Melanomas on sheath.

swellhillcottage

swellhillcottage

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What can be done about them ? ATM they apparently have been there for over 3 years and not changed he is 13 and i have him on a months trial after which he will become mine on long term loan which means paying all bills these lumps ATM are not a problem but i would say they will be as they are ugly looking . Is it something that could be removed under local Anaesthetic if need be as obviously i am not looking to take on a massive vet bill !!


Sharonxx

Sharonxx
 
Melanomas should not be touched.... They are agressive and unpredictable tumours.

I lost by boy to melanomas in the summer (they were throughout his digestive tract which gave him chronic diarrhoea and in the end blocked him up so he couldn't pass anything). They had been there for about 7 years and the vets had always told me that they would never remove them due to the nature of them in that more than often they would come back worse.

Do the effect the function of the area? Are they purely external or internal aswell? I would speak to you vet for advice asap.
 
My friends connemara gelding's sheath is full of them. Over the past year it has got much worse. It looks horrendous but he manages to pee and drop his penis ok. Vets have said that it'll probably cause problems the larger they get but they wont do anything surgical to them. He originally had them in the usual place, under the tail and around the anus. It's very much a personal decision but I wouldn't buy a horse that had so many external melanomas as it makes me very wary as to how may internal ones there are too. Best wishes
 
Thanks for replies - atm they as far as i know are external they dont seem to bother him he seems happy and well and he looks fantastic - I have a vet coming out to check over my other horse next week and i will get him to look over these lumps - TBH he will be on loan so if it gets really problematic he could go back if needs be but it is new territory for me - he does not have them in the anus area .

sharonxx
 
are they definitly melanomas and not sarcoids (warty looking things)?

From my experience it's unusual for them not to be under the tail but elsewhere, but is possible
 
Melanomas can occur anywhere and are quite common on the sheath. I would disagree with previous posters; removing melanomas while they are small is actually a good way of dealing with them, particularly in places like the sheath where they may become a problem in time. Melanomas are not like sarcoids, removing them does not increase the isk of them becoming nasty.

A high proportion of grey horses have melanomas and they don't usually cause a problem, but in some cases they can become more malignant and undergo internal spread which results in problems. I would have a chat to your vet about them, and enquire about having them removed before they brcome a problem.
 
I lost my old horse to the effects of internal melanomas. He had loads on his sheath (inside the sheath area) and also round his anus. I wouldn't be wanting to go down the route of removing them personally as this can cause a problem where one does not exist. I would be speaking to the owner about her taking the cost of any future treatment for them as it could get very expensive of they do start to spread and need investigation. As loaner you should be expected to pay for any new problems but these are an ongoing condition that may get worse at any time.
 
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