Melanoma?

[steph21]

Hi,

I had my vet out last night to do my horses teeth, I asked him to have a look at theses lumps she has on one side of her withers, they started off like horse fly bites but they didnt go away over the winter. A few of them have now merged together and have made a lump about the width and lenth of an egg and about 1cm hight. they dont bother her at all I have poked and squeezed them and she doesnt flinch, he has said he is pritty sure it is a melanoma, and that he will have to take a biopsey to make sure. But ive been told by other people to just leave it and see if they get bigger because removing them could make it worse, im really confused and dont no what to do for the best! I just want her to be ok!

Any help would be very much apriciated!

Steph.

 

[mollymurphy]

Is she grey? They're really common in greys. Murph had a couple and we were always told that it does more harm than good to remove them, but i suppose it depends where they are (his were under his tail). I'd get the vet to confirm they WERE melanoma's though, and not anything worse. When you put a saddle on, does it sit on the lumps at all?

Lou. x

 

[steph21]

Shes dark bay which is why alot of people have said to me that they dont think they are melanomas, she has very hight withers so I have a very padded numanah anyway but no its not putting any pressure on them at the moment.

 

[mollymurphy]

Hmmm...never heard of them in bays, but that doesn't mean they dont get them. Maybe they ARE just fly bites that she's reacted to? If they dont go soon, i'd deffinately get the vet out to put your mind at ease.
Hope she's ok!

Lou. x

 

[steph21]

Ye im thinking of getting a second opinion just to make sure its nothing more serious, thanks for your help, hopfully she will be ok.

Steph. x

 

[Tierra]

Please follow the vets advice and have the biopsy done. Melanomas can occur in ALL colours of horses but are more common in greys. The thing is, the gene that causes grey horses to be susceptible also inhibits their growth; so in greys... the majority of the time, melanomas aren't serious. They keep growing but horses usually die of other issues before the melanomas become a problem (this depends on where they are situated of course).

In solid coloured horses its a different story. Melonomas can be extremely aggressive tumours and its vital to know ASAP what you're dealing with.

In a grey, yes the chances are the advice would be to leave it alone (that being said, given where they are growing, dependent upon the speed, it could interfere with the saddle i'd imagine) as interfering with them can cause a sudden growth. In solid coloured horses its a different matter and tbh, it sounds like they're growing quite quick. In context, my grey has a melanom on his side about the size of a screw head and its been that size now for 2 years. You generally expect a pretty slowth growth.

Let the vet do the biopsy to find out what it is and go from there.

 

[openbluesea]

I totally agree with Tierra. A Biopsy HAS to be done....and you go from there. You cannot talk for removing it or not since you dont know what it is.
"Wait and see"...is not the most wise reaction. Sometimes time is crucial when it comes to tumors that have to be removed.