Should I buy a grey Andalusian with a big melanoma?

[Graymaresrule]

[QUOTE=yaya;8551524]
Melanomas are a crapshoot. Just depends on how willing you are to risk it.

I’ve seen horses live for years with them (knew a mare that kept having foals even after needing a permanent tracheostomy because melanomas had blocked her windpipe), but also knew a horse that dropped dead because of an internal melanoma in his chest bigger than his heart. Had no external tumors.

I won’t even look at grey horses when buying. I just don’t want to deal with the possibility. Just a personal quirk.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=fuzzybee;8557471]I would not buy a horse with a melanoma. For the same reason, I would not buy a gray horse, either.

My first horse was a bay mare…she developed a melanoma on the saddle area when she was around 7 years old. We had it removed, and that was the only indication of a problem for years and years. But as she got older, she developed two other smallish bumps, though they were always hair covered and never broke open and oozed like a melanoma…long story short, I lost her to colic at age 23 and the vet suspected a “fatty tumor” had wrapped around her intestine, leading to the colic. I don’t know if melanomas and fatty tumors are related, but I’m willing to believe she had many internal melanomas that had grown over the years.

So no, I would not start off with an already known cancerous growth on a horse.[/QUOTE]
My mare Honey coliced and the vet suspended a lipoma. She was 30, a dun Connemara cross.

Beeza was in her 20"s when we put her down to encroaching melanomas and quality of life issues. She was gray.

Sophie her daughter is also gray a d 15 years old. We removed one small tumor from her vulva several years ago and I’m not aware of any others.

It’s a crap shoot but so are horses in general.

[miss_machine]

[QUOTE=california_chik;8551487]
I finally found a horse I love and he has a huge (egg size) melanoma on his tail… Any advice? Should I buy him or not if everything else checks out OK?? Owner said he bought him with that (5 years ago) and who knows how long he had it before. It has not increased in size according to him. Price is $17,000, solid second level, possibly 3rd, and he is 15 yo.
really nice horse…[/QUOTE]

Has the mass been biopsied? I would not purchase a horse with a mass without taking a biopsy to know specifically, what the mass is. I would not take the owner’s word regarding a mass on a 17k purchase… or a $500 purchase for that matter.

Melanomas can be frustrating because many more may appear. They can also reappear after removal. They can be removed or crushed, and there growth can be slowed with pretty inexpensive medication. However, there is no guarantee that others won’t appear (often around the tail and rectal area) and that they won’t have to be removed or treated and/or cause issues.

Personally, I would not pay 17k for a 15 yr old second level horse with a mass. That’s just my opinion, though.

[Daisyesq]

@oldernewbie;8551921

Some other things to consider:

1. You may have trouble getting insurance
2. Make sure that your vet checks over the whole horse very carefully, including an internal exam of his eyes. They can pop up anywhere there’s pigment, including the cornea.

Melanoma will be excluded from insurance, when you apply. But you wouldn’t insure a 15 year old horse that cost $17,000 anyway. Better just save the premiums, and pay vet care out of pocket.

[oldernewbie]

[QUOTE=Daisyesq;8562693]
Melanoma will be excluded from insurance, when you apply. But you wouldn’t insure a 15 year old horse that cost $17,000 anyway. Better just save the premiums, and pay vet care out of pocket.[/QUOTE]

That’s exactly what I did with mine as soon as it was clear that this was going to be an ongoing problem - and he was only 5. But I thought I would mention it since the insurance co. Could exclude a wide range of claims not just those for the tail. Not the first thing you think of re: melanomas.

[piedmontfields]

[QUOTE=miss machine;8562250]
Personally, I would not pay 17k for a 15 yr old second level horse with a mass. That’s just my opinion, though.[/QUOTE]

I agree. I think you could do better for the price or your options. If you love the horse, be prepared for some health heartbreak and pay less to start with.

[Magicboy]

My vet is willing to remove the quite large melanoma from under my geldings tail…PRE, 18, strong and very energetic. Not sure it’s really neceaasry to remove it… Vet says the horse probably doesn’t know it’s there. I expect him to die with it not from it. Not to say melanomas aren’t a worry but if the horse really suits you, go for it.