# Draining Tract Under Chin - What Is It?!



## Palfrey (May 29, 2020)

If you would have told me that there was a nasty little bug living in his skin, I would have believed you! It totally looks like a cuterebra! But the fact that his skin hasn't completely healed is weird! Sorry, I haven't seen anything like it!


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## jinxremoving (Apr 6, 2009)

Palfrey said:


> If you would have told me that there was a nasty little bug living in his skin, I would have believed you! It totally looks like a cuterebra! But the fact that his skin hasn't completely healed is weird! Sorry, I haven't seen anything like it!


It's the craziest thing!

Here's what it looks like now:










There's some swelling that appeared yesterday around it, first time in 3 years so I am hoping someone has some ideas that I can suggest to the next vet.


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## Aprilswissmiss (May 12, 2019)

I wonder if there's a tiny foreign body (like a teeny little splinter) stuck just beneath the skin that didn't show up on radiograph or ultrasound.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

A piece of wood would not show up in an x-ray so it's possible he has something in there. I would definitely think about having a dentist look at it though. It could very well be a bad tooth.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I have seen many tick bites morph into those fotos ——- unnnntillll the foto in post #3.

1. He has either rubbed a tick bite clear into big time infection.

2. Or he has a splinter or something in there, that x-rays aren’t showing.

3. Tooth infection as others suspect.

Regardless, IMHO “that” is at the point where the stumped vet’s need to pay attention, tranq the poor fella, go digging, and follow up with antibiotics, depending what they find.

3.1.1. And while they are at it, they need to check his teeth.

3.2. If that is a tooth gone rotten, you can smell his breath and his nostrils for the presence of a most foul odor. If a tooth were to be causing that abscess, you smell something awful.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Not sure if this is even relevant, but my mare had a little round black lump on the inside of her thigh for many months. I don't think she always had it, but one day I just sort of noticed it and wondered how long it had been there. Even though she's black and not grey, I was scared it could be a melanoma because that's what it looked like. 

Then one day after a ride I saw something white protruding from it. So I squeezed and yup, it was THICK white pus. Got it all out, treated it with antibiotic ointment and it healed up nicely. 

I don't know if that has any relevance to your horse, since it's been going on for so long, but I totally wouldn't be surprised if there is something small in there that just festers and festers and maybe one day it will actually drain out and it will heal. Has the vet opened up the hole a little and flushed it out with something.........diluted betadine, peroxide or something like that? I'm kind of inclined to think there is a foreign body in there. BUT, I've never had a horse with a tooth abscess either, so I don't know how those present. That would make sense too. Best of luck! At least it looks a lot better than it did. But it has to be really frustrating!


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

As I was reading the replies I happened to remember an ordeal my niece went through with one of her horses. Weirdest thing I'd ever heard...

Her mare had an infected bump right below her ear that kept oozing pus and wouldn't heal even after 2 courses of antibiotics, etc... Vet said it was time for a closer look so went digging and found a tiny tooth. He told her fetuses sometimes develop more teeth than they need and normally these teeth float to somewhere and encapsulate and never cause a problem nor do you even know they are there but on rare occasions they float close enough to the surface to produce an abscess that won't go away until the foreign body is removed. He called it an ear tooth but if they can migrate up in that area I don't know why the jaw area would be out of the question. Maybe something to ask about anyway.

I don't remember the exact age of her mare when this happened but was fully mature and not a youngster. I estimate she was probably in early double digits so obviously can take years before it becomes apparent.


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## Aprilswissmiss (May 12, 2019)

@JCnGrace, I do expect a remnant of a baby tooth would have shown up on radiograph and ultrasound. That is absolutely wacky - I've heard of it before but never known someone who dealt with it.


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## jinxremoving (Apr 6, 2009)

Thanks everyone for your feedback so far! A couple answers:

1. The draining tract was ripped open and poked at then injected with something that I can't remember, followed up by many weeks of TMS antibiotics with no changes.

2. Two of the vets said that anything foreign that is small enough to not show up on an ultrasound should work it's way out or have broken down by now. I'm not 100% sure that it's NOT something foreign up there, it would make a lot of sense given that my guy took his fly mask off that day and the barn we were boarding at the time had fencing that splintered incredibly easy.

3. I never considered the tick option. I did see a tick bite image last night that looked a bit like the 3rd image I posted with the fur all gone around the wound. Will definitely discuss that option with the vet! I did not see any tick on him at the time, but of course he could have rubbed it off.

4. One of the vets is also a respected equine dentist and they had no concerns with his teeth not did they suspect a tooth root abscess. Nothing on the images nor in his mouth to indicate such. 

I'll keep you guys updated!


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

I think i would have it opened, and debrided again. That is not normal and I would be concerned with leaving an infection in there.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Those vets should have took a culture of what came out of it, if it's infection then they know something's in there infecting it. Geez, where did they get their vet degree, from a cracker Jack box? You take cells from it and look at it under the microscope and then you can tell what it is or what it isn't, doh.


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## Jessica9803 (Aug 28, 2021)

jinxremoving said:


> About three years ago I found my gelding with his fly mask off and a lump under his chin:
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jinxremoving said:


> About three years ago I found my gelding with his fly mask off and a lump under his chin:
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> 
> ...


Hi i was just wonderig if you ever came to any conclussions as to what it was? 3 days ago i went out t do my horses feet and i nodiced he had a very firm lump ( exactly the same as this photo in the same spot!) it the it that is exposed is pussy and bleeding and i am worried about what it might be. was your horses lump hard? how long did it take to go away?


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## Zimalia22 (Jun 15, 2021)

If it's a cyst, and no one has gotten the sac out that encases it, it's going to fill, break and drain, and repeat over and over. When you open a cyst, and drain it, you have to get the sac that contains it out. If not, it will just fill up again.
Just a thought.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

I would flush it with a betadine dilution. It could be a cyst as Zimalia states. One of my horses had a spot on his side that would swell burst and Vets flushed it , he was on antibiotics and it would return. I made a mixture of peroxide betadine and tincture of green soap Diluted with purified water and would flush it twice a day. One day out flushed a foxtail and then the next day some more puss, then a bb came out. I used a 60 cc syringe to flush it. I used a pint of mix every time I flushed it out.


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

OP hasn't been on here for over a year.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

This thread is being closed because the OP has not participated in a year.


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