Greys and Melanomas - myth?

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vikkiandmonica

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There was a girl at my yard selling her grey pony, who has had melanomas since the age of 4, and has gradually got more over the years. Someone came to view him, and after the vetting, turned him down, after the vet told them about the risk of melanomas becoming more of a problem, as they were around his mouth and bum. He is sold now, for a greatly reduced price.

My question: this girl said that all grey horses have melanomas, whether internal or external. Now, I have a grey (see sig), and he has never shown any signs of having them. He is perfectly healthy, and is black skinned, doesn't have a pink nose or under the tail etc.

So, is it a myth that all grey horses have melanomas? And are they really more predisposed to getting them, even if they are darked skinned?

Thanks for any info :D
 
MOST greys will develop them at some point of their lives - and they can be internal or eternal but often around the anus.

So NO not ALL greys get them and yes even dark skinned greys are still predisposed.
 
well as a general thing it is supposed to be horses with pink skin, grey horses are more likely to have pink skin due to the pigment but i know duns with pink skin so they should get them to, some greys are mainly black with pink patches which you cant really see but sometimes not, but no if your horse doesnt have pink skin then your chances of it occuring are slim :) x
 
Someone told me this and I got really worried! How do you know if a horse has internal melanomas? I've owned my mare for 10 yrs and she's now 18 and definitely doesn't have any external ones. But how would I know if she has internal ones?!
 
Is there a reason why? I'm guessing it is because they have lighter fur, but I thought this would reflect more UV radiation than say, a black horse? Because all 3 of my horses have dark skin (grey, bay and black), so why is the grey more predisposed?


Do the majority of greys get them at an old age?
 
The melanomas greys get are not sun related but due to the retention of the colouring that used to make the coat grey. Greys tend to get lighter as years go by.

Generally they are no trouble unless they develop in areas such as under the saddle area or block the internal organs.

We had a few greys at the riding school well into thier 20's one developed them all over her body and was PTS and the others had them around the anus and dock and had no problems at all.
 
grey horses are more likely to have pink skin
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Sorry, but this ^ is wrong.

All greys are born a 'colour' (eg, black, chestnut) and then grey out as they age. Therefore they have black skin.

Anywhere that they have white markings (eg a blaze, socks) will have pink skin. The markings will become harder to see as the horse greys out, but the skin will keep the markings.

Horses that are grey skewbalds will have pink skin on the white patches and black skin on the grey patches.

You can get true white horses, they will be born white and they will have pink skin.

Yes, there is a link between the grey gene and melanomas.

131372_1.jpg

^ This horse is a maximum sabino arab. He was born this colour and does not have the grey gene. It is the sabino gene that has caused him to be white.

pwa-nagib-shahX400.jpg

^ Grey arab, fully greyed out.
 
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No. :D

I have a grey myself. ;)

I did know a mare that had to be PTS because of her melanomas, but she was mid 20's and had been fit and well (still ridden) and they hadn't bothered her until about a month before she died.
 
again most horses have melanomas. mine had a few near her tail when i bought her 2 years ago. there were people queuing up to pay the asking price despite this . i am keeping a close eye on them as they can increase as the horse ages.
 
Any horse of any colour can get Melanomas but they're more frequently seen on greys and not all greys will get Melanomas
 
According to what a vet told me a few years ago most grey horses will develop melanomas if they live long enough.
 
Most greys will get melanoma. My old Welshie, 30 yrs when she died, showed no external signs of melanoma, while the one I have now , has them under her tail and one on her muzzle. She had a couple for a while but had a flare up a couple of years ago, and now has quite a few. They are different from melanoma that humans get and are more prevalent in moist areas.
 
My understanding is that the melanomas they develop are very slow growing and they can live to a normal age with them. I have a grey mare with a couple of lumps around her tail area. She would probably be about 18 yrs old now.

A friend had a grey horse that lived till 30 still being ridden every day and then died quietly (and unexpectedly) one night, was full of lumps and they just caught up with him.

Another friend had a little grey pony quite young about 12-14 yrs that developed colic symptoms when vet operated the horse was full of tumors and they had caused the problem, he put him to sleep. But in his case they were a very fast growing aggressive tumour, not the more common slow growing one.

I have heard that about 80% of grey ponies will develop lumps during their life. I don't think it would put me off buying a grey pony though if everything else was right, because with horses so many things can go wrong.
 
Most grey horses get them, they are quite uncommon in other colours.

To Op question, you may be able to scan some internal areas with ultrasound but not all, and whilst I think they would show up on MRI I doubt you want to spend that amount just to see, especially as theres not much you can do about them anyway.
 
Most greys will develop them, however are rarely fatal, just ugly looking.

My girl has a few externally (who knows about internal!) and she's 13 this year. She has black skin so no, pink skin does not cause melanomas - otherwise some chestnuts etc with lots of white (and coloureds!) would be infested with them. It's an excess of melanin within the skin due to their dark skin.
 
StormyMoments said:
well as a general thing it is supposed to be horses with pink skin, grey horses are more likely to have pink skin due to the pigment but i know duns with pink skin so they should get them to, some greys are mainly black with pink patches which you cant really see but sometimes not, but no if your horse doesnt have pink skin then your chances of it occuring are slim :) x
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Agree with this . It is pink skin that is the problem so you just put on a sun block in the summer. Like humans that have had too much sun the damage will show several years later re melanoms. I have a light dapple grey New Forest who has NO pink skin anywhere & no melanomas at all.
 
This is something i worry about, as i have leopard spotted chap he is mostly grey and has pink skin on his nose, around his eyes and his bum and basically everywhere. Saying that i'v never had a problem with sunburn even when he's not worn his uv mask and rug etc and i know his breeders broodmares of the same colour dont have any melanomas and they are all a fair age now this was something i spoke to her about before i bought him. Dont think it would put me off because i'd say greys are my favourite colour.
 
This article brilliantly sums up my understanding and experience of them. Personally, I'd be terrified if any of mine got them and not primarily for the ones you can see... Yet another very valid reason for me not to ever buy a grey - the other main one being difficulty in keeping it looking presentable!

One mare (since PTS) I saw had ugly, bleeding clusters of them round her back end and under her tail. They were raw and bleeding and must have been a nightmare as regards pain and flies. I couldn't bear to see that happen to any of mine :(
 
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My 35 yr old grey pony who ive owned for 15 years has melanomas under his tail (dock area), in his mouth and one on his eye lid. They donot affect him at all but have them checked regularly by vet and dentist. He started life as a dapple grey and now is a flea bitten grey.
 
POLLDARK said:
Agree with this . It is pink skin that is the problem so you just put on a sun block in the summer. Like humans that have had too much sun the damage will show several years later re melanoms. I have a light dapple grey New Forest who has NO pink skin anywhere & no melanomas at all.
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Just to straighten matters out...

The melanomas linked with grey horses (black skin) are not the same as melanomas that are caused by sunburn. Also think about the placement of the grey horse melanomas. They are under the tail, around the anus or/and internal. It's very hard to get sunburnt in those places! ;)
 
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