Doing Battle Against Sarcoids

Find out how to treat the wart-like growths once and for all.

5/22/2007

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While grooming your horse you discover a gray, wart-like growth on your horse’s skin. It doesn’t seem to be causing your horse any pain, but it’s not attractive and, after monitoring it for a few weeks, you determine that’s it’s continuing to grow in size. Is it cancer? Is it a skin disease? Is it curable?

Chances are it’s probably a sarcoid. These non-cancerous skin tumors appear on horses of all colors and breeds. They come in two forms: a nubby gray surface that has a sort of cauliflower appearance and a flatter fleshy type that may eventually resemble the look of proud flesh. To confirm that a skin growth is indeed a sarcoid, your vet will perform a simple skin biopsy. Once that’s the diagnosis, there are several treatments available.

One choice is surgery, however, the procedure must remove all affected skin and that may be difficult. Any sarcoid cells that remain will simply return. Cryosurgery utilizes liquid nitrogen. Applied carefully, it freezes the sarcoid which then dies and sloughs off. The process often kills off hair follicles, too, so that a bare spot remains or the hair that does return is white. Finally, there is a pair of newer approaches. One is to use chemotherapy drugs and inject them locally into and around the sarcoid. Another is the use of a topical cream containing natural alkaloids and other ingredients. The substances cause a localized immune response that causes the horse’s body to reject the sarcoid tissue.

Not every treatment works for every sarcoid, which means you may have to do some experimentation. Keep in mind, too, that regardless of your treatment plan the sarcoid area will look worse before it eventually looks better. So don’t do battle with a sarcoid a month before a major horse show. As the sarcoid dies and peels away from the skin, it will leave behind an oozing lesion that requires some daily care until it heals. But eventually the majority of sarcoids can be defeated once you and your vet come up with a war plan.

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Doing Battle Against Sarcoids

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Holly    Monroe, LA 6/29/2011 7:55:26 PM We have been treating our horses sarcoid with Xxtera that was about the size of a quarter for a 1 1/2 weeks. It was the size of a quarter but over night it became a large oozing lesion very fleshy. What treatment do you recommend to keep area clean? We continue to use the Xxtera but the area needs to be cleaned first before we apply the Xxtera? Is it best to keep this area open. Beth    York, MA 4/20/2011 11:09:42 AM hi as I was grooming my horse today I found a horse grey cauliflower looking wart it is on her back leg. and I am very concerned about it also she has also has a red fleshy one under her stomach I am very worried would you say they are most properly sarcoides? Mendi    Boise, ID 2/7/2011 4:49:45 PM I cured my horse's cauliflower-looking sarcoid with a mixture of equal parts turmeric, dry mustard, and zinc-oxide-containing diaper rash lotion. I put that on every other day or so for three months. It got worse before it got better, but now it is gone completely and has been for two years. I also started giving him a zinc-containing horse multi-vitamin once a week. I know it sounds too easy, but it's cheap and you have nothing to lose. It worked for my horse. He also doesn't get scratches any more. Maybe it's the supplement. Olivia    Hillsboro, OR 10/8/2009 9:45:32 AM hmm good idea. my horse has a few very small ones on her face.