Any ideas? A novel of a problem. (gorey, ickey pictures!)

Would you hear it if someone was taking shots at your horses? Rock salt? Sling shot? I am as flumoxed as you are.

Odd that it would be in the same place all the time, but I'd put my money on a wire poke or a spider bite ... do you have bats out there that might bite? A possessive rat in the feed?

Dont think we have spiders out here venomus enough to cause such a reaction. Or bats for that matter, mostly little brown bats around here (I have seen them at dusk from time to time). Doubt its a rat, their grain is stored in a different area and the Hover Horses have it vacumed up pretty quick when their fead.

We've concluded its not some weird systemic disease, they've all gone to their winter homes (at another lady's place 20 min away) and havent had any recurances. Thinking about camping out in the wall tent when we bring them home in the spring. Hopefullly if its some kind of preaditor we'll hear the commotion, and if not, I guess we'll aquire a meatal detector!

I don't think there's anything that I could guess, that you haven't looked at already, because you know you're property, and I haven't a clue what it even looks like.
That being said, if it's not an act on someone else's part, my first thought would be narrowed down to where they congregate regularly, due to it happening more than once.
Gates are always hang out places, where the humans that feed them come from. A bolt head on the gate perhaps?
Watering holes next? It's gotta be a process of elimination job. A low nail inside a shelter?

Good luck in your hunt. I still run across the odd nail poking through somewhere on the property, even though I've scoured it dozens of times. (I found one yesterday!)

Hmm can't add anything but seems weird others have the same injury. There must be something they're finding to hurt themselves on that just isn't obvious to you. I had a horse with lymphengitis though and its usually down lower on the leg and a horrible pain to deal with. It does do the swelling and spontaneous sprouting of clear oozing sores If you have other horses with the same sores then thankfully you can rule that out. It's amazing what they can find to hurt themselves on!

Well guys, its not a wire or foreign body. Horses are at their winter boarding area (30 minuets away) and the mare has just developed the exact same injury. Wound is a little off to the side, but upper right forearm.

I'm thinking it must be something like Lymphadenitis or Cellulitis, or something else thats hiding in their system and just "flaring up." I think I'm gona give the vet a call tomorrow and see what kind of cultures they can do. This is rediculous

Definitely sounds like some kind of a foreign body - maybe a sequestrum? Hope they can figure it out!

Swamp hen, this has been so puzzling and for you, frustrating!

I wonder if it is a foreign body lodged under the skin, in the muscle tissue?

Oue one horse has a lump under her chin, deep between her cheek bones. Every now then it flares up, breaks open, weeps, a small amount of pus comes out. Then it dries up and goes back to being a lump until this happens all over again.

The vet has jabbed it thinking it's a swollen gland, but it does not seem to be a galnd. We have ruled out dental problems. I wonder if there isn't a huge thorn off a hawthorn tree jammed in there. Those things are vicious! And yet when ti flares up and I squeeze it (with much unhappiness from horse!) you'd think a huge wad of pus or blood or liquid or a thorn would come out. Nope. Pretty much nothing. Antibiotics have not cleared it up. It is an ongoing lump that flared and oozes over and over and over again.

This is why I wonder if your horses don't have something stuck in them? This is SO BIZARRE! If you ever do find out, please let us know.

Sounds similar to a disease goats can get, CL. There is a bacteria that gets in their body that their immune system can't kill, so it isolates the bacteria in a lymph node and encapsulates it so it can't spread. This makes a lump that works its way out to the surface and explodes pus. I would definitely see about getting the pus cultured. This disease is transmitted from goat to goat via the pus.

Well Ladies and Gents, I have an update. Got the preliminary culture results back. She was infected with a Pig Bacteria!

I have the scientific name written down, but its out in the truck... and its -37 right now. Not going out to fish it out! Its E. Brucella (or something like that). I say pig bacteria partly in jest, partly not. Its most common in pigs, of which we keep none, and none have ever been kept here. However, we aquired two tractor tires to use as feeders two years ago. They were from a farm that kept pigs, but they haven't kept pigs for at least 5 years. Weather the bacteria could survive on the tires that long, who knows. The horses were also run through the fence last year (we suspect by a dog) and ended up down the road right next to an industrial pig barn. I suspect the feild they were standing in was 'fertilized' with pig manure.

How the mare has this bacteria after being at her winter boarding area (1/2 hr away) for four months I do not know. We're going to do a bath with hibitaine soap (antibacterial) soon as the weather breaks (in, like, 3 months Because the only thing I can come up with is this bacteria must be living on their skin.

The good news is, its not penicillin resistant, so us treating with that has been correct, even though we didnt for sure know it at the time. I'm going to get a couple more 'spare' swabs, just in case it happens again before spring, see if its the same bacteria.

Thank you all for your support, its been a rough go, but we have some answers now at least!

Brucella! Brucelosis? (spelling) This is NOT good news.

Glad you kept us up to date on this mystery

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/terrestrial-animals/diseases/reportable/brucellosis/fact-sheet/eng/1305673222206/1305673334337

From BCboys link:

Are there any treatments or vaccines for brucellosis?
The bacteria that cause brucellosis are susceptible to certain antibiotics. However, treatment of infected livestock does not effectively eliminate the infection because the bacteria are able to ”hide” from the drug inside the cells of lymph nodes and other organs. Treatment requires a very long course of antibacterial drugs, which is not suitable for animals and does not always eliminate the infection, achieving temporary remission only.

That doesn't sound good...

I'll find the actuall name today, when the vet (who truthfully, I dont have a whole lot of faith in) was discussing it she didn't seem to think it was too serious. If she's left all that out....I'll not be a happy camper. But I may have just gotten the name wrong.

I am sure there are different strains of brucelloisis, probably not all of them are such a big deal.

But brucellosis in cattle IS a big deal as I understand it! It spreads to humans who get it through milk products. I believe this is one of the big threats that makes raw milk illegal.

Know some people who travel yearly to Mexico and the husband began to get mysteriously and gravely ill. He'd be half dead, then get better, half dead, then better. This went on for a very long time while family business suffered. Local docs could not figure it out. Finally got in to see a doc specializing in foreign diseases and he tested positive for brucellosis, caught it from Mexican dairy products. He was an extremely sick man by the time they figured it out. I do not know if he was able to be helped.

LEt's just hope your vet does not consider this strain a threat to any local cattle populations. I am willing to bet too if this acts like other brucellosis does, your horses often feel very, very poorly. I am soory to hear this Swamp Hen, this is upsetting news. Let's hope the prognoisis for this particular strain is promising. GLad you got to the bottom of it, now you can do something for your horses, but the truth is a bit of a shocker!

Okay, crisis somewhat averted. Its not brucellosis! Its..Actinobacillosis. I think. I was on the cell phone when discussing things with the vet, so it was hard to hear. Need to do some research on it, apparently there are multiple strains of the bugger. But its better than brucellosis! Phew.

Oh Thank Gordon for that! That IS good news.

Also called wooden tongue:

http://www.bigpurplebarnbowie.org/horsehealthpages/woodytongue.html