PSA of the Season: Today we removed some melanomas from a very sweet gray horse who hasn’t been dealt the best hand in the world, it seems.
This picture shows a melanoma on the inside of a stifle just below a very large blood vessel.
This is a very frustrating disease process for owners and veterinarians alike as treatment options are limited and can be very expensive. For as long as many of us can remember the thought has been “they aren’t bothering the horse so just monitor the bumps”.
However, an impassioned lecture by Dr. Knottenbelt of Equine Medical Solutions Ltd. could convert just about anyone into believing that we should treat these more aggressively, before scenarios like this leg develop or at least while they are as small as possible.
If these tumours were on dogs we would never leave them alone. We would know that a percentage would behave very badly, and likely contribute to the lesions we often suspect are lurking inside our gray horses.
PSA point? Be vigilant with your grays!
And help us get rid of these tumors before they have the opportunity to cause more significant problems.
Millington Equine
