Please help, pony and cancer. Need advise :(

[thatsmygirl]

I will try and keep this short
Last thurs a vet told me my pony probable had cancer by looking at a large lump he had on his face. He's 21 yrs old half blind and this lump has been growing bigger for some time but the vet said she thinks its cancerous and to leave well alone. It's on his cheek and the top of it was like a big black scab. He's a much much loved retired lad who is quite happy and has a good life but today I'm not so happy. He rubbed his nose yesterday and knocked his lump so it started bleeding and the flys have homed in on it. Tonight when I got to the yard the whole top of the lump has gone and he's left with a deep hole and the size of a 2p and I can get puss out of it. Does this still sound like a tumour? Could it be a abscess and the vet is wrong as no tests to confirm cancer was carried out? Thing is how do I keep the flys off to heal it up? Due to his eye sight he won't except a fly mask which would be ideal. I need to secure some sort of dressing on it as the flys are filling the hole. but can't get anything to stick to his hair. Please help

 

[flintfootfilly]

Sorry to hear about your horse. I've no idea about the cancer, but if it was me I think I'd be taking good clear photos and asking the vet to forward them to Prof Knottenbelt at Liverpool for his thoughts (given his interest in sarcoids etc).

Don't know if it would be appropriate on the face, but I've used this stuff - polsterplast - a double sided sticky foam tape, to hold dressings in place when they were on a part of the horse where it was impossible to bandage: http://www.petdispensary.co.uk/shop/polster_plast.html I've never had to try on the face though. I just made sure the polsterplast tape was well clear of the wound (in other words not stuck over any of the injured skin/flesh) and then stuck a regular dressing over it. The only downside I found was it leaves a sticky mess where the tape's been. Haven't bought any for a few years, so can't remember where I bought mine from - don't think it was this place, but this was the first supplier that came up on google just now.

Sarah

 

[SusieT]

He probably needs to stay in away from the flies and blue spray is very good at protecting it.

 

[Lucky Lady]

Yes keep him in and speak with the vet in the morning telling him of your new findings. Sounds like an abscess to me, fingers crossed it is!!

 

[Birker2020]

Sorry to hear about your horse. I've no idea about the cancer, but if it was me I think I'd be taking good clear photos and asking the vet to forward them to Prof Knottenbelt at Liverpool for his thoughts (given his interest in sarcoids etc).

Ditto. I asked the great man a question about my horses eye sight and was amazed when he replied to my email with fifteen minutes!!!

He is most helpful and really restored my faith in vets and referral centres.
You need to put something in it that will not come out, like some kind of cream or something that will not cause irritation.

But are you sure he didn't say it was a melanoma (sort of skin cancer) - see link http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horse-care/vet-advice/understanding-melanomas/