And what would you do to remove them?
I noticed last week that my mare has what looks like a skin tag (no idea if that’s what it’s called in horses) on the base of her ear. She wasn’t hugely impressed with me touching it; she didn’t really mind me touching it lightly but any sort of pressure and she let me know she didn’t appreciate it.
Any idea what it is and how I would go about getting rid of it?
Yes, although given the location that might also be a sarcoid. I don’t usually do anything about them except use caution when clipping around them. If it is an issue or continues to grow you can ask your vet.
[QUOTE=Highflyer;7223949]
Yes, although given the location that might also be a sarcoid. I don’t usually do anything about them except use caution when clipping around them. If it is an issue or continues to grow you can ask your vet.[/QUOTE]
How would I discern between a skin tag and a sarcoid on an evaluation basis, before calling in a vet for a “might be”?
A picture would really help, as horses have a lot of options for skin abnormalities…
That being said, most things that would appear like a skin tag are likely not terribly harmful. For example, if it is a sarcoid, it is worth monitoring but most of the time not something that needs immediate treatment.
Do you have the vet coming for any routine care (vaccinations/dental/etc) in the next month? Just based on your description, I’d put it on a list of “when the vet is here anyway doing something else, I’ll also have them look at this ear” rather than “a vet needs to be called to look at this right now.”
[QUOTE=RS;7224000]
A picture would really help, as horses have a lot of options for skin abnormalities…
That being said, most things that would appear like a skin tag are likely not terribly harmful. For example, if it is a sarcoid, it is worth monitoring but most of the time not something that needs immediate treatment.
Do you have the vet coming for any routine care (vaccinations/dental/etc) in the next month? Just based on your description, I’d put it on a list of “when the vet is here anyway doing something else, I’ll also have them look at this ear” rather than “a vet needs to be called to look at this right now.”[/QUOTE]
I was thinking the same thing re: a photo; I’ll be sure to get one next time I get out to the barn. The lesion is small (about the size of the eraser on the tip of a pencil), pinkish, and smooth.
Are you sure it’s not a tick?
[QUOTE=carp;7224023]
Are you sure it’s not a tick?[/QUOTE]
The lump is pink. Wouldn’t a tick be brown/beige/grey/etc?
I had a horse with one on his ear. There was a scrape above it, so it looked like he had scraped his ear and then just developed the tag. It never bothered him, and he had it for 25 years. His was skin colored, so in that part of his body, blackish.
Yes they can. I use the compound W wart remover, the one with the touch up stick wand, and it works on skin tags on horses, if it’s not near the eyes or anything delicate. I have a friend who uses it on her drafts/ ears, since all of them get growths in their ears, not skin tags. But I learned from seeing her use the compound w that it works great, and “freezes” off the skin tags as well.
I don’t use the liquid compound w. The freezing off type works great.
And it’s pretty easy to tell the difference between a skin tag and a tick. Ticks have legs. which move when you touch the tick.
[QUOTE=Beentheredonethat;7224062]
I had a horse with one on his ear. There was a scrape above it, so it looked like he had scraped his ear and then just developed the tag. It never bothered him, and he had it for 25 years. His was skin colored, so in that part of his body, blackish.[/QUOTE]
I don’t think there’s a scratch there, but I didn’t have a chance to look super closely since I discovered it in the middle of a photo shoot. She’s a bay, but the lesion is pink, not darker like her skin.
[QUOTE=shezabrazenmare;7224077]Yes they can. I use the compound W wart remover, the one with the touch up stick wand, and it works on skin tags on horses, if it’s not near the eyes or anything delicate. I have a friend who uses it on her drafts/ ears, since all of them get growths in their ears, not skin tags. But I learned from seeing her use the compound w that it works great, and “freezes” off the skin tags as well.
I don’t use the liquid compound w. The freezing off type works great.
And it’s pretty easy to tell the difference between a skin tag and a tick. Ticks have legs. which move when you touch the tick.[/QUOTE]
Thanks, I will give this a try!
I didn’t get out a magnifying glass or anything, but it looked pretty clearly like a lump, not a tick. Especially with the colour.
[QUOTE=Only By Night;7224034]
The lump is pink. Wouldn’t a tick be brown/beige/grey/etc?[/QUOTE]
I hadn’t seen pink ones before either. I thought my liver chestnut had a skin tag on her jaw… Nope… TICK!
My paint gelding has two of them one on each side of his neck. When I went to touch one of them it started to bleed so I’m not sure about using the compound W?
My gelding had several skin tags on his body. I checked with my vet and he confirmed they were just skin tags and nothing more sinister. But they were just black not pink and did not bleed when handled and certainly didn’t cause him any discomfort when touched. I tied a horse hair around the base of them and they simply dropped off after a week or so.
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