Fat type of lumps on his barrel.

[maplegum]

Bailey is at a fairly reasonable weight. He could tone up a bit I guess and I'm sure that will come with driving him.

He has these lumps and bumps on his barrel. Not that noticable to most people, but I notice every little thing on my horses! The bumps aren't raised very much though. He also has what I describe as ripples across his barrel too. Man this is hard to describe and I don't think it will show up too well in pics, but I could try and post them later.

The lumps are soft to touch and don't bother him.

I've been doing some reading and thought that it might be protein bumps. I have started to feed him 1/2 cup of BOSS a day and it would seem to tie in with the introduction of them. I read that they are very high in protein.

Has anyone had anything like this from feeding BOSS?

You'll see in this pic below taken a couple of weeks ago that there is a 'crease' across his barrel. I know he can be a bit of a porker but I didn't think he was that fat. It looks quite bad here but it gives you an idea of the crease and ripples I mean.

Here are some other recent pics so you can see his weight. He doesn't have a cresty neck or anything like that.

 

[chandab]

I reallly don't know about protein bumps, but have a thought. Have you fed BOSS to Bailey before? If not, perhaps he's allergic to them.

 

[maplegum]

I reallly don't know about protein bumps, but have a thought. Have you fed BOSS to Bailey before? If not, perhaps he's allergic to them.

No, never fed them before. I thought that if it was a true alergy to them, he would be itchy?

 

[chandab]

I don't know if all allergies cause itchiness, so I don't know if that would necessarily be a tell-tale sign of allergies. Did the bumps only come up after adding BOSS? You could always stop feeding them for awhile, and see if the bumps go away, then you'd know.

 

[MiLo Minis]

Boss is also high in fat and that is the last thing this little guy needs. I would put him at about an 8 on the body scale. He is fat/borderline obese. You were right in calling these FAT bumps - that is exactly what they are. You need to decrease his feed and increase his exercise. Being overweight for a horse is every bit as bad as being overthin. There are many health related issues to being overweight and some of them are life threatening. It can be tough to get the weight off but it needs to be done, he will thank you for it!

 

[kaykay]

I agree with milo. He does NOT need boss or any other supplement

He is pretty big boy. Just be sure to get the weight off slowly. Dont go too fast or that can lead to other health problems. But yes those are fat pads

 

[normajeanbaker]

I have to agree with Milo Minis and KayKay. He is what I would consider boderline obese in my barn. We had a Mini come back from a lease and he came home obese....our guy came home with the same extra cushion is the same places as your Mini and they were no doubt fat pads ;o) Protein bumps are usually small bumps like hives/bug bites.

Jen