appearance of melanomas under tail

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Perce

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my grey (now white) mare is 20 years old and has been retired through lameness for several years now. i have recently noticed she has number of melanoms appearing under her tail and around her anus and vulva. a couple are visible and several more can be felt under the skin. as she is out at grass and retired i don't inspect under her tail every day!!! but these are relatively recent.
So does anyone have experience of melanomas under the tail - i know it is a classic site.
I am interested in how quickly they grew, anyone who has tried symetidine (sp!) tablets - how sucessful or not & cost - and do the tumours come back once first ones tackled/treated, and anyone who has just left them alone...how did it progress.

I adore my mare - have had her since she was 4 (my first horse), now ride her 11 year old daughter that i bred, and took her through an emergency caesarean a couple of years ago when we lost her second (and last) foal at a very late stage. BUT..she is permantently lame on a bute every other day (and very happy pottering or leaping around her field acting as nanny to another youngster)..and at some point..maybe in the next few years i will decide she is too lame and NOT happy and make the big decision :-(
...So.. i am having to really think about this...deciding whether to treat or leave alone..and the costs involved (obviously skin tumours are excluded on her policy!) and like most of us i do not have a bottomless pit..if only!
so any experiences or ideas to help me think through what to do appreciated.
 
My mare started out as a dun when she went grey she grew quite a few of the melanomas under tail now bout 7 i think.Vet said unless they get to big or interfere just keep and eye on them mare is 23 now so i would say just keep an eye on them. Mine haven't got noticeably bigger over the years :) she is 23 now still in work ( tho has abscess at moment )

What is she lame with ?? my mare WAS lame with arthritis until I put her on equipments joint supplement now is she sound .
 
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My friend's grey mare had melanoma's under her tail. She had her on cimetidine tablets, on advice from the vet, and I have to say they did help. They did reduce the size of them certainly. I looked after her a fair bit, and we kept them clean, as flies could be a problem in the summer. She had a fair few, and I daresay , many more inside, and eventually they did claim her. She died aged 24, but until that she lived a happy and fulfilled life. She was competing until a few months before her death, and was a happy horse. Like I say, we kept them clean, and she was inclined to rub them sometimes, and the tablets, though fairly expensive, did help, I have no doubt. I hope this helps, and your mare goes on to live a long , happy retirement.
 
thanks for replies,
MM thanks also for correct spelling!
do you know how long she was on the cemetidine for? it is expensive - working out at approx £270/month. have been adviced that after 4 to 6 weeks it is obvious if working and if not just stop. but for some horses it does make a difference and that they should be kept on it until it is no longer shrinking tumours, or obviously having an effect. But have no idea whether that means permanently in which case we are talking over £3000 in a year!

In an ideal world money would have nothing to do with it but...

my vet says no need to do anyhting straight away so plenty of time to think about it. so gathering information at the mo.

I bought her as a 4 year old and she had had a knock as a 2 year old but no problem and x-rays confirmed this. however in the time i rode and competed her she had on going problmes with her right hock, sprained tendon sheath twice, then a year off completely with sprained tendon, then a slow onset of low level lameness in trot, at first going after a few strides..and gradually deteriorating over a couple of years . x rays show bony arthritic changes to the the hock now. She has been retired from riding for about 6 years now and is slighty lame in walk, but happy as larry on a bute every other day.past rescue I'm afraid!

I don;t think she will last forever with her lameness so am thinking that may get her before the melanomas do..but it's a guessing game and i would hate it if ,elanomas grew really rapidly.
any thoughts/experiences on how quickly these things progress?

excuse any typos - morning rush!
 
I was told by vet to keep my mare on bute. But after speaking to Equimins i started thinking bute only hides the pain, i just kept thinking of her hock joint rubbing against bone wearing away like a car without lubricant . Equimins says if you have lubricant you wont have paint no pain no need for bute Vet said bute for the rest of her life , i tried the flexi joint then missed one bute out still ok missed 2 still ok and so on till she was off them totally now all the clicking she use to have and the stiffness has gone .

Could you not give it a try??? :)

Equimins Flexijoint Cartilage Supplement
A powerful supplement to support healthy cartilage, strong joint structure and the quality of sinovial fluid.

Containing a superb specification of Shark Cartilage, Chondroitin Sulphate, Glucasamine, MSM and Ascorbic acid.
 
I think each horse is different.
I had 1 that progressed very rapidly at Hoys in Oct. retired soon after pts 16 months later.The vet was surprised at how rapidly it progressed.
I know of a pony still in work with slow deterioration he has suffered from them since he was a 6yr old now must be 20.
Neither were treated as such, just general care.
Considering the cost and other problems your mare has, I would not use the treatment ,she has had a good life with you and dont feel guilty if you leave her.
Just monitor them and if they start to cause problems ,do the right thing and have her pts then.
Thats my opinion anyway, good luck.
 
My boys 1st appreared when he was 10. Not a lot happened for about 5 years, then they did start to multiply a bit.

Talked to my vets about cimetidine. There is no medical evidence that is truely works. They only advised to use it if the tumours were around the head etc. (I know someone who has used it for this case and they were less than convinced it worked). It is also a permenant treatment. Not a use it, they will go and that's it. They sell it was a "controlling" kind of treatment.

In the spring my boy turned 17 he developed chronic diarrhoea. We battled to control it with lots of medication, without being able to truely confirm a diagnosis. Just when we thought he was coming right, within days his melanomas multiplied to the point he could no longer pass anything and I had not choice but to PTS. On post mortem his digestive system was riddled with them. They were certainly the cause of the D and there was never going to be anything we could have done.
 
