Warts...another question

[Mona]

OK, I know the topic of warts has come up here often, and my limited experience has matched what has been written here on the forum, in that warts are basically harmless, and highly contagious. This is what brings me to my question...

Earlier this Spring, I noticed a wart on one of my yearling fillies. It is a single wart on her face. I expected her to grow more of them, but she never. She is in with her 2 yearling sisters, and has been with them for life. She has not come into contact with anything that they have not. They were all in with the main group of mares until early May when I got my stallion home, at which time I moved them to a different pen to ensure there would be no breeding going on through the fence! The fillies are now sharing a fenceline with my yearling colt who is in the adjoining pen. So prior to May 8th, they all had contact with every horse I owned, and now only with a yearling colt through the fence.

My question/concern is, why does only one filly have a wart? Why only one wart? Why have none of the other horses in the same pen or those that have had direct contact with her, not gotten any? I mean I am thankkful...VERY thankful that none of the others do, but am curious as to why the others never developed them from the same source as she got hers, or why they have not gotten any from being in direct contact with her?

Also, I thought by now maybe the wart would have fallen off, or spread, but it hasn't. Will it not happen until/unless the wart is removed or broken open and bleeds? SHOULD I remove it, or leave it be?? I thought they spread even if they were not broken open and/or bleeding??

Here is the wart...only lonely kind of large wart...

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

I have never heard that warts were contagious, at least not hugely so. I've had bunches of colts and fillies all together and only one have warts. I also question if that's a wart... I'm not sure if it truely is one. It doesn't look quite like most that I've seen (absolutely not to say its not one!)... just a little different.

 

[kaykay]

warts are without question contagious. But heres what has happened around here. brought a new horse in with warts. That year 3 came down with them (young horses) none of the mature horses. The next year one mature mare came down with one wart just like your picture. I asked my vet and he said that virus lives in dirt and can go undetected for quite some time. Then a horse comes along and puts its nose right in that spot and warts again. My vet at the time said this is why you will see it come back every year on larger farms with large horse populations. Usually every spring/early summer. None of mine ever got covered like i have seen others. We never had them again once we moved. But i have observed at farms with tons of horses they always have warts in the spring

for people who havent heard of warts its an actual virus

equine papilloma virus has an incubation period of about 60 days. The warts reach maturity after a growth period of four to eight weeks and usually disappear spontaneously about three to four months later. In this respect, they resemble human warts in that one day they can be extremely unpleasant, and then the next will suddenly vanish.

Warts are contagious, although some horses appear more susceptible than others.

Treatment is usually unnecessary and, provided that the warts are not infected, nor causing pain, they should go away on their own, given time. If they are causing a significant problem, consult your vet.

 

[SandyWI]

Equine warts are commonly known as "juvenile warts" because they usually infect horses under three years of age, and usually around one year of age. They come, they look terrible, then they disappear.

I have never seen a mini with them, but I've seen many big horses with them, although none of my own big horses ever had them. However, I've been to training stables and horse farms where the infected horse ran or was pastured freely with other horses and the other horses never came down with them. This is NOT to suggest they are not contagious, but perhaps they are just not highly contagious.

Mona, that wart your horse has does not resemble the warts I have seen on horses infected with this virus. Has a vet checked it out?

 

[Marty]

EWWWWWWWWWW Mona that thing is gross.

I'd rip that nasty puppy off.......... and make it bleed and puss and let everything spill on out of there. It's like a bad ZIT looking for a place to pop. EWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Actually if you cut a raw potato in half, just rub it on and it will fall off. EWWWWWWWWW (again)

EWWWWWWWWWWWW :new_shocked:

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

Blue had a couple of warts when she was a yearling. Belinda told me to pull one off (twist actually) and feed it to her that way her immune system would recognize the virus and get to work. Well, I did just that and her warts were gone in no time.

Also, a MD told me the same thing works in regards to warts for humans about 50% of the time.

 

[Mona]

Thanks everyone for the replies. As for the wart on this filly, no, I have not had a vet look at it. We are pretty much without a vet at this time and have been since December, other than a locum that was coming in once a month this Spring, and is now down to coming a few times a year. As it is, I am 80 miles from the vet and don't want to pay the high fees for a call on such a simple thing as what I feel is a wart. I must admit though, even though to me to looks and feels like a wart, except maybe a little larger, I was slightly concerned that maybe it was some form of Cancer or something, because there was only one, rather than multiple warts. That is why I have been watching it closely for a couple months, to see if it continues to grow, which it has not.

So basically then, am I better off to just leave it as is, or should I actually try ripping it off to induce the conclusion of this episode??

 

[xxs]

It really doesn't look like a wart to me, and it could be a sarcoid. Sarcoids are best treated when they are small. They can go without growing much, then they can suddenly grow to disgusting proportions .

Sarcoids are viral and do tend to spread to other places by flies, if left untreated. But, are not contagious as such.

As far as riping it off...well, I would be very cautious of doing that as it could bleed quite a bit (and I freak out at blood! lol!) If it is a sarcoid, the vet would either freeze it, remove it , or "give" you something to take it off...like Exxterra..which is VERY expensive.

Sarcoids are called tumors simply because they don't know what else to call them. They usually start out as a small injury..maybe something as simple as a fly bite from an infected fly. They are on the skin only and do not penetrate the tissues...they grow out instead of in.

This is for your information only!! I AM NOT A VET!!

 

[kaykay]

just looks like a wart to me

: my mare got just once and almost in the exact same spot as yours. Id just leave it alone.

 

[Mona]

Thanks again folks!!

 

[mmmorgans]

Interesting post - we have never experienced warts - however just bought a new horse and she is covered with them - not just on her muzzle but on her body and legs too. I would have liked to have known that she had them before she arrived here - but it sounds like most breeders have had them at some point in time and that they are not big deal. Of course I am not impressed - and they truly are ugly - but if everyone elses experience has been that they will go away - then I guess we just have to wait it out. But they are really really ugly!!!!!!

 

[minih]

I had heard the same as Sheryl, pull it off and feed it to the horse and we had good luck doing that, but on a couple the warts were so small when we tried to find it after pinching it off ??? couldn't....but in the end the same results happened, they all just disappeared within a week or two.

 

[MiLo Minis]

The best advice on warts that I have ever heard is that they will go away in about 3 months if you treat them and 90 days if you don't! :bgrin They usually only affect young animals and of those usually only ones with a weakened immune system. They are ugly but really harmless. This one could be a wart fairly early on or it could be a sarcoid. Best to have a vet check it out but if you don't have a vet....... If it is a wart it will eventually just go away. If it is a sarcoid it could suddenly grow and burst open. Sarcoids are most easily treated when they are very small - won't leave as much of a scar either. A sarcoid on the nose like this could interfere with breathing if it grows in size.

 

[Aggravation Acres]

Our filly was born with a big wart on her lip. The vet said to pich it off. :no:

But we let it go and at about a month old we noticed that it was gone and have not seen anything of it since.

I don't know if it just went away or she rubbed it off on the fence.

no sign of them on any one else.

Deb