The vet has just left having given a Deno a thorogh check over - she spent the best part of an hour examining Deno very closely despite a few tantrums from Cuddles who had been separated from Deno and Denos attempt tp stamp on the vet's box of bits and pieces.

She checked his chest/breathing, heart, mouth/teeth and hooves as well as a long time inspecting the numerous sarcoids on Deno.

The good news is that apart from the sarcoids and hooves he is in very good health and condition. She has recommended that we have the farrier call as soon as possible, (he is actually already booked for later this month), because two of his hooves are cracked and she feels that it might be best to have shoes put on him until these improve.

She is going to return in 3 months by which time we will hopefully have a full record of all the vaccinations Deno has had as well as the medical records from his Cornish vet. She will also sedate Deno on this visit in order to allow a full examination of his teeth and carry out any necessary dental treatment.

Regarding the sarcoids she has asked if we could take detailed photographs of these and then a further set in a months time for comparitive purposes. She has offered to send copies of these to Derek Knottenbelt at Liverpool University in order to get an opinion, (free of charge), from him on the best palliative care to be taken.

Now for the bad news - she has pointed out that whilst sarcoids are not directly transmittable the virus can be transmitted by flies from one horse to another. I was surprised about the vets comments re the transmission of sarcoids - I was assured early on that they can not be transmitted from horse to horse. It appears that there is no definitive proof that they can be transmitted by flies, but that appears to be the general consensus of opinion in the veterinary profession.

Our vet appears to be quite knowledgeable as one of her horses suffers from sarcoids so she has obviously spent a lot of time on the subject.She did say though that Deno is one of the worst cases for the number of sarcoids he's got that she has seen.
She feels that Cuddles is at little risk from this so long as we take care to protect any small scratches she may get from flies and just to keep an eye out for any early indications of sarcoids on her, (apparently if they are caught early then they can be successfully controlled). Not only that she says Cuddles is in fine condition and her immune system is likely to be able to fight any virus before it can develop into sarcoids.

Ruby and Ellie are another matter however, being young horses who have not yet got a fully developed immune system, she has recommended that we do not introduce them. Whilst the risk of picking up the virus is small it apparently is higher in young horses and in elederly horses. We have taken the decision therefore to keep them apart, certainly for the near future. It is a worry about the other horses but with the proper care and hygeine we should be able to cope.
Apart from concern about a well loved family pet, (Cuddles), the main problem is going to be, as mentioned above, proper land management so that it doesn't get overgrazed in the early spring. The pasture area that Ellie and Ruby use is much more easily managed because it is an open area and sections can be fenced off.
I can see us having a very busy summer being spent on clearing brambles to make it easier to fence off areas. I think I will invest in a heavy duty brush cutter.

With regards to the Coriolus we might try putting Deno on a higher dose during the period when we have taken pictures of his sarcoids to see if it has any effect.
General coriolus information at the end of this page.

Sorry I haven't written a report on Ash's visit but with all that's been going on haven't had time yet.
I will do a further update soon.
One thing the vet did say was that wound powder on the sarcoids is not necessarily a good thing - yes it can dry them out and stop them bleeding but what can happen apparently is that they can then crack open and in essence start bleeding from deeper in the flesh.
She advised liberal use of vaseline to both keep the flies away and to keep the sarcoids flexible - we are getting through quite a number of pots of this at the moment - will be visiting the cash and carry on Friday to see if they have any big pots.
She was also, to be honest, a little sceptical about the efficacy of Coriolus but did say that if we believed it was helping then it certainly wouldn't do him any harm.
We have been using "Naf Off" gel to keep the flies off Deno which seems to make him more comfortable - we are using the gel because he hates the spray.
Regarding bills Goth assures me there should be sufficient funds available but we will have to wait until the bill arrives to be sure
Regarding his teeth we do have a plan in place - we are awaiting copies of his X-rays and other treatment details from his Cornish vet - these can't be passed to my vet until they receive written permission from Ruth.
Once these are received the vet is going to sedate Deno and carry out a full dental check on Deno's mouth and start any necessary treatment. This will be repeated as necessary until his mouth is in the best order possible.
We also have the farrier coming later this month to sort out his split hooves and if necessary fit special shoes to speed their recovery.
I know that both our vet and farrier are not the cheapest available but we will stand the cost where funds are not available and claim it back later
Our aim is to try and get Deno's general well being as good as possible, thus making life as easy and as stress free as we possibly can - mind you judging by tomorrow nights episode we have a long way to go in achieving that!!

Coriolus info from a Naturopath.

Coriolus:
http://www.aneid.pt/pdf/CorpetHandbook_cavalos.pdf
(google if you want an html version)
I was put on to it by my vet, via my sister, for treating mammary tumours in pet rats. It has brought about complete regression for several and extended the lives of others. I'm using it for my cat currently who has mammary cancer - her palpatable tumour has shrunk and with luck its also inhibiting metastasis. Buying time, as she is 18 and I wasn't going to put her through massive and painful surgery that would probably only buy a few months.
Its also been used to extend the comfortable lives of several dogs with assorted cancers. Sarcoids are not strictly a cancer, but need to be thought of amd treated as such

It is expensive and its action is not long term - it only works while being actively taken. Deno initially took it at my suggestion to support him through chemo (its used by oncologists for human chemo patients now) and was very kindly bought it regularly by another Defender.
You won't know if its working in Deno to suppress sarcoid growth without stopping it and monitoring the sarciods and his general health. The disadvantage of that is if the sarcoids become aggressive again the dose will need to double and the lesions will be that much larger and prone to further damage. Rock. Hard place.

There just isn't one guaranteed effective treatment - conventional or not.
Was thinking it might be better to stop it - and monitor to see if it IS having an effect.I'm not entirely comfortable with something costing enough for a round of wormings or a farrier visit being given without obvious proof that its having an effect, on my original suggestion.
I know its efficacious in other circumstances, just whether its working for him Wait and see what that sarcoid expert says - his was one of the first sites I trawled for info in the beginning.

Have before and after chemo photos of sarcoids from 2006:

August 2006. Deno has completed his course of topical chemotherapy, thanks to many lovely ebay boards people who raised over £800 to pay for his treatment.Time will tell how effective it has been, but many of them are clearly reduced

Before (above) and after

Week 4.Emergency vet visit.