sarcoid advice? (stressing out)

[LittleMouse]

hiya...so...Mouse has a sarcoid :'(
its a tiny one on his chest and now im gettin very paranoid and every little lump on him im like OH MY GOD!!! im one of lifes over-worriers!!
so i have a few question coz im very scared now haha and have no idea about them:
-are they cancerous????? some websites say yes, others say no theyre just fleshy lumps, and some say they mimick cancers in the way they behave? which is true...im dreading the answer
-if left alone what will happen? if it doesnt grow or spread will it just stay doing nothing or cause problems?
-what is the best cure? some say they can cause them to grow back more aggresively??? or shall i leave it!!
-does the crest toothpaste thing really work (if youve heard of it)
-should i be as worried as i am? i have been crying over this (cringe....personal bit over hahaha) this pony is my life :'(
oh god im scared....
sorry for massive over reactions ......

p.s im not fussed about bald patches or unsightly bits....thats not why im worriied!! i dont care what he looks like as long as hes ok

 

[Bikerchickone]

Oh dear, I'm afraid I don't know anything about sarcoids so can't help you but thought I'd give you a little bump up so somebody who does know will come along and help.

Hope it's all ok. Xx

 

[loisb501]

My mare has a flat one on the inside of her hind leg. I've had it checked by a vet who said he would send pictures off to get Liverpool cream if i wanted to treat it.

However, he did advise that it wasn't causing any problems (Just now anyway) so he recommended leaving it. If it's not causing the horse any discomfort and not in an area where any tack goes etc. then I personally would leave it.

Last week i started adding sarcoid remedy from the natural horse supplies site to her daily feed, figured it couldn't do any harm will let you know if i see a difference, going to try the tablets then the cream also if I see signs of improvement xxx

 

[SusieT]

Ok, not a big deal, but get your vet out to treat it while it's small. They can do anything basically, grow, stay the same, drop off! It might need cream or burnt off or banded, depending on what type of sarcoid it is. do NOT apply anything without your vet seeing it as creams can and do make them worse.

 

[Patterdale]

Please don't cry! They are not the end of the world. My intermediate evented had one on his chest for ages, I banded it and it hung around for a bit then just went away after about 2 years. Just meant he couldn't wear a martingale but didn't need one anyway.

If you call the vet they will like as not recommend expensive treatments like radiation etc which tbh probably isn't necessary if it's only small and not bothering him.

If it sticks out you can put s castration ring round it (ask a farmer) which will make it drop off. Won't 'kill' it completely but makes it look better and stops it growing. If it is a sarcoid and just on his chest you can't really go wrong doing this.

I and lots of people I know have used Camrosa cream on sarcoids and it's really good and shouldn't make it worse - I've never ever heard of that happening. It's advertised in the back of magazines usually with s pic of a bald dog or something. It's amazing on sarcoids though. Some obviously respond to different treatments better than others though.

But don't worry - LOADS of horses have them and the owners usually don't even know if they are hairy!
Unless it's in a place which is causing you hassle, or growing very fast or you notice lots of others appearing, don't worry. It's rare for that to happen though - usually you just get a small-ish sarcoid that does nothing for years and then disappears after a few years. That's my experience of them anyway.

I would band it and put Camrosa on if I was worried - but use good castration rings (they're not expensive) as they have antiseptic in them and make a clean cut.

 

[mulledwhine]

Another do not panic, they really are not the end of the world, some do not look pretty and spread, but the vast majority just stay looking like a wart, my old boy had one, he bit it off in the summer, and it grew back every year, and never came to anything else,, except you had to put your hand over it whilst grooming

 

[Patterdale]

I clipped one off a clients horse once who didn't know it was there (v hairy horse!). Apparently it never grew back but I do NOT recommend this method. It bled and bled, looked like a pig killing. Horse didn't seem to notice though which was good!

 

[SusieT]

do NOT put camrosa on a sarcoid-you could end up with a dead horse. Sarcoids look innocuous but are not to be messed with-do the wrong thing and they grow like buggery.

