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Some people refer to them as warts or angleberries and many research articles liken these to cancer. They affect approximately 6-8% of horses in the UK and there are studies which suggest that breeds of equine may be more susceptible than others to sarcoids, but no evidence that the colour or gender of your equine may increase susceptibility. No official study or scientific evidence supports the theory that genetics, like with human cancer, can play a large role in whether your equine is susceptible or resistant to sarcoids.

Sarcoids are most commonly found in the eye, nose and cheek, scrotum and sheath. They appear to be more likely in areas where there has been some skin damage, even if the damage is too slight to see easily. There is no evidence to suggest that sarcoids are contagious. 

 

Foals are in a high risk category, especially if the mare has suffered from them. Once an equine reaches about 15 years old the risk is very minimal if they have not had sarcoids previously.

 

Sarcoids are not age related and can appear at any age. The characteristics of sarcoids change seasonally - Sarcoids multiply during the summer so try to keep the flies at bay as much as possible as they tend to be attracted to the lesions and this can distress the horse considerably. They are also easily infected as a result. During the winter sarcoids tend to grow rather than multiply.

Sarcoids have been likened to skin cancer in humans – it affects the skin and tissue immediately under it. Sarcoids, however, do not affect the internal organs or muscle tissue and can lay dormant for years before starting to spread etc.

Sarcoids very rarely kills the equine.

There are 6 different types of sarcoids:

·         Occult – characterised by hair loss around the affected area where the skin may become scaly, sometimes turning grey. Occult sarcoids can morph into one of the other types listed below, especially if ‘traumatised’ e.g. you attempt to treat them yourself, your equine takes to scratching the affected area etc.

·         Verrucose – The affected areas of skin produce raised dark and nobbly spots that have uneven edges and boundaries, like a larger version of a human mole. These areas are prone to ulcerations and can spread quickly.

·         Nodular – firm nodular skin lumps which is a benign growth with no aggravation of the skin other than the appearance of the lump. As a result this type of sarcoid can be easily removed by your vet.

·         Fibroplastic – red, raw and ulcerated growths that can become cauliflower-like in appearance and bleed easily.

·         Mixed sarcoids – a mixture of two or more of the above may appear. There is some speculation that this happens when a sacroid is becoming more aggressive and changing from one type to another.

·         Malevolent sarcoids - These affect deeper tissue beneath the skin rather than simply trying to protrude. These are a particularly aggressive kind that can ulcerate.

Always ask your vet to examine the equine if you find any skin lesions or lumps as described above. In many cases it may not be sarcoids, but only a biopsy can confirm this and if you try to treat sacroids yourself without consulting your vet you run a high risk of aggravating a sarcoid and encouraging it to morph into a more aggressive sarcoid.

Sacoids cannot be prevented.

Treatment can be difficult because of the nature of sarcoids- they spread quickly and come with a high likihood of recurrence. All treatments are expensive and very few actually rid your horse of sarcoids but can be effective at controlling them.

ALWAYS get the vet to confirm that any lesions or skin condition your equine may have are in fact sarcoids. It is easy to misdiagnose sarcoids because they appear very similar to other skin conditions such as ring worm, warts or proud flesh amongst others.

The actual treatment of sarcoids is as varied as its characteristics and can include:

·         banding with rubber rings

·         surgical removal

·         cryosurgery (freezing)

·         radioactive treatments and chemotherapy treatments

It is essential that you discuss treatments with your vet prior to taking any action. There are many ‘treatments’ easily available on the market or online but most of these do not work and you run the risk of exacerbating the problem rather than helping your horse.

 

As mentioned above, sarcoids very rarely kill an equine and in many cases the sarcoid can never be completely removed. Treatment can usually control the sarcoids rather than cure them.

en.wikipedia.org