advice on sarcoid please.

[welshcoblady1]

hello all , 5 weeks ago i discovered charlie had a sarcoid on his lower chest, it looks like a dark grey lump about 3/4 long .
this has proved sore and red from time to time. i have never had a horse with a sarcoid i need to ask if it is a good idea to have it removed as i am hoping to sell him this year .
i understand they can get bigger if disturbed to much can anyone advice ,or comment on any horses you may have had ,that may have developed sarcoids . thank you for your time .

[chev]

My mare also had a sarcoid. My vet did a punch biopsy and referred her to Liverpool, who made up two pote of DK's magic cream - apparently the Liverpool creams have a very high success rate on sarcoids. However Lili's sarcoid has vanished of it's own accord... I'm told they sometimes can. Some things I've learnt about them;

Latest studies show that sarcoids could be linked to/caused by a virus, from which some horses seem to recover without treatment (as. it seems, Lili has). Those that do, tend not to develop more sarcoids.

If a horse has one sarcoid, it's highly likely to develop more, especially at the site of any wounds. Although it's not always the case, and there are plenty of horses who never get more than one, it does seem to be the case that if a horse has one they tend to grow more eventually.

It's not just surgery or interference that can cause a sarcoid to become rampant and spread - knocking it in the field or whatever can do the same.

A horse under the age of five who is treated is far more liely to recover than a horse under five who is not. They are also far less likely than an untreated horse to develop more later in life.

Success is greater treating younger horses - the older a horse is, the lower the success rate.

Some people have had some good results from alternative treatments - but studies show that these treatments can be very hit and miss. Some cases seem to become much worse following them, while others appear to make good recoveris. The Liverpool creams, although expensive, have the most consistently good results.

There are different types of sarcoid. The most unpredictable is the fibroblastic sarcoid, which is what Lili had. Some types are more dangerous than others.

If the sarcoid is not being knocked, or interfering with tack, some vets feel the best idea is to leave well alone. Others feel that for as long as it's there there's a risk of more, or worse, developing.

About the only thing you can truly predict about a sarcoid is that it's unpredictable.

My mare had one, a friend's mare had one, and both vanished without treatment. I knew another mare who was eventually put down because they grew so fast and so numerous. I think your best course of action is to get a vet to look at it - these things are so individual that what suits one horse might not suit another. I'd hate to say that my mare was fine untreated and then hear that your boy has got much worse without treatment. I had actually paid for the creams when Lili's disappeared, Whether it'll make a comeback at some point in the future remains to be seen.

Good luck with yours.

[Waikato Valuta]

The vet said my horse could have a sarcoid, but not to worry about it unless it starts causing problems.

[Jakes Mum]

My horse has a sarcoid, the flat grey scaley type, behind his elbow which is approx 1"diameter. I was advised to leave it alone unless it started causing any problems but still, it is very much a worry. I have considered using Camrosa on it but don't know just how effective it would be and don't want to risk putting anything on it that could make it worse.

This web site has some excellent facts/advice by Derek Knottenbelt
http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/sarcoid/index.ssi

[Bozzy]

Mine had one removed from his nose a couple of years ago due to being below the noseband, has another on his neck which was left alone and I think another has appeared between his front legs. They are not causing any problems and are not in places where they could rub etc so I am just leaving them alone. Only thing that I am wary of is that he is grey so there is a higher chance of them becoming cancerous.

How old is Charlie?

[augermoon]

I know I have mentioned this before but I am so impressed with it that I will do so again.

I have had my horse's fibroblastric sarcoid treated with Oil Therapy. I have to admit I was as sceptical as the next person but I had heard bad thing about Camrosa and didn't want to go down the Liverpool Cream route. A company called Geota (they have a website, just search on google) was recommended to me and I gave them a call. As it is, they are currently doing a clinical trial on fibroblastic sarcoids which is being funded by Bristol University. Hence I got my horse treated for free. It has taken a long time, and treatment hasn't finished yet, but the sarcoid has shrunk from a 3cm bleeding mass to a tiny black spot about 3mm across.

I am not sure if the trial is still being conducted (they needed 100 horses and only had 20 when I approached them about Arnie) but it might be worth contacting them if you are interested. Also, it does need to be the fibroblastic type of sarcoid to be considered for the trial.

All the sceptics on my yard are now total converts - we don't really understand how or why it works but it does and that's good enough for me. I can provide photos if anyone is interested.

Good luck XXX

[tubby]

I think you'll have to ask your vet which type it is,if it's one of the less invasive ones he might well want to leave it alone if it doesn';t get rubbed by tack. Probably no need to panic yet as many horses get along just fine with certain types, good luck with it.

[shandy84]

My vet is very knife happy didn't explain all the other treatments you can have and cut it off. There was an article in a mag the other day saying that high fat diets help reduce sarcoids. However, that's still in the research stages.

Don't have it cut offf, mine has left a massive scar and two more have grown in exactly the same place.

[welshcoblady1]

hello and thank you for your answers , as i am hoping to sell charlie this year i will ask my vet to pop out and see what she thinks ,its such a shame as charlie would show well .
i will let you know what vet says and thank you again happy riding all ,best wishes.