I have a two year old filly that has developed what looks like warts on her muzzle. They really don't seem to bother her but look really gross. The only thing I've been able to find is a reference to something called muzzle warts. All it said was to crush a couple with sterile pliers (yuck!!) to stimulate an immune response. It also said young horses get them and there's not much you can do. I guess I'd like to make sure that's what I'm dealing with before trying anything. I could call the vet but would rather not unless it's really necessary. Anyone have any experience with this?

-- Hoosiermom (hdnpines@hotmail.com), March 18, 2001

Answers

Warts on young horses muzzle is fairly common. A friend of mine's colt had them entirely covering his muzzle and they were pretty unpleasant looking, however he has completely lost them with maturity. Crushing them with the pliers as suggested does seem to speed up the elimination of them by creating a self vaccine. If you're planning on showing the horse this summer, you might want to go that route as it may take a while to clear up on its own. If you want to consult your vet, it's not life threatening and can wait until one of your vet's regular calls.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), March 18, 2001.

Had the same thing with a paint filly when she was two. They do go away, but look gross in the meantime. We were told by a vet we no longer use to scratch or cut one or two so that they bleed, then they would go away quicker. Didn't want to introduce any infection possibilities unnecessarily, so we just left them. Went away as quickly as they came. Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), March 18, 2001.

ALso, they are supposed to be pretty contagious if you have other horses, which we do, but no one else got them.

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), March 18, 2001.

I'm a vet. We just recommend that you crush or scratch a bunch until they bleed. It speeds the resorption process. Keep clean with peroxide if you're worried about infection. It still will take several weeks for them to go away so don't be in a hurry.

-- teresa (teresam@ascent.net), March 18, 2001.

I had a colt that had them and I used Compound W on them...they went away in a week or two.

-- Lynette (fear_the_bear@webtv.net), March 18, 2001.

Thanks for the answers. I don't know if I'm up to squeezing them and we're not showing her this summer so I may just let it run its course. I'm an EMT so you'd think I wouldn't be so squeamish but it just gives me shivers thinking about doing it. Will it hurt her to mess with them? Is it possible for people to get them from horses? My other horse (this ones mom) hasn't gotten them. Seemed like they just popped up overnight. I'm very glad to know it's not serious or permanent. She's a beautiful filly (Morgan) and I'd hate to see something like this mar her. Thanks again for the responses.

-- Hoosiermom (hdnpines@hotmail.com), March 18, 2001.

Equal parts of 7% iodine and mineral oil applied daily works. So does Compound W ~ if they're truly warts and not a sarcoid.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), March 19, 2001.

Hi, I have successfully treated two horses with warts on their noses with pure lard, just rub it on everyday it shouldn't take long to clear up. my grandmother told me of this cure. and it works one horse was with on application. Hope this helps.

-- Debi (evittranch@hotmail.com), March 19, 2001.

I did this for my yearling colt and they went away within a week! (And he had lots of them) Mix equal parts castor oil and baking soda in the palm of your hand, slather it on the warts; do it every day. It's not poisonous, no squeezing involved. It works. Good luck! dh in nm

-- debra in nm (dhaden@nmtr.unm.edu), March 19, 2001.

Not to take issue with Debra's answer, but I tried the castor oil treatment on a wart on the neck of my fleabitten grey mare -- disaster! It caused her so much discomfort and blistering with her scrubbing her neck trying to rid herself of it that she got a huge sore from it. I washed it off repeatedly with a neutralizing soap, rinsed, and treated it with aloe, vitamin E, and calendula to heal it. It healed alright, there is no scar, but the wart is still there and she has a patch of brown hair over the healed area to remind me not to do that again. She's an Anglo-Arab, and tends to sensitive skin, so that may have something to do with it, however, I would recommend caution with the castor oil.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), March 19, 2001.

I've been lucky and havn't had one with warts yet, but a friend of mine had a colt develope them. The only horse on the place that got 'em and she had several youngsters there. They went away on there own without treatment and no scars.

-- elle (eagle-quest@juno.com), March 19, 2001.

Julie F... are you sure that's not a skin cancer? Maybe ought to have the vet look at that thing. Greys tend to have a higher incidence of melanomas, but they're usually under the tail or jaw. I only had the one experience with the castor oil/baking soda and it worked. My colt didn't seem to have any discomfort, but he was young and silly then and all he cared about was food. Happy trails. dh in nm

-- debra in nm (dhaden@nmtr.unm.edu), March 20, 2001.

Debra -- thanks for asking. No, it's not a melanoma, my vet and I have been watching this thing for about 3 years now. At first I thought it was a flystrike granuloma. I've dealt with three other horses with various melanomas (one so bad we had to donate him to a research program. They were spreading so rapidly we could't sell him in any kind of conscience). And it's not a sarcoid either, got that on several other horses as well. Tried the castor oil treatment on a buckskin with some large flat ones and they did reduce the size, but she started to get irritations around the sarcoid area on normal tissue as well. It may have been her skin, which is MUCH less sensitive than the grey's is and thicker hide.

I keep a pretty close eye on both my greys for melanomas, the 21 year old is developing match-head size ones (just a few) and my vet says that he's got a better chance of dying of old age first, they're growing so slowly, but we do watch them.

I'm going to try Earthmama's suggestion of pine pitch for putting on human warts. They get it all over themselves at the best of times out on the edges of the field, so I figure the worst that can happen is a temporary mess.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), March 20, 2001.