# Lumpy/swollen tips of ears?



## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

What colour are your mare's ears? If they are light, could it be sunburn?


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

Thanks for your idea - her ears are solid black.... the thickness/lumpiness is right along the edges, along the outer edge about 1/2" wide and about halfway down the ear's length on one ear; just a small length of the swelling on the other ear. Seems to be starting at the tip and only along the edges.


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## horseluver2435 (May 27, 2009)

Hm.

My mare has similar lumps. They aren't swollen, tender or painful- and they've been there for 2 years (as long as I've ridden her). My instructor gave a guess that it could have been frostbite, as her first 3 1/2 years were unprotected from our harsh Michigan winters. 

I'll be interested to see if there are other ideas.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

My mare has a lump that sounds similar. The vet looked at it when she was out doing shots and she believes it is scar tissue like blob under the skin associated with a reaction to a bug bite (my words, not hers, hers were much more technical sounding).


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

Thanks, everybody - the lumps just showed up this fall and for sure weren't there on Oct 13...so it's not frostbite. She's sensitive to sprays and other things so I wondered about flies/bugs and that would make sense but I've never seen anything quite like this on the other horses. (But then she's "special"!) 

Alwaysbehind, did the vet say that the lumps on your horse would ever go away? Are they something that needs vet attention? Thanks!


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

The vet was not worried about this lump at all. The vet actually chuckled and said something about it giving her personality. 

I believe it is a permanent thing in the case of my mare. It has been there for over a year.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

Well, Alwaysbehind, that's good news and bad news. I kind of liked her ears better before the lumps (!!!!) but it's good to know that it's not a vet emergency that I missed.... Thanks for the info!


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Your lumps might go away..... Who knows.....

Next time you have the vet out for something else ask them about it.


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## Kay26 (Sep 28, 2010)

It make be little warts, my old horse had some warts on his ears, basicly little hard lumps. He always had them and we were told by the vet they wouldn't hurt or bother him and it would be painful and pointless as it wasn't affecting him. Could be that ? Kay
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

She's getting her winter coat so it's hard to tell but seems that whatever it is, there's still hair over the skin. I think alwaysbehind is probably right and whatever it is will either go away or it won't....and right now none of the animals is needing the vet. I'm on good terms with my vet and he knows this horse well, after I spent thousands of dollars getting her over some nasty stuff last year....so I think I'll take alwaysbehind's good advice and just ask him about her. Kay26, you're right, too - if it's nothing serious, it would be too painful on those sensitive ears to do anything drastic. 

Have you seen kiwigirl's post about the natural healing she's been using for Phoenix's leg wound? Maybe I should borrow a page out of her book - less is more and let mother nature do her work!

Thanks for all the ideas - it doesn't sound like anyone had any bad experience with this type of thing where it WAS something that the vet needed to deal with urgently, so that's good news for me!


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