Olaf was found wandering the streets. He was very underweight, had infected hooves, and an ugly growth on his right eyelid. When his veterinarian first saw him, she believed he would need his entire eyeball and lower lid removed to stop the cancer's growth.

We really didn't want to do that. While horses can adjust beautifully to one eye, and we've adopted several riding horses who also happened to have one eye, people shy away from them. At the same time, we didn't want Olaf to suffer and we wanted that growth gone. We discussed options as he gained a little weight, and our vet decided to try removing the growth without impacting his eyeball.

After Olaf gained a bit of weight and his hooves were in better shape, our veterinarian decided it was time to remove the growth. Fortunately, the veterinarian was able to save his eye. He's healed well and is so much more comfortable and happy.

The growth removed from his eyelid was squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Daily Equioxx can inhibit the growth of SCC in some horses. In Olaf's case, once he started taking Equioxx two smaller suspected SCCs disappeared, so he'll be only daily Equioxx for life. Fortunately, he doesn't mind eating it in his feed.

He also needs to wear a fly mask daily to protect the sensitive skin around both eyes from additional SCC development. He's good at wearing his fly mask: he leaves it on unlike other horses we have who rub their flymasks off at the first opportunity.