Melanoma. Would you buy a horse with one?

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Ruth_Cymru

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As title really. I have had a horse vetted and found what could be a small melanoma on the underside of his tail, about the size of a pea. I know if I was an outsider looking in, I would say walk away, but he is perfect for me in every other respect. I'm really undecided as to what I should do, so any thoughts/ experiences would be appreciated. I'm also aware that as it is noted on his vetting certificate, I'm going to have issues insuring him.
 
Yes I did. I've had her for 3 years now and it hasn't changed.

The way I look at is that she is perfect for me, and if worse came to worse she could have her tail removed.
 
9 years ago i bought a 9 year old mare with a few melanomas under her tail and round her bits, they haven't got worse but they have multiplied and she has also developed them behind her jaw line ( dont cause her a problem but not very nice)
She is my horse of a lifetime and i wouldnt swap her for the world but now she is older i worry about the internal ones and the effects. The other thing is as she had them when i bought her and it was noted on the vetting it has always been excluded on my insurance.
Would i buy a horse again with them, i really dont know an older horse yes, a younger horse would have to be really special.
 
I'm afraid it would bother me. I have had 2 grey mares in the past, both with melanomas under the tail, I believe that that is one of the most common places for them to occur. Especially as he is only 5, you dont know how quickly they will multiply, if they do of course, if it is in fact a melanoma. Melanomas are benign but can occur inside the body, I think I am right in saying especially in the throat and gut, and it isnt really possible to know whats going on inside. My little grey mare died of colic at the age of 19 and it was probably made worse by melanomas internally, although I dont know for sure. If you google melanoma you will get loads of info. Good luck
 
I bought one 5 years later it has never changed he was 8 at the time and is now 13 upto you i suppose they all need homes though i am trying to sell one at min thats had sarcoids so i may be biased lol
 
I bought my horse twelve years ago with a significant melanoma on her neck and some smaller ones under her tail. These have never given her any bother. But as she is 31 now I get them checked by the vet now and then as I know that as horses get older they can cause problems internally. I wouldnt change her or swap her for the world.
 
Thank you all for taking the time to reply. I'm still as confused as ever, as you just don't know how a melanoma is going to progress.

For those of you who have had to declare melanoma on insurance, how has it affected your cover? Is it just an exclusion for melanoma, or for all skin/lump issues?
 
I have, and i would again if the horse was otherwise perfect.

I have a exclusion for sacacoids/melanoma's not for skin issues.
 
The horse opposite me at my yard has just been put down because of this - i dont know the full ins and outs but she was a grey 11 yr old had a melanoma under her tail to start with which wasnt a problem but it started growing and spreading and at the end she couldnt go to the toilet and was completely blocked up and getting colic - they were absolutey heartbroken and spent a fortune trying to get it sorted.
 
My horse (grey) developed a small melanoma aged 10 a year after I bought him. Vet's advice was to leave well alone and we measure it once a year when he has his jabs. 3 years later is is the same size as it was when it was first measured. He has one other tiny one which has developed in the last three months, but doesn't seem to be growing at the moment. They cause him no problems and the vet has said even if they start growing it will probably be 10 years before they get to a size that would make him uncomfortable or cause problems. It's a risk you take buying a grey horse.

Had he had it at the time of buying I would probably have walked away, but knowing what I know now, I don't think it would put me off in future. I did some research when I first found it and 85% of greys have melanomas by the age of 15 (although mine is the only one out of 4 on my yard all aged 13 or over - sod's law!) and the vast majority have no problems at all. The only thing that would worry me is that he's only 5 - mine was 10 when he got his.

There is anecdotal evidence that a drug called Cimetidine can help to reduce the size of melanomas. It's a drug used on humans for gastric ulcers. I tried it and it had no effect on my boy but know somebody else who insists it shrank her mare's and has carried on giving it for years believing it's stopping it from growing (We have the same vet and he's not convinced it would be growing if she stopped the drug as many stop growing by themselves.) It's not very expensive, my vet gave me a private prescription to buy it from the chemist, who was giving it to me at cost as I was buying so much (it might help that he's my friend's partner though!) and it was about £15 a month. You have to administer it 3 times a day at equal intervals (ie every 8 hours) for maximum effect and as somebody who works full time with a horse on DIY, it just wasn't viable for me to carry on with no obvious benefits. May be worth some research though if you really want this horse.
 
