Buying a horse with sarcoids

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Ceifer

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Just found my ideal horse advertised and called up very excitedly. Two minor problems. It's blooming miles away so my trusted vet won't be able to vet it. And... it's got two sarcoids :(

The owners going to send me pictures. One is on the chest and the other on the inside of a hind leg.

They described the one on the hind leg is small and flat and the one on the chest as 'one suitable for banding' so nodular I presume.

Would this put you off? Any sarcoid experts on here? It has been priced to reflect the sarcoids so it is cheap.
 
No. I wouldn't buy a horse with sarcoids. I've had a horse which developed them and was successfully treated (with Liverpool cream); didn't bother her and it was a story with a good ending, but it could also have been a nightmare. One of my Rules is "don't buy problems".
 
No I wouldn't buy. Having seen the trouble a couple of friends have gone through with them unless dirt cheep I would steer clear.
 
Ceifer said:
Just found my ideal horse advertised and called up very excitedly. Two minor problems. It's blooming miles away so my trusted vet won't be able to vet it. And... it's got two sarcoids :(

The owners going to send me pictures. One is on the chest and the other on the inside of a hind leg.

They described the one on the hind leg is small and flat and the one on the chest as 'one suitable for banding' so nodular I presume.

Would this put you off? Any sarcoid experts on here? It has been priced to reflect the sarcoids so it is cheap.
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Having had 2 with sarcoids, one developed after the purchase and one had a small one and few developed after the vetting, we just now monitor them but depending on the position and what my vet said about them. It would NOT stop me buying the horse if the horse was perfect for me in every way.

The horse responded to treatment with Liverpool cream and another topical cream, I would ask your vet to look at them, and get their professional opinion or take a photo of them and send it as some sarcoids disappear with just banding and never return.

Your first port of call is speak to a vet and let them see the horse or the sarcoids before you go any further.


Further point my first horse who developed them after purchase had her sarcoids banded all 7 of them and they never ever returned.
 
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One of my homebreds developed sarcoidosis which were treated with Liverpool Cream a few years ago. He is now being treated for another two with banding. Fortunately none of them are big or in places where tack, rugs, etc touch.

I would question why they haven't had this horse treated but I personally wouldn't let sarcoids stop going to look at a horse,
 
I've had a horse with a sarcoid which was banded and caused no further problems and have known others that haven't caused a big problem so wouldn't discount one just on that basis.

BUT of course as a preexisting condition you wouldn't get insurance cover so if treatment were required you'd have to fund it yourself. Plus it's quite a gamble as you don't know what the future holds... and if for any reason you wish to sell the horse in the future, it will be more difficult.

So I'd only take one if it was an exceptional horse at a fantastic price. There are plenty of other horses out there.
 
Wouldn't touch it, long story, but I had a horse develop sarcoids after purchase, long traumatic vet journey. He was pts a year later
 
I would buy a horse with a sarcoid on inside hind if it was perfect in every other way and the price reflected the defect. But I would buy a horse with a nodular sarcoid on the chest at any price.
 
wouldnt bother me- theres no such thing as the perfect horse, only one with faults you can live with.I have banded sarcoids on 2 of mine, both withered and died and left no trace. Another one had 2 flat crispy ones inside his hind thighs, never bothered him at all but eventually I decided to try thuja cream and they went to smooth skin again. As theyr in places where they wouldnt be a nuisance with tack rubbing etc I would certainly buy if he was what I wanted in every other way.
 
Also distance wise why not make a weekend of it so you get a partial holiday at the same time. That is what I did with one mare I went to see, I stayed in B&B, also my pony was 5 hrs away so no distance would not be a problem for me. If the right horse i would travel and find a vet down there which owner does not use and you can ask other members here which vets to use in the area the horse is.
 
My TB mare had sarcoids which just kept on popping up all over her, some around her eyes which the vets couldn't treat. She spent most of her life as an expensive pet who couldn't be ridden because of them. It was heartbreaking and eventually a factor which lead to her being pts early.
Recently I saw an advert for a Clydesdale x cob who looked exactly the sort I'm after at the moment but he has two sarcoids and although the price has apparently been cut because of them he's still nowhere near cheap enough for me to chance it.
 
wouldnt bother me. we bought a horse with 2 of them (he wasnt cheap either) got them treated, they fell off and never came back. Another we'd owned for 10 years suddenly developed them and was treated.

