# Warts around my yearlings mouth



## ThatNinjaHorse (Jul 26, 2009)

Ive only ever seen one horse with warts and they cleared up with age, took a while though.
Not sure what you could do about it sorry


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## eventnwithwinston (Feb 15, 2009)

These are not warts... they are a condition called dew poisoning.
Dont worry-- its not too serious 

Dew poisoning in my words is caused by a horse grazing out in the grass in the morning when its dewey... It causes little wart like things on the horses nose and muzzle. My horse got it this year... and though I had heard of dew poisoning, I couldnt identify it till my instructor told me. To treat it:
Use "Dessiten or Dessitan" (not sure of the spelling i think its the first one) which in other words is diaper ointment. Thick and white-- smear it across his nose on the bumps before letting him out to graze/pasture.

Things will clear up over time 
E


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## pintoluver112104 (Jun 25, 2009)

it could also just be baby warts, i've known a few horses that get them. we see a lot of them at the standardbred yearling sale that we hold at school in the fall


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

eventnwithwinston said:


> These are not warts... they are a condition called dew poisoning.
> Dont worry-- its not too serious
> 
> Dew poisoning in my words is caused by a horse grazing out in the grass in the morning when its dewey... It causes little wart like things on the horses nose and muzzle. My horse got it this year... and though I had heard of dew poisoning, I couldnt identify it till my instructor told me. To treat it:
> ...


Are you in the United States? We call dew poisoning - scratches or greasy heel. It's a lower leg issue.

As the OP has a yearling, I am sure it is truly the viral 'baby' warts most go through. It is a virus that runs it's course.


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## eventnwithwinston (Feb 15, 2009)

mls said:


> Are you in the United States? We call dew poisoning - scratches or greasy heel. It's a lower leg issue.
> 
> As the OP has a yearling, I am sure it is truly the viral 'baby' warts most go through. It is a virus that runs it's course.


 
Yes I am in the US. I am also in Pony Club. 
Scratches or greasy heel or mud fever is when the heels crack from moisture and mud... A lot of people call it dew poisoning. Im not sure why but they are two different things.
Dew poisoning is also commonly put together with sun scald. You can find it almost anywhere where there is moisture... but it is mostly on the muzzle from where they have grazed. 

I dont know much about viral warts... but just to be safe you can always go ahead and rub some Dessiten on it. If they start to come off or look scabby-ish then it is because your yearling had dew poisoning.. if not than it has viral baby warts like the rest of the posters said.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

When Shiloh was 2 she developed a warty looking thing on her inner leg. We thought it was a sarcoid at first. When she turned 3 it started getting smaller and finally just disappeared on its own. I think many skin ailments on young horses are hormonal. I used antibiotic oitment on it when it got scraped or would bleed but otherwise I left it alone. 
This is what I found on Thehorse.com
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*Viral Skin Problems: Warts*

The most common warts in horses are those around the muzzle, which are probably caused by the papilloma virus. These are generally seen on young horses, and they spontaneously resolve and disappear after the animal develops immunity to the virus. In some cases (if they interfere with eating or for cosmetic reasons), people try to get rid of them quicker by using an autologous (derived from the horse's own tissue) vaccine made from some of the wart tissue, says Jackson.

Another skin problem caused by the papilloma virus sometimes appear on the inner surface of the ears. These flat, white areas are called aural plaques and are sometimes scaly. "These are spread from horse to horse by fly bites. They don't seem to bother the horse unless they become infected," says Jackson. Insect bites can irritate these and make them worse.

Rees says, "Treatment is usually not effective. I had a mare with these, and no matter what I tried, they didn't go away. It's usually best to just leave them alone. The main thing is to keep flies out of the ears so they are not irritated and don't grow larger. If you are showing the horse and it's a cosmetic issue, you can color them with a marking pen so they are not so obvious."

*Sarcoids*

"Sarcoids are supposedly the most common equine skin tumors, and certain horses seem more predisposed to getting these," says Rees. "There are several types, including a flat, circular, scaly type that looks like ringworm. If you try to biopsy that one, it will become worse."

One type looks nodular (firm, raised above the skin, and looking like a tumor) and is usually 5-20 millimeters wide. Another type resembles ulcerated tissue and is called a fibroblastic sarcoid. Yet another kind looks warty (a verrucous type of sarcoid).

White says the exact cause of sarcoid tumors is not understood, but might have something to do with the papilloma virus that causes warts. Some sarcoids seem to occur at sites of injury, which might indicate a virus as the cause, he says.

"The malevolent type usually has multiple nodules and is very hard and thickened," says Rees. "Some of those can infiltrate the lymph nodes and produce spreading, cordlike lesions. The problem with sarcoids is that when you surgically remove them, they tend to recur; the growth may appear somewhere else on the body later. Surgery is one of the more common treatments, however, and is the treatment of choice for fibroblastic sarcoids. The veterinarian may also freeze the tissue to debulk it and follow up with an injection of bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, especially if the growth is near the eye."

The BCG vaccine is used in human cancer chemotherapy, but it produces a lot of inflammation, says Rees. "The sarcoid becomes ulcerated and falls off," she explains. "Because of the swelling, the horse is usually put on drugs to help control that secondary inflammation."

Radiation therapy is used on some lesions and is more beneficial for smaller sarcoids that do not penetrate the deeper layers of the skin.

Chemotherapy is also useful in treating equine sarcoids. The drug reported to have the most success is Platinol or cisplatin, but it requires repeat injections and has some handling precautions for humans (gloves, protective clothing, special disposal), so not all veterinarians use it. It should not be used in breeding animals, says Rees. The veterinarian will decide what's best to use in each case.


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## Bronco Hollow (Jul 21, 2009)

Its sounds like warts. Small warts seems to have larger numbers, larger warts smaller numbers. This is common in young horses that have not been exposed to the papillomatosis (sp) virus. Most commonly found on the muzzle and lips - sometimes higher - sometimes inside the mouth. 

*Warts are self limiting ~ that is, they are problem that goes away in about three months ~ whether you treat them or not!* 

Dew poisoning as someone already said is Scratches aka grease heels, cracked heals, grease or mud fever. Dew poisoning/Scratches mostly occur on the hind legs, less frequently on the front. I've never heard or read anything that says it is something else.. I'm always looking to learn something new so if it is something else I'd sure would like to see the documentation and be enlightened!
Sacroids, _may_ resemble 'A' wart at first, but they grow rapidly resembling more of a granulated tissue. They often erupt showing an ulcerated surface below. I've seen many sacroids and they don't look like a wart IMHO.


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## HorseOfCourse (Jul 20, 2009)

Don't worry at all about these wart. My horse had them when he was a yearling and they were gone when he was 2 or 3...they didn't bother him a bit.

Also, a little yearling filly came into my trainer's barn while I was working there and she had warts too..my trainer and I were talking about them and she said they should be gone in no time..

So I wouldn't worry too much about them as long as they don't bother your horse...they shoudl go away with time.


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## vicki (Dec 25, 2008)

*Thank you all*

Thank you all for your replies RE: my yearlings warts, its encouraging to hear that they go away on their own and i hope for his sake they do, I learned a lot from reading all of your posts as I'm only new to the world of horses (have my baby 11 months)and am learning every day, thanks again.

Vicki


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