loan horse might have verruccous sarcoid

[worryabout]

The horse I have on loan (had him for 2.5 year) has a patch behind his armpit and just in front of his girth that I though was a girth rub. I am now beginning to think it could be a verruccous sarcoid (I have been googling).

I first noticed it a week ago after a hack and thought it was a girth rub. It was a bit raw and I put gentian violet on it. 2 days ago I put sudocrem on it and did that again today. I have not ridden him since finding it as I think the girth did rub it despite putting on a sheepskin cover.

The patch is about 1inch square and is scaley (I thought at first it was scabby). When putting on sudocrem today I felt small lumps under the hair in the vicinity.

Now my question is this and you may think I am awfully mean. I do have the horse fully insured. But I have been thinking for a month or two about returning him to his owner as I have outgrown his ability and I would like something bigger and more forward going. I had thought I would keep him until next spring as I would feel mean sending him back to her at the beginning of the winter and I do hunt so would get one more season before returning him in the spring.

However, now I am wondering whether to return him to the owner now without getting this skin thing checked out.

In all honesty what would you do? Keep him, get the skin checked out and deal with it? Or return him. Bear in mind that the loan was originally for 1 year and I have had him for 2.5 yrs now. The contract long ago ran out and despite asking her to send a new one she has not. In the 2.5yrs I have had him she has onloy seen him about 3-4 times if I have invited her to come and see him at an event for instance. I am pretty sure she is not financially able to keep him and so if I return him she will put him out on loan again.

 

[glenruby]

There re 2 issues insurance wise. If you call vet out and then return him cancelling his insurance she cant claim if it is a sarcoid. It kind of sounds a bit unlikely to be a sarcoid tbh so other than to mention that you think he may have got a girth rub or it may be something else Im not sure Id say too much about it.
However, in an ideal world (and being totally honest) I would say inform the owner when you are returning him (if that is what you intend to do and you are doing it soon). Im not sure I would rush in to "diagnose" it unless it doent improve in the next fortnight. Girth galls often take a few weeks to fully recover and usually are not isolated.

 

[worryabout]

GLenruby - I think you are right. Maybe I haven't given it enough time to heal yet. My YO suggested I put surgical spirit on it to harden the skin in the girth area. I haven't done this yet.

He has never had a girth rub before. Maybe I overloaded myself with looking at google images convincing myself it might be worse than it is.

We love this horse to bits and really don't want to return him, but if the rub is going to be irritated by his girth and we cannot ride him, I don't see how I can keep him, but I am not a dishonest person and would feel dreadful if I returned him to his owner without saying anything.

Anyway, I will give it some more time before deciding what to do and hopefully it will heal.

 

[speedycivic]

If it stays, I would then get the vet out. I had something similar that I thought was just a sore, and if I had not made a mental note of it being there at set date and then six weeks later it was still there, I might well have missed it. It turned out to be a sarcoid. Then it is better for the horse that you treat it ASAP. Then you can return the horse as planned.