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[Joan Deutsch]

Since most grey horses develop melanomas, I figured that one would crop up on Grace soon. We discovered several under her tail bone when she got her fall checkup last week. Does anyone know much about this "benign" cancer? Fortunately, melanomas aren't generally as serious in horses as they are in people.

[cassyopia]

don't think I would say benign cancer since they do grow and multiply over the years. The melanomas will be what takes her life because if you can find them now there and see them there are more inside. I have seen grey horses with them live well into the 20's and some surgeries can be done to remove them if they are small but if they entangle an artery or some thing major like that you just have to wait it out. A friend of mine had a gelding with one it was wrapped around his throat and was visibly growing every year til it made it hard for him to breath. He did get euthanized when he was about 17 or 18 yrs old. the lump showed itself years before that. When I first saw the horse the lump was about the size of a foot ball. It was sad because he was a very good horse nothing bothered him. It just depends on the horse and location of the tumor, growth rate on how long they live comfortably. I hope yours goes a very long time.

[Juliua]

I had a horse with melanoma for 16 years (he was 27 years old when we layed him to rest). He was eventually put down a year ago and yes it was because of the tumors but he had a wonderful life. He "was" quite high maintenance for the last 10 years, but it gave him many years of being my pet and close friend. The tumors deformed his mouth causing me to switch him to liquid feed (watered down complete feed with warm water), magnesium suppliments (to keep moisture in his gut). These horses get tumors throughout their digestive systems, therefore their intestines go here and there to go around the growths. He got tumors all in his sheath which required maintenance there once a week. His tail eventually lost most of it's hair. He started having circulation issues in his legs the last six months of his life and I used Dynamites "Miracle Clay" as a poltice to relieve the edema and pressure where ever it would accumulate. Magnum was allowed to eat fresh grass when possible (increased fluids in his system).
Long story short, these horses are amazing, they persevere through all this and are still so loving. I still dream about Magnum and would continue to care for him if the tumors hadn't completely blocked his intestines...that's why he was put down. My vet had prepared me that most often these horses die from a very painful colic, I'm thankful we caught Magnum's before it got bad.

Let me know if you have anymore questions.

[Joan Deutsch]

Juliua, Welcome to the forum and thanks so much for the details on your horse! Sounds like you took superb care of him. Was he a gray horse -- and what breed? Did your vet take pictures that showed the tumors in his intestines? Our rescue mare has always had loose manure so I'll have to ask the vet if tumors could be causing the problem.

[Rngovvet]

I used to know a person who had Andalusians. One of her stallions had melanomas. She treated him with cimetidine. You have to do it when they don't have to look good for a while. At first, you don't see anything, but the little tumors die from the inside out, then they rupture and look like open wounds. He healed up really nice.

[gntlmnrancher]

JOAN have you tried the Digest 911? One scoop a day with her grain would probably solidify her poop.
Welcome to the forum JULIUA!

[brasstax]

Hi,

New to the forum. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss these types of issues.

I have a 6 year old grey Arabian gelding. I found his first tumor under his tail at just shy of two years old and had it biopsied. It was cancerous. Since then he developed 5 more, in his throat latch, on his neck, sheath and between his back legs. He his been on Cimetidine for almost 4 years. I measure and track the tumors monthly on a spreadsheet. He has developed two more since being on Cimetidine, one on is face and one up his nose. Both his parents are grey. My vet has mentioned trial testing of a off brand use of a drug on dogs that has had some success with tumors. There has been interest in testing on horses, but for whatever reason it is not been made available for trial.

We did a blood test a few weeks ago. A little out of desperation at finding at least some baseline to watch for changes. It came back normal. I have researched the topical treatment options, everything from the home remedy of Crest toothpaste, to the homeopathic thuja, to the prescription Xterra (for sarcoids) and even the risky "black salves". My vet cautioned to look at each tumor specifically to decide what type of treatment would be best. Not only are there multiple types of tumors (sarcoma, melanomas, and squamous cell carcinomas, etc.) but in places where there is a lot of movement, such as inbetween the front or back legs, there is much more possibility of rubbing and aggravating the site if the tumor is removed surgically. If the tumor (or another) regrows in that area, now compromised, it can come back larger. He told me about a horse that had to be euthanized after the regrown tumor site grew so large, the wound would not close.

I worry most about the internal tumors. Currently, I know of no other (perscription) internal treatments other than Cimetidine. The good news is that there are virtually no known side affects and it is relatively cheap (approx. $25/month) and my horse seems to have no problem eating them just crushed in his food, although it does necessitate feeding grain twice a day. The downside is that it doesn't always work and and you have to keep using it indefinitely. In my case, the tumors he already had have not grown, but only on has reduced in size, and as I mentioned, he has grown two more. I have heard of people using some homeopathic oral remedies, but only anecdotally. I would be curious to know if anyone else has had any experience with these types of treatments. Obviously, proving whether or not a horse is responding to treatments internally is a much more difficult task.

[Juliua]

I was asked what breed Magnum was. He was a grey Arabian gelding, but I've known greys of numerous breeds afflicted. It's really cool to see the different treatments listed here as my vet only gave me three options, leave them alone, surgically remove or treat with a med that made the horses life horrible and sick (I can't remember the name since THAT would not be an option). His first tumor showed up when he was about 5 (he was raised from a yearling within the family) and we did what we could to keep them in check for a lot of years, but at some point it became too intrusive to his quality of life. The internal tumors became too many and too large (he had a rectal exam every year to evaluate his internal infestation) and the external tumors also took over. I whs I could show you a picture of him at the end, you would have never guessed he was sick. I applaud you all for caring for your charges and being intuned and willing to help them live healthier, longer, happier lives.

[Joan Deutsch]

An East Coast veterinarian recommends removing and treating melanomas in horses. I guess I better raise the issue with our vet about several that Grace has under her tail.

http://horsetalk.co.nz/2012/07/09/get-on-and-treat-equine-melanomas-expert-urges/