Lymphoma in horses

[lucy_108]

My retired jumping horse has had a solid lump (a little smaller than tennis ball size) on his lower side ever since I've known him (6 years now). My previous vet practice looked at it for me and told me it was an old rib fracture and was nothing to worry about.

Fast forward five years (said horse has now been retired for 4 years) and I had my vet (new practice as we moved) out to do a lameness workup with him as he was struggling to walk downhill. Strongly suspected neck arthritis so we decided to try Prednisolone and if that was unsuccessful move to xrays and ultrasound guided medication. He was on 100 pred tablets/day for 10 days and there was a dramatic improvement in his mobility and general demeanour so all was good.

However, I noticed about 7 days into being on the pred, some small lumps had started appearing around his 'old rib fracture'. I raised it with my vet who wasn't too concerned, until he saw them in person. He is an ortho surgeon and knew immediately that it wasn't an old rib fracture (as it didn't even follow the line of his rib...) so we decided to biopsy. Fast forward a week - we have a confirmed diagnosis of lymphoma (suspected cutaneous) and the lumps are on a steady spread (despite being on extremely high doses of pred now). I've been reading every journal under the sun about it and it's clear that the size and spread of them can fluctuate, but I was wondering if anyone has any stories (good or bad) on horses with this form of lymphoma?

I've read conflicting reports of prognosis. Some horses seem to go on for years, some only seem to last 9-12 months. I haven't been able to find a lot of 'personal experience' stories so hoping someone here has some (good ones hopefully!)...

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I wonder if this was what one of my mares had. She developed a large marble shaped lump on her stomach. Vet saw it and said keep an eye on it. When she had her next foal about a year later I was checking her bag and realised the lump was on the very front of the udder area and had now got loads of smaller lumps round it. My vet said it was a rare form of skin cancer (no tests). This was back in 1986. Vet said it would need radical surgery so I opted to pts once her foal was weaned. No help to you as I have no idea how it would have progressed. She was 17 at the time.

 

[lucy_108]

Just wanted to post an update for anyone who may look at this in the future, and I hope (so bad) that your story will turn out better than mine.

Just two short months after posting this I held my big dude for the last time as he was put to sleep. The lymphoma spread like wildfire - possibly spurred on by the pred, possibly just because it had taken hold - I'll never know, and it spread through his lymphatic system, eventually not allowing him to put his head down. It was so solid between his front legs, it was actually forcing them outwards and making him lame. He was unable to roll or lay down and was just exhausted from the whole ordeal. Selfishly, I probably held on a bit too long - my advice for anyone who experiences these symptoms with their horse - let them go, before you have to.

 

[Britestar]

Sorry to hear this.
I lost a horse of a lifetime, my first homebred to lymphoma.
She had a small lump under her eye, which was biopsied, and came back non commital.
Further testing showed lymphoma. We kept her comfortable for as long as possible, around 6 months and then chose to say goodbye.

I hope you can come to terms with it, and hold close all those happy memories.

 

[ycbm]

Selfishly, I probably held on a bit too long - my advice for anyone who experiences these symptoms with their horse - let them go, before you have to.

This is a very brave post. I'm sorry you lost him, please try not to feel guilty, you did what you felt you needed to at the time under a lot of stress.
.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Thank you for updating. I am sorry for your loss.

 

[nikicb]

So sorry to read your update, but thanks for coming back and posting. xxx

My experience with lymphoma was very different to yours, but sadly with the same outcome. Cassie was 13 and had started being reluctant to go into canter, but we had had saddle issues before and with a change of saddle this seemed to do the trick. Around 3 weeks later, she presented with a fluid filled swelling by her girth area - not particularly big at first, and she had reacted to fly bites quite badly before, so we thought that was the cause. Except that the area continued to fill with fluid and just got worse. A few days later she was admitted to the vet hospital and we were given three possible causes - pneumonia (ruled out as no raised temperature), heart failure, or lymphoma. The fluid was tested and came back positive for lymphoma. The vets offered for me to bring her home for a few days on steroids so I could say my goodbyes, but she was pts pretty much immediately as I could see she was becoming uncomfortable and was not herself. I am still struggling to write this as it has brought it all back - losing her was one of the hardest things I have had to deal with in my life, and, believe me, there have been a few other things to rival that. I am comforted by the fact that she did not suffer for long, and really it still is a very unusual condition for horses to suffer from, so not something we should have picked up on straight away.

 

[Cragrat]

Thank you for a very brave update. I am so sorry it didn't work out better for you, but I am sure your story will help others - I for one have never come across this before, so I will now be more suspicious of random unexplained lumps .