ridecamp@endurance.net: Grey arabs and melanoma

Grey arabs and melanoma

Lucy Chaplin Trumbull (elsie@calweb.com)
Mon, 18 Aug 1997 11:19:37 -0700

Nikki wrote (rather alarmingly):
> The rate of melanoma, the most worst form of deadly cancer, is much
> higher in grey Arabs than any other. The rate is something like 80% of
> all grey Arab geldings (I remember the article I read specified
> geldings) have some form of cancer by the time they reach 14 years of
> age. I believe that may have been and EQUUS magazine article.

Agh. How come we now have two grey arabs (one a gelding) and I've
never heard this before????!!! My husband is extremely sad about
this, having only just got his first horse - he now thinks Provo's
going to drop dead.

So, in the spirit of "highly-technical" and "not anecdotal at all"
research, can I have a quick head count of grey arab owners who've
never had this problem, versus grey arab owners with melanomas.

Please respond directly to me, and I'll sum up to the list.

If it looks bad, I'll not mention it to Patrick. If it's good,
I'll be able to use it as ammunition to put his mind at rest.

> The areas of the body more susceptible are: on the smooth skin of the
> tail dock, the sheath, the girth area, the nearly hairless areas of the
> abdomen alongside the leg attachments, and the lower legs and face. The
> facial areas are prone to cancers of all kinds because of the variety of
> skin types there. Keep a lookout for signs and have them treated
> immediately if you find something. They look like black nodules.

How d'you tell them apart from normal lumps and bumps - particularly
around the muzzle, where my mare has loads of odd bobbles?

-- 
**************************************************************
Lucy Chaplin Trumbull - elsie@calweb.com
Displaced English person in Sacramento, CA 


http://www.calweb.com/~elsie
http://www.calweb.com/~trouble
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