Ulcerated Melanomas, advice? Also in Vet.

LittleBluebell

LittleBluebell

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My mare is having some problems with a melanoma which has ulcerated on the underside of her tail, where it joins her back end. I have been cleaning it every day with warm salty water, as advised by my vet, but it is manky again the next time i go down (she is seen to twice a day). She does have other ones, but this is the only one irritating her, the vet has advised that they are not cancerous.

It is also making her itch worse than before, she is really leaning on the fencing to get a good scratch, which is making it bleed. The summer is alot worse, with the fllies around.

We tried cemeditine last summer, had no effect, and she was prescribed a course of anti bitoics a couple of months ago, which also had no effect. I have just been trying my best to keep it clean for her.

I just don't know what to do about them any more. Any advice greatfully received.

Thanks

L
 
try i product called stop-it-all. had a friend with a horse, had exactly the same problem...healed over within a week and no more scratching...x
 
I thought melanomas are cancerous? Surely a melanoma is a form of malignant skin tumour and the benign lumps horses often get are sarcoids? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

I sympathise as my 6yo mare is covered with melanomas, a couple of which (under tail, on chest) regularly get ulcerated. The vet and I have now decided to surgically remove the problem ones, is this an option for your girl? I've found the best thing to keep infection under control is dermobian green which I've finally exhausted my last supplies of and now can't get (GRRRRRRR!!!). Sounds like you have already tried most other options.
 
I had exactly the same problem with my boy who I lost to melanomas eventually last summer.

I cleaned them every day with a dilute solution of hibiscrub. I used cotton wool wiped and threw aay until it wiped away clean.

When it was really bad once the vet gave me some anti biotics, she thought the flies had infected them. That was a few summers ago. To be honest, I don't think they did much. As long as I cleaned them every day they stayed controllable.

Melanomas are benign. It's not the actualy melanoma that's the problem, it's the fact that they can block them up and stop their system working properly that's the problem. (slightly sore still sorry
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I sympathise, I had an old connemara mare that had huge melanomas
under her tail, so big that her tail stuck out horizontally. The summer
was awful with her scratching her bum and flattening the fences, plus
flies laying eggs. Hers would periodically ulcerate too.

Only thing that really worked was the old Dermobian, if you can
get hold of any somehow. Also had to run electric fencing all round
the post and rail to stop her scratching.
 
Melanomas are tumours but the vast majority are benign. That just means they don't spread through the body to form other tumours in other places. But they can still grow and become difficult to manage. Take care with daily hibiscrub - it might be too harsh for an area that is already under attack. I've posted a link in vets that may be some help.
 
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