Sarcoids - this is WAR!

[Willem17]

my experience led me to think they were caused by flies in the first place, and would be a good idea to isolate if they are `open` as a precaution

forgot to say, i felt improvement in immune system played a bit part in getting rid, i would tackle that as a priority

so sorry you and your horse are going through this xxx

It is most likely linked to the immune system but that in and of itself is complex. I have spent hundreds on every immune boosting herb and potion out there- she lives in the lap of luxury and I have not worked her for years owing to the sarcoids. She is turned out with her mum in a quiet paddock on my own yard and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her stressed in her life.
She had horrifically painful plaques in her ears which I treated with Aldara cream and they’ve never returned.
I keep treating the ponies with aldara when they pop up and because they have a normal immune system they resolve pretty quickly unlike this mare who has zero immunity.
The most frustrating thing is, my mum wants to get my son a bigger pony but I’m stubbornly saying no as every new horse that comes gets sarcoids from her. Wish I could isolate her but as it’s my parent’s yard and they are soft as you-know-what they’d kick up a fuss lol.

 

[Willem17]

As a last resort, what other option have you than to put her down?

The horse the story was started about is now five. He appears to have his immune system on top of them and a very suspicious piece of crinkled black skin fell off his chest earlier in the year. He occasionally gets new circles in the hair colour, which disappear, whether due to the acyclovir I use or not, i don't know. None of the ones I removed with copper sulphate have come back for well over a year now.

I know some people think this thread is dangerous, but the information is all over the Internet if you look for it. Nobody should be trying this without having a vet look first. Not all lumps are sarcoids and even if they are, removing them by any means is no joke if they go deep.
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I honestly don’t see any other option- I could sell her but that would be getting rid of the problem to someone else and spreading the Papilloma sarcoid virus to probably many other poor horses.

I was in the field the other day and I noticed the little black midges that some vets believe spread them were all clustered around the sarcoids-even the non weepy ones. It’s almost as if they’re attracted to them specifically.

for me, the thread isn’t dangerous and my vet is in constant contact with me. She is fully supportive of me trying unorthodox treatments as she is aware of the situation. If the horse was in any pain I’d involve her immediately.

I might attach some pictures later on of day one copper sulphate x

p.s. my horse is 9 now so I don’t think the old immune system is going to kick in for her.

 

[tristar]

i used an all over fly rug with the zebra pattern and belly cover, i do believe the pre biotic in fast fibre has contributed to making my horses healthier its the only common factor,

i would bring in in the day, in fly season,i would not be letting the flies land on the horse, and stabled at midge time

my horse was 9 when he got the s so immune system has kicked in for him,he is now 12

its so easy to get lost in the misery of all this, but it does`nt cost much to try the most obvious things, micro management was the big factor for me.

 

[Willem17]

Well, day two and a sarcoid about the size of a pencil rubber came off- it bled for about 2 mins then stopped. A huge malevolent one on the inside of her back leg is about 1/3 of the size and shrivelling up as are the other sarcoids connected to it. The only problem I’ve had is she swished her tail under her and spread a bit of the copper sulphate on healthy tissue. I applied sudocrem and it looks better now.
I found that I was getting nowhere just dabbing on the crystal powder- even tough the sarcoids were wet and gooey it just wasn’t sticking and falling into the bedding. I overcame this by mixing it with flour and water which dried fast and made it stick like glue. I’m going to put a polo bandage on her tail overnight until the paste dries so she can’t swish it onto healthy skin.

If this works, I will owe the OP a pint or two! Been battling this for years.

by the way, she is in nowhere near the pain that Liverpool cream made her. That stuff made them explode and she was crippled behind. Biggest waste of a couple grand ever spent. I know it works for some people but it just made thing 100X worse for us.
Hope your journey is going well op x

 

[MiniMilton]

I havent read all the replies, but have you ever tried freezing them off?

My vet frose a massive horrific sarcoid off my horse with liquid nitrogen, he was very sore after it but it was very successful. You can get liquid nitrogen sprays specifically for treating warts and verucas (sp?) so perhaps that would work on emerging sarcoids?

 

[ycbm]

I have had a horse they were frozen off. They regrew.
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[Willem17]

I have had a horse they were frozen off. They regrew.
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I can also concur that we went down the liquid nitrogen path on some of the sarcoids and they grew back. You can buy it from the plumber’s shop much cheaper than the stuff at the chemists. We also used the vet‘s LN and they grew back, unfortunately.

Having spent 7k on every treatment going (most of that was paid for by insurance) I have to say that the copper sulphate seems to be working a lot better than anything else we’ve tried- touch wood.

Best thing I ever used for ear plaques was aldara genital wart cream but it’s bloody expensive at £69 for 12 minuscule packets. There’s a couple of studies available online where they treated quite a few horses with it successfully.

 

[Willem17]

Massive changes today! So this is the fourth treatment of copper sulphate as we missed a few days because my mum can only cope without so much stress being non-horsey & prone to nerves!
The main malevolent one aka ‘the mothership’ fell off about 5 mins after I treated it again today. It’s left a big crater so I’ll be stabling her until it fills in.

This morning, a smaller one adjacent to the mother ship had fallen off in the night leaving a bit of red skin- I couldn’t find it in the bedding- oh well, good riddance!

I literally cannot believe how effective this is. No swelling at all surrounding the area too; unlike Liverpool cream.

This is in no way a recommendation for anyone else to try this-I am simply documenting this journey. I will be treating another ulcerated one on the opposite hind leg and documenting that with photos.

So far, so good ?

 

[Willem17]

Just another update. I’ve taken photos but apparently they’re too large to upload even though I shrunk them down. So far, 4 of the bigger sarcoids have fallen off and left craters. I pack more copper sulphate into the holes just incase. The treatment only seems to work if you ‘annoy’ them first. I put aldara on them for a few days and that seems to do the trick. I’ve had to buy a neck cradle so she doesn’t bite the wounds and burn her mouth- this is working fantastically and she doesn’t mind it at all- she even lies down with it on. I bandage her tail up so she doesn’t swish it onto healthy skin.
Still got a long way to go but I think in a few months time she will be a different horse entirely! I’ve even started riding her again and am so happy that I can finally get back in the saddle.

many thanks to the OP- you’ve given us hope after years of failed treatment.

 

[ycbm]

I'm glad it's going well for you. Remind me, is this the horse which was going to be put to sleep?
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[onemoretime]

Several types, GS. One occult, several verruchal, three balls.

I'm wondering what to do now re stress. He's four and every new experience is going to stress him to some extent. He didn't seem to be a stressy horse, but he obviously internalizes it.

I'm considering something immune boosting, maybe a sarcoid herbal mix.

Just a though I am not saying it will work but it certainly wont do any harm. I feed Equinox supplement just the original to my mare. She doesn't suffer from sarcoids fortunately but on the adverts for Equinox supplement on Facebook a lady said she had been feeding it to her horse and the sarcoids dropped of her horse. Might be worth a try, it is a good supplement and does have an immune boost in it.

 

[Willem17]

I'm glad it's going well for you. Remind me, is this the horse which was going to be put to sleep?
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Yes, she was booked to have the hunt come down. So glad I didn’t now. Thanks for everything I really mean it- literally a life saver.

how is your horse now?

 

[ycbm]

Yes, she was booked to have the hunt come down. So glad I didn’t now. Thanks for everything I really mean it- literally a life saver.

how is your horse now?

He's five, he's completely clear and when he gets anything that looks suspicious to me he sorts it for himself. I'm hopeful he's got immunity now.
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