Grey horses are full of cancer when they turn white

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JadeWisc

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An older and (supposedly) wise horseman told this to me recently.


He said "Once a grey turns white they are worthless and almost always full of cancer"



This sounds like a load of poppycock to me
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Anyone else ever heard of such a thing?
 
PMSL!

I don't know how much truth is in it, but grey coloured/white horses are considered more prone to skin cancer. In fact, slaughter houses in some countries never take greys for human consumption.
Out of my 7 horses 3 are grey and 2 are white, apart from a lot of shampoo and grooming, I don't have any problem with them:)
 
He mentioned the slaughterhouse thing to me as well.

I can understand the skin cancer where a paler horse is concerned but I would think a cremello or more pink skinned horse would be the one more prone to skin cancer than a grey that has gone white.
 
No they are not full of cancer. But they are prone to skin cancer as they have less melanomin than coloured horses.
 
LOL what a load of b*****ks!!!

A horse is a horse regardless of colour! If these old wives tales were true then why do they say "never be blinded by colour" when buying a horse??!!!
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well I can rest assured that Betty appears to be fine
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He looked in her mouth and at her rectum and gave her the "all clear"
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I should have him over more often
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I could save loads on vet bills
 
An awful lot of old wives tales do actually turn out to have some foundation of truth.

So, whilst I certainly hope it's not true - I wouldn't be at all suprised to learn that it was. Or at least in a lot of cases, anyway.
 
Yes agreed they do sometimes have an element of truth about them, but...is this because some grey horses have had cancer, and then the owner remembers the tale??
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Some are common sense, if you look to the reasoning behind the stories.

However, cancer (although melanoma can play a part in skin cancer) does not choose horses on the basis of their colour, and I'm sure if breeding/mare and sire defects/illness etc were looked at closely there would be a better explanation.
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Whatever the substance, I wouldn't wish this on any horse owner, and it certainly didn't put me off my greys!! The washing and cleaning does though
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I hate to agree slighlty as the majority of our grey/white horses have been cancerous or had major melanomres and none of the other coloured horses have had anything like this, our yard contains 65 horses in total.
 
[ QUOTE ]
However, cancer (although melanoma can play a part in skin cancer) does not choose horses on the basis of their colour.......

[/ QUOTE ]

Mmmm, I think it's a recognised fact that grey horses are more prone to melanoma though. So can't agree with you there.
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Sorry I should have put melinomin not melinoma!!
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A melinoma , as far as I am aware, is a cancerous growth on the skin, that can be either benign or malignant
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My grey mare had to be put down at 15 due to colic caused by suspected internal melanomas (she had a lot outside her body and the vet could feel a mass inside her). My friend's horse had to be put down at 14 due to them. A very high percentage of grey horses will get melanomas as they get older, and they are often inside as well.
 
I do take your point, and as they have less melanomin in their skin, I can see that connection
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but, my point was, that if that was the only reason for the onset of melanomas or cancer, then why do horses of other colours get cancer too? and, why is it that not all greys get cancer if this is a fact?
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Fortunately, some of the most common types of cancer in the horse are benign; they are non-aggressive and do not spread to other parts of the body.

Grey horses frequently have nodular masses or "melanomas" about their body. These are most frequently found under the tail and around the dock, but can also occur behind the jaw and in the eye. With the aid of instruments such as laparoscopes and endoscopes to look inside the horse, vets can often observe small melanomas within the abdomen of

greys and in the guttural pouches (throat area).

In many cases, melanomas remain small and harmless to the horse. This is contrary to the situation in humans, where a large number of melanoma cases are very serious.

However, on rare occasions something that starts as a small, innocuous black lump under the tail or below the ear will spread throughout the body and transform into an invasive, destructive cancer.

It is for this reason that vets often note the presence of melanomas in grey horses presented for pre-purchase examination and they may be a cause for concern. It can be almost impossible to predict how they will progress on one clinical examination alone.

It has been estimated that 80% of grey horses, of either gender, aged more than 15 develop melanoma, some of which will behave aggressively and not be amenable to treatment.

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So grey horses are more likely to have cancerous cells. but doesn't always make them worthless. However, I would be more cautious buying and older grey horse than an older bay horse.
 
That was great and really informative, thank you
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So, I will agree with greys being more prone to cancer, but not that all greys get cancer, which is what the old wives tell says!!
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and, as I think I asked/said before if you look beyond the colour grey, do you find that breeding etc makes these greys more prone to this?
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[ QUOTE ]
A melinoma , as far as I am aware, is a cancerous growth on the skin, that can be either benign or malignant
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It can't be a "cancerous" growth as it is only this IF it is malignant. If it is benign then its just a growth but NOT cancerous. I'm onto my 3rd grey and never had any problems - only thing 2 of mine have had is sarcoids but never caused any probs.
 
I had a grey pony who had gone white by the time I had him at the age of 16. As far as I know, he went on to live to around 30 and never had a problem with sarcoids or cancer.
On the other hand I had a chestnut who had to be pts at the age of 15 due to colic probably caused by internal cancerous growths.
I would never be put off buying a horse because of its colour!
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Fortunately, some of the most common types of cancer in the horse are benign; they are non-aggressive and do not spread to other parts of the body.

Grey horses frequently have nodular masses or "melanomas" about their body. These are most frequently found under the tail and around the dock, but can also occur behind the jaw and in the eye. With the aid of instruments such as laparoscopes and endoscopes to look inside the horse, vets can often observe small melanomas within the abdomen of

greys and in the guttural pouches (throat area).

In many cases, melanomas remain small and harmless to the horse. This is contrary to the situation in humans, where a large number of melanoma cases are very serious.

However, on rare occasions something that starts as a small, innocuous black lump under the tail or below the ear will spread throughout the body and transform into an invasive, destructive cancer.

It is for this reason that vets often note the presence of melanomas in grey horses presented for pre-purchase examination and they may be a cause for concern. It can be almost impossible to predict how they will progress on one clinical examination alone.

It has been estimated that 80% of grey horses, of either gender, aged more than 15 develop melanoma, some of which will behave aggressively and not be amenable to treatment.

[/ QUOTE ]

So grey horses are more likely to have cancerous cells. but doesn't always make them worthless. However, I would be more cautious buying and older grey horse than an older bay horse.

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I guess the old man knows his stuff
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Well partly anyhow. At least now I know why he looked at her rectunm area and in her mouth.


I have a whole new meaning to the "respect your elders" theory now
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I still am not buying his theory that horses can remain healthy surviving off of eating snow in the winter instead of having fresh water
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Although I am sure they "can" survive, I highly doubt they stay hydrated enough.
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[ QUOTE ]
???????????????

An older and (supposedly) wise horseman told this to me recently.


He said "Once a grey turns white they are worthless and almost always full of cancer"



This sounds like a load of poppycock to me
grin.gif


Anyone else ever heard of such a thing?

[/ QUOTE ]

I would imagine he is referring to melanoma which can or can't be cancerous but usually aren't.
I have 2 greys..one was white by the time she were 5 and has many melanoma's now at the age of 15...she has a new lump on her neck under the skin and hasn't exactly come out of winter looking her best which is very unusual so I'm keeping an eye on her
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I have another grey who is dapple but started off iron and has no signs of any whatsoever.
My black mare died of cancer just over a year ago...she was riddled
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