Grey horses and melanoma's

L

Leary

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 July 2007
Messages
337
Location
Dorset
Visit site
Just out of interest, would you buy a horse with a melanoma? Went to see a lovely mare yesterday, the owner pointed out a melanoma on the underside of her dock, about the size of a 2p piece, about 1/4 inch thick. The mare is 10 and the owner said she has had it for as long as she has had her (3 years) and it hasn't grown (no proof of this). Would you walk away if she was lovely in every other way? I've been told she will fail the vetting. She is up for £4k including tack, which with this sort of problem, I feel is way overpriced.
 
As with any problem, only buy the horse if it is otherwise 100% what you need AND he/she is cheap. If you really like the horse make a really low offer. Melanomas can be no hassle or they can be a pain- my old hunter was PTS at 20 due to melanomas and my current hunter (now age 20) has HUGE melanomas which cause some problems but have not effected her usefulness. I would not rule out buying another though..IF it was cheap!
 
Last edited:
I would only pay less than that (and if the horse was ideal for me) as I now have a 16yr old mare who will probably need to be put to sleep before winter due to melanomas. She was actually retired anyway but obviously I wish she was going to live longer as I love her! I wouldn't turn down a horse with melanomas because of this though, I'd just pay a lot less and would be cautious.
 
I have a flea bitten grey mare who also has a melanoma on her dock and another on her ear. Both are quite small and not immediately apparent. She didn't fail her vet test because she was perfect in every other way. They haven't grown at all over the 5 years that I've had her and don't affect her in any way. I'm really pleased I didn't walk away from her because of this as we have a fantastic bond and will do anything I ask of her.
Use your gut instinct. 9 times out of 10 it's right.
 
I have a grey pony with one on its head and one growing on the inside of its leg. The vet said that 80% of grey horses get some sort of growth. They have horses in their 20s who are covered with lumps but are still OK, being ridden and fine, and not interferring with tack.

On the other hand, the vet said that the last 2 horses she had PTS were from melanoma.

If the horse is suitable in every way then you can take a chance, knowing what the outcome could be. Would want to be cheaper though.
 
Not sure I would purchase a horse at 10 with melanoma's but then again, my first pony was grey we sold him at 16 and bought him back when he was 20, he didnt show any sign of melanoma's until he was 27 and it wasnt a problem to him, he was pts at 39 due to a heart problem.
 
My friend has a Grey Connamara x TB who is 30 and he has quite large melanoma's on the underside of his dock and round his bum

The don't seem to bother him much although they do flare up every now and then and either bleed or flake at this time he has medication for them.

I'd ring your vet and have a chat with him and then get her vetted if you really like her and the vet seems ok with it then try and get the price down a bit.

tbh I think £4k is alot for her unless she has an impressive competition record and didn't have the melanoma.
 
My first..and best..horse first showed a melanoma at 13,shortly after foaling her first foal.She lived on healthily and in work until she was 24. At that time it was obvious it had spread internally,maybe burst,anyway it was quite obvious she needed to be put down.
By that time her tail,where it had first appeared was thick like an oak branch,some swelling around her anus and probably advancing inwards from there. I believe the pregnancy hormone change triggered it into growth,but 11 more years is not too bad..tho` I wish she had lived forever of course.
 
I have two old grey horses ( and one young one), one is an 23yr old ID with no hint of melanoma's, the other is a 20 year old Shetland. I was given her 6 years ago with two sizeable melanoma's when the previous owner didn't want her anymore because of them. She has a golfball sized one at the base of her neck and another flatter one on her thigh. Like I said I've had her 6 years and they haven't changed one bit. Of course I don't know what is going on inside.

I would say that if the mare is perfect in every way not get her vetted anyway - use your vet not hers. This way your vet can give you an opinion on value.
 
Hi There,

Having lost my 12 year old mare 3 years ago I can honestly say I will never ever ever own a grey horse again.

They started out tiny and were very slow growing, I had her treated with cemetidine which was extremely difficult as the dose was split every 7 hours....for 2 years we kept going as I wanted to slow their growth as much as possible.

