Early this morning, I inspected the scar from 18" incision
left on my two-year-old prospect's rib cage after the removal three weeks ago of
a lump that had grown to baseball size. I can only say that, after this
experience, I will gladly spend the money for a biopsy at the first sign of a
growth. This particular cyst, we have learned, started from a trauma under the
skin, probably from a parasite or insect bite that her body had attempted to
wall off. As the lump grew, one of the lymph nodes in her flank began to enlarge
as a result of its efforts to fight off the original invasion. Fortunately, the
lump did not affect the muscle and contained no cancerous cells. After $800
(CDN) in surgery and followups, along with a lot more handling than my
youngsters normally experience, I have a healthy filly who has learned not to
kick or bite when people pay extra attention to parts she would rather have left
alone.
If I have learned one thing from this episode, it is that
not all lumps are created equal and early diagnosis can save a great deal of
money and heartbreak - especially considering that my husband and I had
contemplated putting our only sweepstakes
nominated filly down if she could not look forward to a happy, healthy
existence.
I encourage anyone who sees mysterious lumps develop
on their horses to consult a vet as soon as possible to determine exactly what
they're dealing with. As an aside, I have a close friend who has successfully
treated small sarcoids with topical applications of garlic oil. Fool that I am,
I let Mariah's lump go too long because we were so very short of money this
summer. Ultimately, it would have been much cheaper and less traumatic to have
dealt with the problem earlier, when it first started to show.
In a similar vein, I feel very grateful to the wonderful
crew of equine practitioners available to us in Central Alberta. They are a
treasure.
