Advice on sarcoid on face

tobiano1984

tobiano1984

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My 5 year old gelding has got a warty sarcoid on his face, on the side right where the noseband goes. He's also got 2 very mild ones on his sheath and belly - only noticed when clipping. The vet has had a look and was of the opinion that they're pretty benign and common at his age and to leave them alone unless they get worse. The one on the face is a pain as I can't put a noseband on him but we're happy for riding without and it doesn't seem much of a problem. It hasn't got any bigger in the last 6 months or so and occasionally I think it looks smaller! What does worry me is that he knocks it a lot - on headcollars, tack, other horses rugs, scratching on the door etc - and this knocks the top off the wart and it looks sore. It never gets aggravated as such, or grows, so I'm not worried in that way, but is there anything I can put on it to stop it being sore? I'm wary of the usual ointments as I don't want to promote cell growth or irritate it - so does anyone have any ideas?

The vet said Liverpool cream would be the course of action but she was keen to avoid unless it starts to get worse.

I'm not desperate to get rid of it although it'd be nice, just want to keep him comfy and hopefully get rid of it eventually so we can go back to normal tack for showing in the summer..!
 
Actually you're probably be well advised to attack it aggressively with Liverpool cream as it seems the younger they are the more likely it is that you can knock then on the head permanently. The best advice is here:

http://www.liv.ac.uk/sarcoids/

Derek is the recognised world expert on this. Please don't get distracted by the Camrosa or toothpaste brigade.....read the facts on this website and get a referral to Liverpool (they only need photos) and a recommended course of action. As I understand it your best chance of treating them for good is to get it right first time. The more attempts you have at getting rid of them the less likely you are to succeed - so go for the best chance first time.

I wouldn't hesitate to use Liverpool cream. I have a very talented 4 yr old who we treated this time last year and there is absolutely no sign of anything coming back. Get rid of them now - all of them, no matter how small - and at such a young age you stand a good chance of being free of them for the rest of his life. Insurance will pay, but only once. So all the more reason to get it right first time!
 
Bedlam said:
Actually you're probably be well advised to attack it aggressively with Liverpool cream as it seems the younger they are the more likely it is that you can knock then on the head permanently. The best advice is here:

http://www.liv.ac.uk/sarcoids/

Derek is the recognised world expert on this. Please don't get distracted by the Camrosa or toothpaste brigade.....read the facts on this website and get a referral to Liverpool (they only need photos) and a recommended course of action. As I understand it your best chance of treating them for good is to get it right first time. The more attempts you have at getting rid of them the less likely you are to succeed - so go for the best chance first time.

I wouldn't hesitate to use Liverpool cream. I have a very talented 4 yr old who we treated this time last year and there is absolutely no sign of anything coming back. Get rid of them now - all of them, no matter how small - and at such a young age you stand a good chance of being free of them for the rest of his life. Insurance will pay, but only once. So all the more reason to get it right first time!
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I agree with this.
 
I know one treated with Liverpool cream, cannot now tell there was ever a problem, and it has been 3 years.........

I would ask for a referral.

If it is not the correct course of action hey will tell you, but they are the experts, and a sarcoid is after all a cancer, so a true expert opinion has to be worthwhile.

Good luck.
 
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I don't understand why your vet would say to leave them when effectively if the horse is a show animal they are stopping him being able to do his 'job'. I would ask for a referall too.
 
I started my girl on turmeric a couple of weeks ago for her joints. A lot of the people on the Facebook page were mentioning that they were feeding turmeric for sarcoids so I've been keeping an eye on the one my mare has. It's actually shrunk to half the size it was before. Lots of people having success with sarcoids shrivelling up and dropping off. It's cheap and my mare is a different horse on it. Highly recommended for over all health, sarcoids, sweet itch, immune system boost. You have to mix it with black pepper and olive, coconut or linseed oil for the body to absorb it.
 
My vets do not recommend the Liverpool Cream, it is extremely painful for the horse & they actually have to wear a double layer of latex gloves when applying it. They believe it's too invasive. They use a herbal sarcoid treatment from America. You don't need gloves to apply it & you use it for 4 days, once each day & then leave for 4 days & then resume for another 4 days using once a day. We've used it on our grey & it has worked.
 
i used both liverpool cream and bloodroot ointment on my previous horse.

The liverpool cream worked really well on some of the sarcoids but not so well on a couple, which later grew back bigger. The blood root ointment was also effective on a smaller sarcoid.

If your horse responds well to the liverpool cream then it is an excellent treatment, but you wont know until you try.
 
So Ive just checked my girl five days on from last checking and her sarcoid has completely gone! I searched and searched and its no where to be seen so turmeric, turmeric, turmeric:)
 
My old pony had a wart like sarcoid near his eye & my vet was against treating it as a) it wasn't causing him any discomfort & didn't affect his vision nor was it unsightly & b) he thought it was benign. It was left alone & didnt get any bigger or worse & he lived 12 years after first having it. A couple of years ago l found two tiny sarcoids growing inside the top of my other pony's hindleg & my vet recommended a course of liverpool cream to get rid of them, its pretty nasty stuff but it did the job & although l am wary of them returning she seem free of them upto now. It may have cost abit but at least l know she was treated without delaying & they could have got alot worse if they had been left & my vet is fantastic which helps alot. But if you feel that you want a second opinion don't hesitate to get one as it will give you peace of mind because they is nothing worse than worrying. Hope you get sorted soon
 
My horse had a sarcoid appear on his protruding cheek bone (went from nothing to the size of a pea within 3 months). At the beginning of July he was treated with Liverpool cream. 4 weeks later you would never have known he had had it. So far (touching every bit of wood frantically) he has not had any recurrence. During the treatment he never got particularly sore. I had planned to give him time off as I thought a bridle would be a no-no, however it never bothered him, so he remained in work throughout.
 
going to get slated for this but crest toothpaste shrunk my lads on his face can barely see it now and never had any problems with it
 
I agree with the Liverpool cream ASAP too. My old mare had them on her face and belly as a 5 yr old. They were treated and never returned. She is now 13
 
There is a group on facebook called Turmeric users group. several people have posted pictures of their horses improvement
 
Another vote for Liverpool ointment. I had a horse with multiple sarcoids, including one on the inside of a foreleg which he bit at. This one was removed surgically as it had wrapped itself round the blood vessels and nerves. All the sites were treated with ointment and cleared up. Yes you have to wear gloves and be careful, but this is only common sense. He also had a sarcoid on the corner of his eye, this was treated with a BCG injection directly into it, as it was not in a safe place for the ointment treatment. The sarcoid cleared, but he had a violent reaction to the injection and threw himself on the floor. Fortunately Vet managed to jab some antidote into him.

While my parents were farming cattle we had more than our share of sarcoids on horses - seem to be linked to young cattle picking up ringworm in the winter.

Sarcoids should never be treated casually - they are a form of cancer and can be very aggresive.
 
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