I knew every day for just over 2 years that they would eventually be the end of her life and it was absolutely heartbreaking to know every day was getting closer to her last for such a long time, I could not put myself through that again,

I had her PTS when the cluster of melanomas under her tail were large enough that had they got any bigger she would have been getting uncomfortable going to the toilet, but my vet was of the opinion that she must have had a number internally as well as the external ones we could see,

All that said, I know many people who have greys that have sarcoids or melanoma's that do not have any problems with them at all, and I know of a grey horse thats still a light hack in his late twenties....

Good luck with what ever you decide,

Gem
 
I have offered her alot less, she has viewings this weekend, so she will let me know. I guess all horses have something wrong, thanks for all your replies, very useful :)
 
I bought a 14 year old pony who had a small melanoma on the underside of her dock when I bought her. This never grew in size and never caused her any problems. When she was about 20 she developed one at the top of her neck. Again this caused no problems. She was PTS at 28 but this was not connected to the melanomas.

I also had a grey ID mare who had never had any visible melanomas but when she was 21 had to be PTS due to internal melanomas.
 
A very personal thing this. I wouldn't buy another horse with melanomas myself, but wouldn't tell someone else not to if horse was perfect in every other way. Do remember that the horse won't be insureable for malignant lumps if any are picked up on vetting and treatment can be very expensive.

Best of luck whatever you decide!
 
My grey highland developed one on the inside of his hind leg, then a few more. They have never interfered with his action or anything he does. He now has another on his dock , not large but we do keep an eye on it. He got the first one when he was about 14 and he's now rising 19.
 
Happy Horse said:
It's not the ones you can see you need to worry about.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I was going to say. I knew a sweet little mare at college who was full of them, and it was the death of her :( :(

I certainly wouldn't pay £4k for a horse with melanomas. Sorry.
 
I have four grey horses.

My oldest (31 next birthday) has had a melanoma under her tail since she was a 7yo, it was the size of a pea and until around 2 years ago did not change at all. She now has several including some on her udders, but they do not interfere with her at all and she is a picture of health - judge for yourself, this photo was taken last year:

BILD0240_edited-1.jpg


Sirena (12) has melanomas under her tail, at present they do not interfere at all. Her sire had to be put down at as a 29yo due to his melanomas so I am a little more worried about hers, although if she gets to 29 I will be more than happy. I have had her since she was a foal, but if I had not and had bought her later in her life when she did have melanomas, I would have missed out on one of the best horses I have owned, in fact my horse of a lifetime. I have NO plans to ever sell her, but, as she works at advanced medium, is a fully graded PRE and has a brain that loves to learn, I would be insulted at an offer under £8k tbh!

The other two Lluna (7) and her daughter Lucera (2) show no signs of melanoma, but I have no doubt that they probably will - it does not bother me and, again, if I had passed Lluna over because she was grey I would have missed out on a seriously talented horse and Lucera would not even exist :)
 
No I'd never buy a horse with a melanoma... (esp with a seizeable one at the age of 10), but then I'd never buy another grey.

I lost my boy last year at 17 after 4 months of a traumatic illness caused solely by melamonas. In the end he was PTS because they were blocking him up and he literally couldn't pass anything. This happened within days. They are agressive and unpredictable. He had a Post Mortem and he was riddled with them throughout his intestines whhich had caused the illness.

Sorry, it's a personal choice, but I'd walk away.

Would like to add if you have her vetted and it would be noted it will be excluded on your insurance. My vets bill was over £3000 (easily, never looked precisely!) before he was PTS. Just something to think about.
 
I also lost a grey to melanomas & would never buy another grey again, just because they are so prone to them. For 6 months I broke my heart because I never knew if this visit would be the last one, cimetidene helped slow them but ultimately he had too many internal ones & had to be PTS when they started to go wrong. Maybe I'm being silly, but I couldn't cope with the worry & I know I'd panic over every lump or bump.
 
i did exactly that!! but insisted that the mellanoma was removed before i bought him, he is fine and super cheeky and very hapy with himself although he has oneon his head and one on his neck and m sure he has more! jut measure them every 2 months and see if they grow if they do tell your vet and he/she will probs remove them
 
No!! I had a much loved grey pony who died at age 26 of an internal melenoma - essentially bled to death - but it was peaceful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top