mitters
Active Member
I am desperately after some advice regarding what to do with my horse who has a large sarcoid inside his mouth.
He is a 5yo ex point to pointer who I bought very cheaply three weeks ago. As he was so cheap I decided to take the risk and not have him vetted. I did notice some small sarcoids on the inside of his hind legs but my friend convinced me these wouldnt be a problem and could easily be treated. Other than this everything seemed fine.
When I rode him I noticed he was a bit sensitive in his mouth. I booked the dentist and started doing a bit of gentle school work with him in the meantime. He was very well behaved but did throw his head up every now and again, but I put this down to him needing his teeth checking.
Last week I was brushing him when he did a big yawn and I saw a horrible lump just inside the corner of his mouth. It didnt look particularly sore, but was exactly in the corner of the mouth where the bit goes. Because of its location I guessed that this was a horrible bit injury which had happened before I got him. I took him to my vet yesterday and he reckons its actually a sarcoid. Because its inside the mouth we cant treat it with cream or cut it out, so the only option is to freeze it off. This is going to involve a general anaesthetic and a large vets bill of at least £600, not to mention he wont be able to wear a bit for several months. It is also highly likely that it will grow back. Because I bought him with this problem, the insurance will not pay the bill.
So I have two options go ahead with the treatment at a large cost but it will probably come back leading to yet more expense .or put him to sleep.
Ive explained this situation to the guy I bought him off, he told me he didnt know about the sarcoid and cannot buy him back as he doesnt have any money.
I asked my vet what he would do, and he said either give him back to the guy I bought him from or have him PT because the freezing procedure will be quite tricky and may not work, and a high chance it will just grow back anyway. I dont think I can give him back as I hate to think where he might end up.
Given that the horse is only 5 and has a lovely temperament, I would like to try freezing the sarcoid and see what happens before I give up. But I dont have much money and cannot afford ongoing vets bills to keep having it treated. The chances are I will never be able to achieve what I want to with him because there is such a high chance it will keep growing back. I bought him to bring on and either keep to event or sell on. Because of the sarcoid both these options are going to be very difficult or impossible to achieve. And this is not to mention the cost of treating the ones on his hind legs!
Im pretty sure the right thing to do is to cut my losses now and have him PTS. In the long run I am just going to be spending a lot of money on a horse which half the time I will be unable to ride and will never be able to sell.
I would be very interested to hear other peoples views on this, and if any one has experienced a similar situation?
He is a 5yo ex point to pointer who I bought very cheaply three weeks ago. As he was so cheap I decided to take the risk and not have him vetted. I did notice some small sarcoids on the inside of his hind legs but my friend convinced me these wouldnt be a problem and could easily be treated. Other than this everything seemed fine.
When I rode him I noticed he was a bit sensitive in his mouth. I booked the dentist and started doing a bit of gentle school work with him in the meantime. He was very well behaved but did throw his head up every now and again, but I put this down to him needing his teeth checking.
Last week I was brushing him when he did a big yawn and I saw a horrible lump just inside the corner of his mouth. It didnt look particularly sore, but was exactly in the corner of the mouth where the bit goes. Because of its location I guessed that this was a horrible bit injury which had happened before I got him. I took him to my vet yesterday and he reckons its actually a sarcoid. Because its inside the mouth we cant treat it with cream or cut it out, so the only option is to freeze it off. This is going to involve a general anaesthetic and a large vets bill of at least £600, not to mention he wont be able to wear a bit for several months. It is also highly likely that it will grow back. Because I bought him with this problem, the insurance will not pay the bill.
So I have two options go ahead with the treatment at a large cost but it will probably come back leading to yet more expense .or put him to sleep.
Ive explained this situation to the guy I bought him off, he told me he didnt know about the sarcoid and cannot buy him back as he doesnt have any money.
I asked my vet what he would do, and he said either give him back to the guy I bought him from or have him PT because the freezing procedure will be quite tricky and may not work, and a high chance it will just grow back anyway. I dont think I can give him back as I hate to think where he might end up.
Given that the horse is only 5 and has a lovely temperament, I would like to try freezing the sarcoid and see what happens before I give up. But I dont have much money and cannot afford ongoing vets bills to keep having it treated. The chances are I will never be able to achieve what I want to with him because there is such a high chance it will keep growing back. I bought him to bring on and either keep to event or sell on. Because of the sarcoid both these options are going to be very difficult or impossible to achieve. And this is not to mention the cost of treating the ones on his hind legs!
Im pretty sure the right thing to do is to cut my losses now and have him PTS. In the long run I am just going to be spending a lot of money on a horse which half the time I will be unable to ride and will never be able to sell.
I would be very interested to hear other peoples views on this, and if any one has experienced a similar situation?
