Equine Sarcoids In Horses
Sarcoid • Equine Veterinary
From: Equestrian and Horse | Horse Ailments
Equine Sarcoids In Horses
Sarcoids are a form of skin disease which come in different shapes and sizes depending on the type of sarcoid that it is. There are six different forms of sarcoid each looks and acts slightly differently, while some will cause no problems and stay small and unobtrusive others can ulcerate and become very unpleasant to look at and deal with.
The Cause Of Sarcoids
The Bovine Papilloma Virus (BPV) is thought to be responsible for sarcoids in most cases.
Areas Most Affected
Sarcoids affect the skin and soft tissues of the horses body, commonly found on the inner thigh, sheath and girth areas. Problem areas are the eyes and over or near a joint.
Horses Affected
All horses can be affected with sarcoids and once a horse has one they are likely to get more, sarcoids by nature will tend to multiply in the summer and increase in size during the winter. A horse that has sarcoids is prone to them spreading more quickly if they cut or graze themselves and so quick treatment is essential to prevent the sarcoids from spreading to other areas on that horse.
Treatment
There are many treatments available today but not all are successful and with the added problem that once treated if one single sarciod cell is left in the soft tissue they will recur and are often more aggressively than before.
Some forms of sarcoid will self treat themselves, for example nodular sarcoids are known to simply fall off of there own accord.
Other treatments may include surgically removing them, topical treatments, cryotherepy, chemotherapy and rubber bands, consult with your vet who will be able to advise you on the best course of treatment according to the type of sarcoid.
Types Of Sarcoid
- Occult sarcoids are a small round piece of skin with small lumps starting to come through.
- Verruse sarcoids are when the the lumps within the occult circle become bigger, firmer and more defined.
- Nodular sarcoids are lumps which form under the skin, they can either stay under the skin or form into ulcerating lumps/ nodules on the skin surface.
- Fibrolastic sarcoids are larger in size than nodular ones and they hang down away from the skin often ulcerating and bleeding.
- Mixed sarcoids are a collection of occult, verruse and nodular all within a circular patch of skin.
- Malevolent sarcoids form on the surface of the skin they often hang down and are very ulcerous frequently bleeding and can grow quite large, they are the most aggressive of the sarcoids.
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