problems with 3 yr old stud

Question
we have a 3 yr old thoroughbred stud colt who on Sunday showed small bumps on both sides of his neck he was eating normal as of yesterday they were more swollen and vet recommended giving him 20cc of penicillin in the muscle which we did today the bumps are the almost the entire length of his neck on the right side he shows symptoms of pain when touching his left jowl and throat area when eating he cannot lift his head and hardly chews the hay mostly sucking it and dropping it he cannot lift his head hardly and has trouble turning it to the right side please help cannot get to vet before tomorrow the trailer we have has overhand for the head and he cannot get his head up over the ledge please help

Answer
Hi Jodi -

Your horse has almost certainly gotten into something or eaten something that he is allergic to and is having a reaction.  Not really sure what the penicillin was for ... a steroid shot would have been more appropriate in my opinion.  Penicillin isn't a one time dose medication but rather an antibiotic that needs to be repeated daily for at least 10 days to fight infection.  Anyway, have you changed feed recently?  New hay?  Or have you used a new fly spray or coat conditioning treatment?  Has the bedding been changed to something different in his stall?  You will want to check his stall for any hidden spider webs/nests if he has a stall.  It can be really difficult and often impossible to determine what has caused the reaction you're seeing.  Have you checked his temperature and heart rate?  If this was my horse and I couldn't get him to a vet by trailer, I would absolutely have a good one come to you.  This sounds like a potentially serious condition that needs to be evaluated by a veterinarian. Probably not the answer you were looking for but if I were you, I'd be on the phone with a vet now. He or she will help you determine if they need to come out this evening or if it can wait until tomorrow.  

I hope this has helped Jodi ... please let me know if you have any other questions and I'd love to hear how this turns out.