Oh b*gger, Ziggy has a sarcoid

[Jane&Ziggy]

Well, on the good side, the remedial farrier came today and put a pair of racehorse aluminium shoes on Ziggy and said his feet look great - and they do - much more upright and neater.

On the bad side, he tore his chestnut last week (on the same leg, of course) and it began to look swollen, and today the vet came and confirmed he has a really nasty fly-transmitted sarcoid there.

It is at the top of the chestnut so no skin to spare, broad based so can't be ringed, and looks angry and has split. It is very ugly. I have silver spray to keep the flies off until the Blood Root cream (is that right?) comes, then I have to treat it, which is chemotherapy I guess. If the cream doesn't answer he will have to go to the practice to be lasered.

Poor Zigs, it is a horrid looking thing the size of a conker and really gross. However, on the positive side:

(1) it gives him no pain;
(2) unlike the little bumpy melanomas under his tail, it will not metastasise;
(3) treatment is available, although if the vet is to be believed it is entirely random!

And the biggest positive of all -

I CAN RIDE HIM AGAIN!

So although I am cheesed off on his behalf, I am happy on mine.

Today he saw the farrier (2 hours) the trimmer (30 mins) and the vet (30 mins) and was an :angel: for all of them and they all said how lovely he is. He is very chilled at present and so fond of me, when people are treating him he rests his nose on the back of my neck and tickles me with his whiskers. My trimmer Trevor said today that he wished all his clients were effective horse owners like me, and I said what do you mean, and he said, "You love your horse and are nice to him, but you don't take any nonsense and he does what you say."

I think it's all Ziggy personally, he is just a little saint. How I love that pony.

 

[Joyscarer]

I'm so chuffed you've got the go ahead to ride again. When I think back to the worry and conflicting thoughts as all this came to light...

Get Ziggy with his posh shoes! Is there any further advice as to when you can return to barefoot?

What type of sarcoid is it that Ziggy has? At least you've caught it early and are cracking on with effective treatment.

 

[Skib]

Have a lovely time riding him Jane. Now we are both happy!

 

[OwnedbyChanter]

I have had a great day at work and the yard but this pleased me more than anything else.

So happy you for and Ziggy the bad news bit I ignored and tried to focus on the good. :dance::dance:

 

[GingerRuby]

Great news about being able to ride him again Jane, and we still have plenty of summer left!

So sorry, have nothing useful to add about blood root cream as have never had to use it (touches wood), hope it works well. There is an interesting thread on HHO using toothpaste on sarcoids which may be worth a look.

 

[bitsnpieces]

Great news that you can ride again and that the Zigster is happy in himself!!!!

It is a shame that he now has a sarcoid, but it's treatable so that in itself is a pretty good thing!

:dance:

 

[sjp1]

Tobes had several sarcoids. He had two when I bought him - really, why did I buy that horse, sarcoids, real attitude .........!!! The two increased to five, but I chose not to go down the route of the Liverpool cream option etc. To my mind sarcoids are a sign of a bad immune system and if you burn one off and don't remedy the root cause, either it will return or another will return in its place.

I figured once Tobes was settled and secure - he had had four different owners and homes in the year prior to me - they would go.

I put him on Global Herbs Sarc-ex but the combination of the Sarc Ex and their Immuplus was what caused them to go. He has small bumps under the skin where they used to be now, but those have not increased in two years now and are under the skin.

Tobes can be very stressy and unsettled with change. I was concerned over his yard moves and worried that they would come back, but so far they haven't.

Personally I would not go down the route of the blood root cream, and certainly not the Liverpool cream treatment - there have been many case histories of the Liverpool cream treatment horses growing back sarcoids.

In my very limited experience, I think boosting the immune system is the least invasive and most helpful remedy of all for sarcoids - but I know others differ. Added to which, Tobes is an extremely bad patient and he does now trust me to treat his various ailments. I don't however think if I was causing him pain that he would put that same trust in me, and I truly am not sure that it works in any event - not long term.

 

[ladywiththebaby]

Yay!! :dance: And booooooo :cry:

Great that you can ride again though - you haven't lost the summer after all! Woohoo! How come he saw the farrier AND the trimmer?

At least with a sarcoid in that place it shouldn't cause him any bother rubbing on tack, rugs etc? My friend is a vet and has been doing research on sarcoids. Her research showed that if a sarcoid didn't return in the first year then it was unlikely that it would. Those that did, would often return over and over :-(

I have also heard good things about Sarc-ex. Poor old Jane and Ziggy. You have had MORE than your fair share of vets :devil:

 

[sjp1]

My friend is a vet and has been doing research on sarcoids. Her research showed that if a sarcoid didn't return in the first year then it was unlikely that it would. Those that did, would often return over and over :-(

:

Thats really interesting - is she producing a paper on it - would LOVE to see her conclusions etc., if she is?