REPOST: Sarcoids - to buy or not to buy?

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Franabella

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Hi I'm hoping some of you could perhaps offer advice or share similiar experiences.

After viewing a rising 4 yr old WB gelding with a view as an all-rounder type, I decided he was perfect for me. I arranged a 5 stage vetting which the owner was more than happy to go ahead.

Unfornately the vet discovered the horse has 4 sarcoids, unknown to the owner. 1 on his sheath, upper thigh, belly and the worst - on his eye. I always had the assumption that sarcoids always had a wart like appearance but his are flat and just look like old scars.
Obviously he failed the vetting for this, however, the vet said he is a really lovely horse and he has known people to knowingly buy horses with sarcoids.

I've done some research into the condition (http://www.liv.ac.uk/sarcoids/index.htm - was particularly insightful), and the prognosis seems improved due to his age and because failed treatment has not yet occurred.

I'm just really unsure as what to do. He is really perfect in all other respects. The vet says they are causing him no problems now and there is a chance he could be successfully treated, but there is always the risk of them coming back or him developing more.

My heart says yes, but my head says no.

I'd love to hear about experiences from those who have owned horses with sarcoids and any views you may have - including any insurance experiences regarding this condition.

Thanks,

Francesca
 
There is a fair chance they will come back following treatment but can be manageable. Treatment is expensive (Liverpool cream course could cost 300-500 inc call out fees) so Id at least ask for a reduction in price to reflect/cover this.
As its an existing condition it wont be covered by insurance (and beware some insurance companies may exclude all skin conditions because of this).

If the horse was otherwise perfect and the price negotiable (and you arent likely to be selling on soon enough) then I would probably go ahead - cautiously!
 
Thank you. I certainly view him as a horse for life and know the owner is willing to reduce the price to reflect this. Now its decision making time...
 
I bought a horse with sarcoids. I'd known him for a long time before I bought him and he was quite stressed out where he was and in need of a good home, and I got him for not a lot of money. He had had several sarcoids treated before I bought him and they haven't reappeared although the treatment did nothing for his trust in humans. Following the treatment, he developed three further sarcoids, two of which have spontaneously regressed. The third (a nodular one) is still there but remains the size of a pea. I would think very very hard before buying another one with sarcoids, but it's definitely not all doom and gloom.
 
Agree with above poster, it isn't necessarily doom and gloom - my OH bought a horse with warty sarcoid like lumps; they got a bit bigger then fell off! touch wood no sign of them recurring. BUT think whether you can cope if they do get worse / others grow. I have seen horses in Leahurst with terrible sarcoids & it must be so distressing.
 
If you've researched sarcoids you'll know that one of the biggest problems is in identifying which odd lump is a sarcoid and which isn't. Often, they both look the same. But true sarcoids are skin cancers and other stuff is likely to be warts. Warts often disappear on their own, especially if the horse is young and his immune system hasn't fully matured. The problem with sarcoids - taken from Prof Knottenbelt's definitive article - is that the only predictable thing about them is their unpredictability. If your vet is 100% certain that these are sarcoids (or as certain as he can be anyway because taking a biopsy on a true sarcoid can cause further aggressive growth) then I'd be very very cautious. To start with, you won't get insurance cover for any treatment to do with the sarcoids or from any later health problems that could be said to be caused by the sarcoids. The second thing that would worry me is the sarcoid on the eye. You won't be able to have this treated with Liverpool cream as it is too toxic to be used on an eye. If it progresses, you could face extensive and expensive treatment for the eye, including possible removal of the eye, depending on the position and severity of the sarcoid. My horse had to have an eye removed for different reasons and I can tell you that the 6 months of battling to save it, plus the final removal of the eye cost in the region of £4,000 which was covered by insurance thank god. Yours wouldn't be. Of course, your vet is right in that many many sarcoids stay the same for years. But many don't and the eye sarcoid alone would prevent me from buying the horse. You could be buying a very expensive heartache.
 
I'm with BOF. I have seen the radiation treatment for sarcoid on the eye and the horse still had to be put to sleep. It was dreadful. I wouldn't touch a horse with a sarcoid on or near an eye however much you like him and however little he costs. Your insurance will exclude them, and the radiation treatment is veterinary hospital inpatient only and VERY expensive.
 
Hi, I believe the 'flat' type of sarcoid is the least likely to lead to further problems. I said no to a horse with one of those a few years ago and bought a different horse that seemed to have nothing wrong at all and passed a vetting with flying colours.... 6 months later it was diagnosed with wobblers!!
So, I have looked back and wished I had bought the one with the sarcoid on many occasions!

I also remember reading an article not long ago that stated latest research has established that sarcoids are definitely NOT cancerous but are a caused by a virus spread by a particular fly and it shouldn't be long before treatment is available (not the hit and miss that is around now)

Can't comment on the validity of this but I am currently looking again and am certainly not put off by sarcoids.

Having said that, the one on the eye would concern me but if everything else is right and the seller comes down to a good price, I think I would take my chances....
 
I bought Nadia knowing she had a sarcoid on her leg. I've spoken with the vet about it once before and we decided to leave it alone as it was in a place that would not be interferred with tack.
 
I would buy a horse with sarcoids, and I have done this in the past.

However, it would depends on where they were located....

Anywhere tack needed to go I would NOT BUY. -Treatment would be too hard.
Anywhere on face or sheath -NOT BUY. -Treatment is too hard.

Mine had a cluster about 5" away from sheath, but still nearby. It took about 3months for the treatment to work and the lump to fall off. It also looked awful & sore during treatment.

There will always be advances in medicine & maybe in a few yrs if these change, then there will be other treatment options for you.
As it's been said, it is costly & the insurance would exclude the cost.
 
my last horse had sarcoids, i had bred this horse and they developed in her 4th year. she had treatment with the liverpool cream but unfortunatly they came back in numerous places - one was her eye lid started like a fly bite then progressed to a pea then a marble. they could not treat this at the time ( this happened 10/12 years ago) it was awful in summer it would break open a fly mask had to be used at all times. it broke my heart she was a fantastic mare, had it all - BUT i would never go there again. I would be very cautious. i would not buy a horse with a sarcoid theres enough that can go wrong without buying trouble, but it you do you could be lucky - good luck to you
 
I also hate to be a doom monger but at one of my yards a lady bought a four year old with 3 sarcoids. They multiplied and no treatments helped and he was PTS at six.

Follow your head there are plenty of nice horses without sarcoids out there.
 
Follow your head or it might break your heart.

I know of a WB who started off at age 2 with no sarcoids had a couple at age 4 but not treated as vet thought they might not be a problem. By age 6 he had multiple and horse had had to undergo liverpool cream and operations and was eventually pts. devastating for all concerned.
 
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