No I wouldn't. My old boy had to be put down because of them - they were all internal and had run rampant through his body, by the time we knew anything was wrong it was far too late to even attempt to do anything to save him and he had to be put down.
 
On another point - regardless of the melanoma I would never buy another grey. I have never before spent so much time, brushing, scrubbing and rinsing or so much money on shampoo, coat whitener and all sorts of rugs and hoods to keep him clean. I thought I'd have a bit of work keeping him clean but it has seriously dented the amount of time I have to do other things. With my old black boy, shows and competitions were a pleasure, now they're a chore as the preparation takes three times longer. All joking aside, it is the one biggest thing I hate about my boy and I am NEVER buying another grey.
 
My old grey boy had melanomas around his anus and yes they did grow and it was the reason that he was put down at the age of 26 - but we had the BEST 14 years together and wouldn't have swapped him for anything.
 
I have no direct experience of melanoma but brought a horse with a sarcoid on its leg at the age of 10. Was told had never changed etc so took a risk as otherwise perfect and wasn't easy to spot. 12 months later was covered in them and when I wanted to sell (not due to sarcoid) I lost a lot of money on him. They weren't in the tack region but the apearance of them was not pleasant and put alot of people off even looking not to mention insurance exclusions... I wouldn't buy anything now with a sarcoid or melanoma to be honest.
 
I have a grey with them under her tail it wouldnt bother me unless there was a lot, we had some of them ringed so blood supply cut off and they havnt come back also if they become worse you can have surgery but it defo wouldnt bother me if there was only a few
 
I had a horse on loan who was 17 when he died because melanoma's spread through him and meant he lost all his co-ordination, and he his digestive system suffered. I wouldnt touch one with a melanoma I am afraid
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my freind lost her boy because of melanomas he struggled to pee or poo in the end so yes having first hand exsperiance i would not buy a horse with them. anyway why buy a horse with them when you could properly fine a healthy horse on same budget and not worry zbout them growing etc
 
That's part of the problem, I'm so specific with what I want that it really narrows down what's out there. I want a 15hh+ ridden arab gelding, 5-8 years old, well put together. I know that there are lots of other breeds that would be suitable, but I want what I want. But should that mean I compromise on something that could be a major issue? That's what I need to decide.
 
I'd be worried to find one in a 5 year old. I've known horses with HUGE melanomas around the anus still going strong at 26. BUT - 5 is early for them to appear. IF I bought him, I'd want a sizeable reduction in the price. Let's face it, a thousand things other than melanoma can kill a horse before he's 20 - it's a risk - but so is buying a horse!
 
Yes, if everything else was right. One day it might be very ill and need PTS, but until that day, which should be many years into the future, you've every chance of having an unproblematic horse. That would be good enough for me.
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I had a horse on loan who was 17 when he died because melanoma's spread through him and meant he lost all his co-ordination, and he his digestive system suffered. I wouldnt touch one with a melanoma I am afraid
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I lost my old grey highland because of them so no, I would not buy a horse I knew to have a melanoma, sorry.
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Eep, my horse has 2 melanoma's, also under his tail. But he's 10 and the vet said they weren't going to affect him in anyway. I'll keep a closer eye on them though having read this post.
 
My horse (a grey) developed a melanoma in his tail after I bought him. It was removed, healed without problem and he hasn't had any re-occurence in 6 years since.
 
No I wouldn't, and I have vowed to never buy a grey again.

I've had my little man for 10 yrs, and I wouldn't swop a moment. He developed his first M when he was 10. However last year, when he was 16 they suddenly "exploded" and he just got loads of them. All under his tail. Last winter he lost loads of weight and then in April he developed chronic Diarrhoea. We have been trying to control it ever since with some success, however this week it has come back worse than ever. He has had all sorts of tests done and they have all come back clear, so although we can't be 100% sure, we think it's the M.

I know you're always gonna loose your horse to something in the end, and I don't think we're there yet (I REALLY hope not), but just don't think I could bring myself to buy another.

The only thing I could say is that if you were only planning to keep her short term, then I'd consider it, but then you've got to think about the resale.
 
I had a horse vetted a few years ago, she was a grey Irish Draught. She failed the vetting due to melanomas around her jaw. She also was prone to colic which I was told could be due to internal melanomas. Needless to say I didn't buy her. The owner was devastated as they didn't realise; I think they decided to keep her.
 
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