Melanotic disease? malignant/benign? help please

[_daisy_]

sorry for all the questions

does anyone have a horse with melanotic disease? if so have you ever had them checked out to see if they are malignant or benign?

is there/has there been any treatment available to decrease the spreading of the tumours?

My grey mare has had these for roughly 5yrs now (started appearing when she was approx 10yo) For the past few month ive noticed that they are now appearing all over her face, sides and multiplying in numbers and growing in size on her vulva/dock.

The ones under her dock and vulva have been there the longest but i noticed yesterday that they are rupturing and weeping.

Obviously ive cleaned them up but not put anything on.

I was told to leave hem alone and not touch them and not to put anything on them as it can lead to them spreading - is there any truth to this? i also heard that if they are operated on then this can also lead to them spreading - like opening pandoras box type thing - is this true?

have left a message for my vet to ring me but thought id ask on here in the mean time.

 

[Gemsie]

Hi There _daisy_,

My previous mare suffered from melanommas, I found the first tiny pea sized one in her gullet when she was aged about 7 - this was removed under general anaesthetic - the vets told me that due to the location - if I had not spotted it she would have died within 6 months as it was growing close to the main artery in her neck.

Following this she was fine for years, then I noticed them coming up under her tail, round her dock and vulva. The vets kept a close eye on them, at times they can crack and slipt and weep - but I was advised to keep them clean (twice a day with hibiscrub).

I also tried her on a drug called cimetidine - which has varying results depending on the horse, these helped to slow the growth of the melanommas but sadly eventually they became too large and I had to have her put down 2 years ago (she was aged just 13).

I was told that the melannomas which she had were very aggressive, and that most horses with them do not have any major problems and can live a full, active and happy long life.

I would definately get your vet out to come and have a look, you will prob find lots of useful articles on the web about the drug cimetidine too - it certainly prolonged my mares life.

Good luck, hopefully they will remain very slow growing and your mare will live a very long life,

Gem

 

[_daisy_]

thanks ever so much for your reply Gem, im very sorry to hear about your mare, you mustve been devastated when you heard the diagnosis.

my vet looked at them when they first started to appear and told me to mark them on a chart to notice growth rates, which i have done, but unfortunatley due a mortality vetting being done after a LOU claim she is not covered under vets fee for the melanotic disease.

fingers crossed its not becoming aggressive, an i await the vets call

 

[Gemsie]

Hi Daisy, it really is a horrible disease, and heartbreaking to deal with and its really tricky when they are not covered by insurance.

I had my mare on Cimetidine for close to 3 years before she was put to sleep - the insurance paid for the first 12 months treatment, after that it cost me in the region of £150 per month for the drugs (she was 17.2hh) but luckily I am rather fond of beans on toast so managed to scrape it together each month.

I would not worry too much about them splitting and weeping - this is just how they are - but keep them super clean as once they are open they can develop abcesses behind the melanomic lump which are really not pleasant to deal with.

So long as they are only very slow growing am sure your girlie will be ok, I hope she is.

Gem

 

[Happy Horse]

My experience was similar I'm afraid. I first noticed melanomas on my boy in around 1993, a big one behind the ear was the first I saw. He was one of the first horses to be tried on Cimetidine for Melanomas and they were measured by the vet on a weekly basis but it made no difference. Over time others began to appear mainly under his dock, in his sheath and around the gullet area. They were not fast growing but were very noticeable. In 2001 he became very ill with diarrhoea and facial swellings. The vet was unable to rectal him due to the tumours in his rectum and I had the choice of invasive diagnostic tests or PTS. Given the extent of the tumours, very poor blood work and the fact he was unsound I elected not to investigate and gave him a week on high dose steroids which perked him up a lot to enjoy himself and then he was PTS.

Leaving well alone is the best thing unless they are interfering with her work etc. I found Battles Fly Cream invaluable in the summer as he did get maggots in the ones in his sheath (yes I felt awful but they were so hard to clean)

 

[_daisy_]

sorry its taken me so long to get back to you but only just got back in the house.
thanks Gem for replying again, the tretment seems fairly expensive if the results vary so much and is no guarantee to help.

ill definitely keep an eye on the weeping ones for absesses, certainly nothing that i want to happen,

 

[_daisy_]

thank HH for your reply. its something im definitely going to keep an eye on with her. so far they arent affecting her work wise (shes not in full work atm) however they are getting highly noticeable on one side of her face so may do in the near future.
i wouldnt class the extent to be as bad as you mention your boy was in in 2001, but tbh i think i would opt for the same choice as you as this mare although sound has issues with ring bone in both her front feet coffin joints and fetlocks.