Sarcoid

Magicmillbrook

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Has anyone had experience of sarcoids. Am still on a horse hunt, have found a super 5yo but she has a smooth(ish) almond shaped sarcoid/growth on her belly. Would not interfere with rug or girth. One friend said ignore it, the seller said her vet advised it was no problem and to leave it alone (I expect she would), a work colleague today said dont touch with a barge pole - I am going to chat to my vet and have an internet trawl before I decide whether to have a vetting. What do you guys think?
 
It probably won't pass a vetting with it and you may have problems selling the horse in the future. A good reason to get the horse cheap, in the summer flies tend to eat them a lot and make them bleed which isn't nice.
 
Take some good photo's and ask your vet to send them to Liverpool for their input before going ahead with a full 5 stage vetting
 
Trouble with sarcoids is that they can spread to all parts of the body and can reacurr.
However, saying that, when I got Royale many many years ago she developed a couple of sarcoids as a 5 year old, one on her chest which was operated on and one behind her ear which was treated with liverpool cream. They never returned and she never developed any more in the 17 years I owned her.
 
I have known a few horses with the.

One horse a 5yr old Tb had a small one on his flank, vet sid just ignore it and they never spread.

Another horse who had them, a pointer, his were so bad they constantly spread, after going for a gallop he would come back literally dripping blood it was awful, his were all over his chest area.
He had various ops to remove them and all the creams but nothing worked and they always came back.

After seeing him i wouldnt buy a horse with sarcoids, some seem to only get one that doesnt change, but this poor pointer, well his life was made miserable by them.

A horse I have on loan had one on his sheath once, when he was about 7, it was removed and never came back though.
 
Be very careful, buying a horse with sarcoids. My close friend has one and in the summer he suffers really bad with them, what with the flies irritating them as has previously been said, they grow and spread in the summer months, so just beware.
Personally I would not buy one with sarcoids.
Kate x
 
I bought my boy in September, he is 4 yo and has successfully had his sarcoids (think there were 3 little ones) treated with the Bristol (i think) university cream. The hair has fully regrown over them. He passed the vet they are not in a bad place and he was really pleased with how he had responded to the cream etc. I am keeping his immune system boosted as heard this can help keeping them away in the future. I did get him at a very good price and the vet said without them, he would have been worth £1 - £2k more than i paid. Just check how bad they are, mine were only size of 20p piece each and check they are not weeping, nasty...ours were dried up with hair regrowth over them...there are some really good treatments out there now...and don't forget to negotiate well...hope this helps!
 
I work at a vets and we send off at least 2 cases (photos of) to Liverpool per week for the cream. Dont get me wrong, it is good but I wouldnt take the risk personally.

Most cases clear up and are not a problem. But I know several who have had 1 or 2 tiny ones that werent a problem then eventually they had outbursts on face. These couldnt be treated and one has since been put down as so sore, just like open wounds.

So many other problems horse owners have to face nowadays and injury risks I wouldnt buy one knowing there may be a further one!

If you do buy it tho, like someone said above, get photos sent when the vetting is done and wait for response. Also vetting will obviously mention sarcoids, may still pass but insurance will exclude them as mantioned on vet. certificate. This means you will have to pay for all further treatment needed..... make sure price drops enough to reflect this!!
 
my horse has sarcoids he has not trouble with them put if you want to do showing it would not be suitable for you! He has a lot my horse and is not suitable for showing so we do dressage and jumping my sort of stuff anyway! He has had them for a long time and had one on his eye that is the only one we have had to have removed and it is fine now!
 
a vet will normally pass a horse with a small sarcoid but will point it out . They dont usually fail them on a sarcoid. It is a personal view some people wont touch a horse with a sarcoid, or some people would expect the horse to be reduced in price because of it. Personally you have to decide.
 
I bought my boy last year with one under his belly - which the vet actually missed on the vetting - presently taking legal action against that vet!!! Anyhoo, got my own vets opinion on it and was advised that as it was under his belly, it would not affect what I wanted him for and if I was prepared to take the risk that they may spread, she would still pass him on a 5 stage vetting.
I think it is really a personal thing, every horse seems to have something that is quirky about it. Personally I would rather take the risk with a young horse with one or two small sarcoids, than anything with possible joint, respiratory or allergy problems!!!
It also depends how good this horse is, will it suit exactly what you are looking for??
I am glad I took the risk, he did actually develop a couple more but have since had them all treated with the Liverpool cream and fingers crosssed !!!!!
As other people have said though, make sure you get a good reduction on the price as the insurers will not pay out and although not that expensive to treat initially, may become more expensive if they come back.
 
Sarcoids are the paloma virus, the same as warts in humans they can be cured by the horses own system fighting the virus and I have done so, our Chestnut horse developed 2 large one the size of ping pong balls underneath one of his legs. I sent photos off to Liverpool and organised to get the cream but there was a 6 week delay and in the mean time I read about the virus and got my horse a liver tonic from Global Herbs called "Restore" (or something similar) I then put him on Bob Allens horrible minerals and within 3 weeks they had shrunk and with 6 they were gone.
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o86/luane1/P2090024.jpg
 
Oh why is horse buying so difficult. I havent seen a single horse without something, I guess its going to be more difficlut for me as I have set a distance limit and am on a budget - however if the horses I have looked at are an indication of what is out there I am glad I have only wasted 1/2 day instead of trawling across the country.

This mare is a poppet. Will speak to vet and attempt to negotiate price, she is an ex racer, and though well bred has done nothing, I thought her price a little steep, but with the sarcoid I would expect it to be much reduced. Thanks everyone
 
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