She would have two of the tablets in her feed every day. There was occasion towards the end when this was upped for a short period, but that never lasted long. I am not sure of the exact cost I'm afraid, but as you say it wasn't cheap. I must say though, she never suffered at all. She was thought of too highly, and much loved for that to happen. It was only the last couple of days that she went downhill, and arrangements were made for her to be PTS, but , typical of the old girl, she took matters into her own hooves, so to speak, and died the night before she was due to be PTS. I MUST stress, she never suffered at all.She was on them for a long as I knew her, which was at least 4 years, but she looked wonderful, and was full of life. Her owner would NEVER have let her suffer in anyway, if the tablets did not help her. However, if your mare is ok at the moment, just take things as they come, and just keep an eye on them. As the vet said, its the ones inside that are the concern, not the ones you can see. I hope she will be fine for you for a long time yet x
 
really appreciatre responses. lots to think about.
for right now keep a close eye and document changes whilst doing lots of research i guess.
will talk to my vet again after he has seen piccies.
Thanks.
perce
 
My friend's grey mare also has melanoma's under her tail. They are kept clean and her tail full to keep flies away.
She has made a decision that if she ever gets colic or shows a sudden deterioration she would be pts. Also has arthritis and is on aviform.
 
My grey mare has had them under her tail since she was 6, she's now 15 and so far they have never bothered her. My vet says just keep and eye on them and leave well alone unless they change dramatically.
 
I know it would be acceptable to 'do nothing' whilst keeping an eye, and that this may be the best thing to do for her as they are presently small (hence just noticed) and not causing any problems, and she is a mature lady, but need to find out more first.

Maybe having cemetidine as a standby should they suddenly develop quickly?
The vet said that it would most likely be several years before they were a probelm and her lameness will probably have got her by then. bless her.

decisions decisions!
 
Perce said:
Maybe having cemetidine as a standby should they suddenly develop quickly?
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Cemetidine doesn't work like that. Like I said before it is more of a controlling long term drug. Not a short term quick use drug. If they suddenly start multiplying there is nothing you can do to stop them.

Sorry to be negative about Cemetidine, but all my vets discounted it as a total waste of time as there is no real evidence it works. (and believe me I spent £1000s trying to save my boy)
 
Our 27yo grey mare has some in her neck and a few around her anus. These are small and not causing any problem. Had the vet today for something else and she said not to worry about them at all and it was rare for them to cause big problems unless they grew in a major organ or became ulcerated (flies cause a problem then). So you may be worrying too early yet.
 
My grey ID cob x TB mare has the most enormous melanomas, one under her neck and also under her tail. Huge- I cant do up neck covers any more. They have been growing steadily since she was about 10 and she is now 21. I asked the vet years ago about the drug mentioned on here, but she just said it was very expensive and doesn't work so don't bother! I decided the melanomas were causing a little discomfort when ridden so I retired her this year (she did 3 days hunting but didnt seem quite as 'up for it' as usual) and she seems fine except I have to check for fly strike every day. She wears a fly rug 24/7 and I spray her with citronella fly spray twice a day. I have a feeling they will 'get her' sooner rather than later; she has started to get one in her eye too. It does seem interesting that it appears to be mostly mares that get melanomas, does this seem true generally?
 
Dogstar said:
My grey ID cob x TB mare has the most enormous melanomas, one under her neck and also under her tail. Huge- I cant do up neck covers any more. They have been growing steadily since she was about 10 and she is now 21. I asked the vet years ago about the drug mentioned on here, but she just said it was very expensive and doesn't work so don't bother! I decided the melanomas were causing a little discomfort when ridden so I retired her this year (she did 3 days hunting but didnt seem quite as 'up for it' as usual) and she seems fine except I have to check for fly strike every day. She wears a fly rug 24/7 and I spray her with citronella fly spray twice a day. I have a feeling they will 'get her' sooner rather than later; she has started to get one in her eye too. It does seem interesting that it appears to be mostly mares that get melanomas, does this seem true generally?
Click to expand...

Mine was a gelding :(

When the flies used to make them raw I used to smother them with a thick cream like sudocream
 
My horse was on the first clinical research trial for Cimetidine for melanomas so his were measured on a weekly basis. It made no difference at all! If she has got to 20 and you are only just noticing them, I would be tempted to leave well alone. If they start growing fast then there is a likelihood they are internal as well. If they just grow slowly then she could be fine for years. Just keep a good eye open for sores appearing on them. I found Battles Fly Cream in the Summer the best for keeping the beasties away.
 
My grey 4 year old has a single one just under his tail. When he was vetted around a month ago we left it alone and are keeping an eye on it as vet's advice/instructions :) Doesn't bother him and so far hasn't changed so have left it xx
 
Ive got a non pricey cure! After hours of researching about Melanoma and the treatments i found the cheapest and most successful cure. Melanoma thrives off excessive protein, carbohydrates, high sugar and starches.. i thought this would be a problem feeding my mare, but ive found a feed which suits perfectly: Dodson and Horrell - Safe and Sound. Melanoma attacks internally aswell as externally, for internal (which can be added to feeds) Vitamin A, C and E - as it attacks the immune system. And Zinc works a dream.. this will reduce.. and if lucky kill the majority of the Melanoma from the inside out.. but to the the external Melanomas, Castor oil (with also includes zinc) will speed up the process. It sooo cheap, easy to put in feeds, and will also help the body in different ways.. i hope this has came in useful! Its been a life saver for me x
 
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