To be honest, ive known acouple of horses with them on my yard and none have caused any issues.
 
Sparemare said:
I'd keep on looking. Wouldn't buy a horse with sarcoidosis, sweet itch, head shaker, cribber etc.[/QUOTE

Sarcoidosis isnt a sarcoid though, is it? It is a collection of little growths that are usually in the lungs- humans get it. A horse with no sarcoids can develop them. A horse with a sarcoid can have it removed and never get another one....
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Mine had a flat verrucous type in his axilla on vetting. It was treated with Liverpool cream, £200, along with another nodule one which appeared a year or so later. Both disappeared then the verrucous one reappeared. After copious turmeric (I know, I know, I'm sorry!) the vet pronounced it gone. I might buy one with sarcoids, but I'd rather buy one without. It's a constant worry checking for more.
 
I have one who I only bought because he was cheap enough to risk for a horse of my dreams. Think half price or less. It is a constant worry three years later. I'm happy, but think very hard before buying.
 
DabDab said:
I would buy a horse with a sarcoid on inside hind if it was perfect in every other way and the price reflected the defect. But I would buy a horse with a nodular sarcoid on the chest at any price.
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This was meant to say "would not buy a horse with a nodular sarcoid on the chest"
 
Interesting to read the comments. However they are all completely biased towards an individual's personal experience. I had a horse who developed a sarcoid...thuja cream and it went, same as 2 other horses belonging to friends. My attitude would be more relaxed. However, someone I know has just had to have her horse put down after what looked to be innocuous sarcoids went rampant. My question would be why the owners didn't treat the sarcoids and as the horse is some distance, this would put me off. I am equally coloured by recently losing my much loved horse to ERU so the possibility of having a horse PTS is horribly fresh - which again would make me hesitate to risk this.
 
Thanks for all of the replies :)

Once I'd calmed down about things (got very excited about the horse). I started to look at things rationally.

I have asked for pictures of the sarcoids to show my vet which as of yet I haven't received so not sure if the seller has gone cold.

They haven't treated them as they don't believe in treating them unless they become a problem. Personally and rather cynically I think they've got the horse to sell and they want to spend as little on it as possible.

I'll see what the sellers do next. They have my email and I've requested pictures of it's feet and video of it being trotted up as well as the sarcoids. It's miles away so want to see these things before making a decision to view.
 
Depends on the sarcoid and where it's located. My horse has one on the inside of his hind leg, it is a nodular sarcoid which he has had since a three year old and hasn't changed shape. Vet at PPE wasn't concerned about it and we haven't had any more pop up.

It's a risk you take but he was everything I wanted and ticked every box so I took it.
 
personally I wouldn't touch with a bargepole - any horse can develop one but one with sarcoids is more likely to develop more and there is a theory that they could be spread by flies to other horses.
 
It sounds a bit odd, but glad you sat and rationally thought about it.

See what the seller comes back with, but for me given the location of the sarcoid on the chest and the lack of treatment, plus the distance, I'd leave it.

I've often travelled a long way to look at a horse only to be disappointed, because it was seriously not as described.
 
id say do it. my horse has two sarcoids, one flat one on his face and a modular one on his side, but it wouldn't stop me from buying him all over again. the one on his face did cause him to be out of work for a month due to his bridle rubbing it but he's now in a grackle and as good as new. no horse is perfect and i think if this horse really is your dream horse then get a vets opinion and if they don't see it as a huge problem then id buy him. it's definitely a gamble but sometimes it's worth taking a risk if there's a chance he might be everything you want and they might never bother him. best of luck whatever you decide x
 
you need to ask questions has the horse had sarcoids before which have been successfully treated or are these his first ones? I've fairly recently had a horse treated cost just short of £1000 that's for the photos to be taken and looked at by prof Knottenbelt then the cream £275 then 5 vet visits to apply said cream 1 sarcoid on inner thigh hind leg. Treatment successful but horse has just come up with 3 new ones on his belly. I am treating this myself at the moment with bloodroot ointment and zovirax after consulting the vet.
 
A lot of people dont believe in messing with sarcoids unless they are a problem, or in a place where tack rubs. They think it can make them spread. I am of this opinion too, unless its one that is easily banded.
 
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