 

[Blaise]

^^^ echo what Susie T said. Please DO NOT usr camrosa, tea tree or anything else that encourages cell reproduction on it as they can grow at lightning speed. As someone said above one of three things can happen, they stay the same forever and never cause problems, they drop off or they grow and spread like wildfire. My girl has 2 small nodular ones at the moment that aren't causing problems at all but having worked for an equine vet practice I've already had the vet look at them and photos are on the way up to Professor Knottenbelt as we speak!! My old boy had them too and he was treated with liverpool cream with success. It isn't cheap but insurance should cover it. If I was you I would get a Vet to have a look and if they recommend sending photos to Derek then id send them. If he doesn't think cream is the best option he will suggest other things but I wouldn't do anything with it until he has seen them. They aren't warts, when I saw him with my boy he does call them a form of skin cancer so shouldn't be messed around with without expert advice. Hope that was helpful, it doesn't mean to sound scary either I've seen photos of some horrendous cases come good with correct treatment so im sure Mouse will ne absolutely

 

[Blaise]

Fine!!! Im not worried about lolas two little ones as I know shes being treated by the best possible person ( sorry for the two posts, on my phone and accidentally pressed reply. Grrr)

 

[horsegirl]

My horse had 3, I had them treated with the Liverpool cream and now he has hundreds! Even his sarcoids have sarcoids. I would say do not use the cream, just leave it alone

 

[DougalJ]

Keep an open mind with treatment. I will PM with some links which will give you some helpful information. Don't panic, I have been through it and *touchwood* my horse has been clear for 2 years now with homeopathic treatment and a professional vets advice.

 

[horsegirl]

Could you send them to me too please?

 

[DougalJ]

Ok - will do

 

[lannerch]

There are many different types of sarcoids they can be something they can be nothing, I would get a vet to check .
The vet if half decent will not prescribe expensive treatments unless necessary, I had one that was banded, fell off never to return, whilst my friends horse with several large sarcoids was treated successfully with the Liverpool cream.
Do not apply anything as others have said without veterinary advice agree camrosa is an absolute no!
Lastly try not to worry its really very common and usually not a worry but get it checked out just to be sure .

 

[Patterdale]

I know of 7 treated with Camrosa (2 of mine and 5 of others) and 4 shrank, 3 stayed the same. So that's just my experience of it. But if so many others are wary I would say go with the majority - perhaps I have just been lucky!

I know of one who went into the vets to have the radiation treatment, sarcoid is gone but there is a MASSIVE scar - this is the only one I've seen treated in this way so might be an exception but it put me off!
As others have also said probably best to just wait and see, or band it if it's sticky-out.

Just for interest - is it just me or do there seem to be more sarcoids about than there used to? Particularly in young horses?
May just be that ive happened to run into a lot lately but I definitely think they're on the increase!?

 

[Holidays_are_coming]

After I brought my mare a flat scar like thing on her shoulder started growing between clips, turned out it was a sarcoid and because of winter rugs the cream wasn't a option so it got lasered off, she does have a scar but it's very small and touch wood she hasn't had anymore, although I'm very vigilant about lumps and bumps now. Speak to your vet and they will recommend the best treatment for that type

 

[Whoopit]

The original sarcoid I found I tied super super super tight with a plaiting band. It fell and has never been seen again.

Then he was in a field with loads of flies and he now has two more. They're not in easy places to get at - one between his front legs and one just behind where his girth goes. They don't cause him any discomfort but I don't like the idea of them being there. So. Tied off with a plaiting band again - i haven't been able to get them as tight as normal, so have dabbed Bazuka on them and the bits that have been Bazuka'd have died off. At the end of the day they're basically warts - i'll be having another attack on the remaning bits of them this summer!

No harm in seeing if the same or similar works for you.

