FREE EQUINE
VETERINARY ADVICE
Over the past five years, vet Stephen Ashdown has written many articles, spoken on equine matters and contributed widely to horse magazines.

Here he reproduces in the form of questions and answers about 100 topics, all of them common problems which afflict horses.

To access Topics click on Vet Advice Menu.

Sarcoid Query
Q: My 8-year-old Arab is afflicted by flat-based sarcoids. Some older ones appear to be healing well and are about to drop off thanks to a cream I've been using, prescribed by a vet.

However three more have appeared. One, on the inside of his hind leg, is very large the size of my palm. What else can be done to remove the sarcoids.

A: Saroids can be very difficult to treat, especially because no one is really sure why they appear or what is the initial cause. Some people think that sacroids are started off by viruses although this is little evidence for this theory.

There are different forms of sarcoid and the reason for this is also poorly understood. However they can all be treated in a similar way depending on their physical size and location.

The biggest problem is that they can grow back more strongly when they are removed surgically. The trouble with these lumps is that they are likely to keep on appearing, particularly if there is a further challenge to the immune system.

Often it is difficult to determine what exactly is weakening the immune system. In one very difficult recent case I treated, it was probably liver fluke parasites from marshy land, which were weakening the horse. Once this problem was addressed the horse began to respond well. The use of herbal formula to help support the immune system can help a great deal.

We find that around 70% of cases treated with alternative means to improve immune response resolve completely, Good feeding helps and supplements of minerals and vitamins are important to address dietary imbalances. Many herbs are good at boosting the immune system-the best know being Echinacea.

However we prefer to use combinations of herbs that support the body and antioxidants, which help the digestive system and liver. Many veterinary cases are dealt with by Dr Derek Knottenbelt at Liverpool University, using special cytotoxic cream that kills cells.

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