Question:

I have horses and they have developed some big warts around the chest and some are close to the breasts. They have been tested in the veterinary laboratory and fortunately they are not cancer related. The vets have tried making medicine for these warts but the treatment has not helped.

Could you kindly advise on the relevant treatment?

Thank you
O.J. Mokoto

Answer:

Hi,

Warts are actually a viral infection. There are 2 types.

1. First you get the milk, grass or deciduous warts. Milk warts drop off spontaneously after a few months. Grass warts are small and cover large areas of the muzzle, nostrils, eyelids and front legs.
2. The second type of wart is larger and can appear anywhere on the body. These don't normally disappear of their own accord. It seems as if these are the type that your horses have got.

There are two possible methods that you could use. Firstly, you could ask your vet to cut them out or burn them off. This would get rid of the warts, and is a quick method, but doesn't cure the underlying problem.

The herbal way is to help cleanse and strengthen the body so that the horse can fight the virus. Herbs that will do this are:

1. Feed internally - garlic, echinacea (available in The Herbal Horse product, Immune mix), dandelion, thuja homeopathic tincture.
2. Apply externally - the milky sap from the dandelion plant, thuja homeopathic ointment.
   

After the warts have been shed (or cut or burnt off), apply a cream containing vitamin E and calendula to encourage healing of the skin.

I really hope that this helps you and your horses.