 

[Jango]

My horse had a few little ones on his shealth, one in the folds of skin at the top of his front leg and one in his ear. I got pictures sent over to Liverpool and they advised the cream, as they wern't bothering him I decided to try Sarc-Ex first. Started him on the full dose (2 scoops twice a day) in autumn last year and in the last 3 months or so, all but one of them have turned black and fell off leaving normal, fur covered skin! The other has shrunk right down.

If you ring global herbs they recommend trying it for 3-6 months and if nothing has happened by then it probably wont happen at all, so they are realistic about it. It is quite pricey (£27 per tub, lasts about 1 month) but as he wasnt covered for sarcoids on his insurance it has been the best option for me! Also the Sarc-Ex treats from the inside, so hopefully he won't develop any more, whereas the cream just treats each individual sarcoid.

 

[pip6]

I have a horse who developed sarcoids in 4 sites (angleberry, chest, stifle & inside thigh) at the same time. Vet checked her, we banded two (angleberry & chest) then started her on homeopathic tablets (vet is qualified in homeopathy). All went, started to see them shrinking in a few weeks. That was 3 years ago, have never come back. If you live near the Devon / Cornwall border I could give you the vets contct number.

I recommended her to a friend who's daughters pony had been bothered by sarcoids in her girth region for a few years. Tried the tablets, also saw improvement very quickly, sarcoids now gone for a year.

 

[cellie]

Thuja cream worked on my mare in 12 weeks it had gone initially it grew then dropped off.I had it checked with vet who wanted to freeze it off but was told it was virus not always cancerous.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

It's linked to the papilloma virus, often associated with bovine papilloma.

My horse had two, successfully treated for under £200 with Liverpool cream two years ago, nothing since. I'm careful to use a strong fly spray, particularly near the sites of the sarcoids and on the groin/sheath area.

Don't panic, it sounds like you could potentially band it, the cheapest method.

 

[TED2010]

I had a gelding that started developing some small flat ones around his sheath, vet froze them and they disappeared and never came back. Had an awful experience with a mare going back about 17 years now, knew nothing about sarcoids at the time and bought her from someone we trusted who said not to worry about them, she had a small nodular one on her ear, they started to get worse and spread down her ear so we had them treated with whatever the in thing was at the time (could have been liverpool cream) sorry too long ago to remember exactly what it was, for some reason I seem to think it had arsenic in it but I may be completely imagining that. Anyway it did nothing in fact they got worse, they spread down her ear onto her head, she kept knocking them and they bled constantly, nightmare with flies etc and she got very head shy, had to have her pts it got so bad.

Sorry probably shouldn't have written that as don't want to frighten you, there are many different types, some are very aggressive but as others have said if they aren't where tack rubs them and the are just the flat type they can stay the same for years and are probably best left alone. Please don't panic but ask your vet for their thoughts.

Interesting to know if the homeopathic remedies do anything!? We even tried having my mare 'charmed' by a gypsy!!? .

 

[irishdraft]

Do not panic lots of horses seem to have sarcoids these days, dont know why, I have 2 young horses with sarcoids, I have had a prescribed human cancer cream which worked but left a small scar and I have had 2 banded off which has also worked. My horses have various others but are all small and not doing anything so i just keep an eye and hope nothing happens. It all depends on which type and where it is as to whether you need to do anything but best to get a vet to check it out and go from there but of course if you have insurance the clock will be ticking.

 

[Paint Me Proud]

my gelding had his treated over the last winter. He had them in about 5 locations so the vet opted for Liverpool cream.

Seems to have worked well so far, most have gone and the site is healing up and a couple still have a plaque scab on them that will eventually fall off.

In my opinion sarcoids arent the major issue people make out they are. There are numerous treatments available and as long as you are vigilant and stay on top of them they are usually not a problem.

 

[kerrieberry2]

this post has made me feel soooo much better, I noticed my 2 yr old had 3 sarcoids last week and I was in tears thinking he was going to die haha and he was lame with an abscess as well so was worried that I was going to have a horse that was going to be ruined before i'd even started doing anything with him but this has really helped me as well!

i wonder why sarcoids have become so common, I have only heard of them recently! or maybe its just because info about them is more easily available these days?