SARCOID (Equine Sarcoid)
in Horses and Ponies
An Introduction
This condition is a problematic disease. Sarcoids are hard, usually round and sometimes pendulous growths that occur in the skin of horses and ponies. There is also a much flatter type, that presents looking like roughened skin in a circumscribed patch. The growths behave as if they are benign, as far as the horse itself is concerned but are very invasive locally and usually recur (with a vengeance) after removal. They can sometimes exist, in non-critical positions, without ever causing a problem. However, they often occur in axilla and groin and can be very troublesome in these areas. Also, around the eye, if they continue to grow, they can cause serious problems for the horse. When sore, wherever they are on the body, they can present a fly problem in the summer months.
The cause is not fully established but connections have been made with virus and/or vaccination.
In natural medicine, we have been privileged to have treated a great many Sarcoid cases, over the years. In the majority of these, symptoms and signs appear either to have been well-controlled or even abolished in some. Unfortunately, a proportion of cases stubbornly resist all treatment efforts.
Treatment options used, often combined, have been veterinary homeopathy, herbs and natural feeding.
For a fuller account of this topic, see:
