Sarcoids

We learned a new word today - sarcoid. Jorgen, Lauren's pony, has a growth between his buttocks. Nice topic, eh? One interesting cure we heard of, by chance, was that a friend's horse also has a sarcoid which the vet is treating with a bloodroot compound rather than surgery. We are scheduled for surgery on Jorgen this coming Tuesday. I am considering having the vet biopsy it first, rather than remove it and try the expensive (yet not as much as surgery) compound. My internet search turned up many references (including veterinary websites and vet websites) to the successful use of this salve to cure sarcoids.

The girls learn a lot from direct care of these animals. We have discussed a neighbor's horse after taking care of it for the weekend. The horse is skin and bones, and balding rather than shedding. The owner feeds lots of oats and blames the loss of weight on having had a case of colic. The girls and I know colic doesn't cause weight loss alone, and have learned that oats are for energy (they're carbohydrates), not weight gain. I've discussed with the owner that something was wrong with the horse, and she is calling the vet. We're interested to see the results.