06/27/2025
Care to hear a mystery diagnosis?
A few weeks ago, I was chatting on the phone with a fellow equine professional, Ana Gilmour (in this case a trainer). She was sharing with me some concerns that she had with her horse, Juniper. Ana told me that her horse's neck felt "mushy", and that the neck seemed to be sinking. She was curious if I had seen anything similar, which I had not, but was very intrigued to hear the diagnosis! She had plans to take her horse to UC Davis for examination the next week for evaluation.
Their analysis? Juniper was diagnosed with fat necrosis due to excessive eating through a pipe corral. Crazy, right? Both Ana and me were amazed that there was no indication (broken skin, mane rubbed out) to indicate that this had been going on before tissue necrosis actually occurred!
You can see the difference in these before/after photos of Juniper's neck. The necrosis area is that "dip" toward the base of the neck. We're hopeful that with the removal of the pipe corral and continued workouts, that fatty tissue will even back out. Additional photos that Ana shared with me are already showing slow improvements!
If you're interested to see more photos and/or videos, I'll be sharing more detail in my next Eggert Equine Therapy email. Let me know if you're not on the list and I'll be happy to send you an invite!
Thanks again to Ana for sharing this case with us!
