Sarcoids, removal from my horse, would you buy a horse with them?

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CALMEquestrian

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www.calmequestrian.co.uk
I have a 17 yr old gelding having some of his sarcoids removed today, he has around 50 all together, they look horrid but the vet assures me they are not even part of him just lumps under the skin. Would love to hear from anyone that has experience of lots of sarcoids and what happened with their horses

Many thanks

Miranda
 
i said yes simply because i unknowingly did buy one with them (Marley) and they really havent caused many problems at all, but then again he has only had 2.

one fibroblastic one and currently has one occult one that we're leaving alone for a bit as the treatment was making him very sore

ETS: this would be if horse was good in every other way
 
I said no because my horse has them and although I wouldn't be without her and they have not so far been a problem, they are a constant worry and I would not knowingly buy a horse with problems.
 
No, one more hassle to contend with, with so many other things to go wrong with an animal
frown.gif
 
Not really no, unless you are prepaired for the treatment, which can be expense, knock your horse for six, which means they may be out of work for a while, if you have gone down the route BCG injections. A horse of mine had a few but these were sucessfully removed by the knife.
 
i said no because without knowing alot more about the extent and type of sarcoids the horse has you could be opening a real can of worms. If they are fibroblastic remember the surface area goes way beyond what you seen on the surface.

50 sounds like an awful lot....I've been through hell and back with my mare who at her worst had 23....we've tried everything but in the Spring she had pioneering new treatment whereby they inserted small pieces of one which had been frozen in nitros oxide into her neck...the result is that the body rejects them and they start to burst. They have just started to burst and at the moment it all looks like the treatment is going to plan.

At 17 with that many sarcoids though I'd have to say i'd steer well clear unless you are prepared to spend alot of time and money on treatment.

There is no easy solution and treatment is usually unique to an individual horse.

Good luck.
 
if am thinking correctly a Sarcoid is a lump. My mare had one on her stomache just under her teats. My vet simply came out wrapped a band around it (which is used for castrating lambs) and it came off. He told me that its nothing to worry about as the one he removed had grown a bit and wasnt attached to to skin as such so was simple to remove.
 
Yes, but it depends on the sarcoid. I've bought a horse who had had a sarcoid removed, but the lump had not recurred and the skin felt soft so my vet was not worried. I've also had another horse on loan with a large sarcoid which had to be kept clear of flies in the summer but it did not bother him in any other way. Finally Rusky had a small sarcoid on his sheath but that one popped out as the vet was handling it and hasn't recurred.

I suppose sarcoids are so common that many horses will have them at one time or another.

Having said all this
smile.gif
, 50 sounds quite different from one, as they seem to be quite invasive. I hope it all works out with the treatment your vet is trying out!
 
i've put maybe because i have bought 2 with sarcoids but only because they were small and not widespread and vet seemed to think they wouldn't be a problem, in fact my youngsters has disappeared all on its own like the vet said it might do...
smile.gif
 
Yes, Like diggerbez i bought a youngster with them & they did drop off of their own accord, but they were not the big flat ones. She has not had any more porblems with them 7 years later.
 
I said maybe because I did. knowingly. he was great in every other way and horses can go wrong on so many ways tomorrow I felt at least I could see these and knew about them but they were stable and well out the way of tack etc. were treated 2 years ago and no problems since although I panick everytime he gets a little lump and as he gets alot of sebaceous cysts this is often ! I also was aware of worst case scenarios as was in the past involved with a horse who ultimately died from them so went in with eyes open.
 
I bought one who had been treated by DK at Liverpool who had probably at least 100 of the damn things!! They covered almost the whole of the insides of both hind legs and he was treated with an experimental (rather dangerous) drug that completely suppressed his immune system. It worked - they went - and 7 years on he remains sarcoid free.

When he returned to the livery yard from Liverpool he DID get strangles due to an unknown carrier (who'd been there for ages without infecting ANY of the livery horses including the horse I bought or two others of mine!!) After this horse (now with a low immune response) - and two recently imported Irish horses - went down with strangles they tested all the horses that had been in contact with the 3 sick horses and found the carrier!

But others have not been as lucky. I have a rather nice Irish Sport Horse I imported from Ireland as a 4 year old - he had a few grass warts on his sheath. Within 6 months he had several sarcoids - chest, girth, and sheath (amongst the warts). He has had 5 lots of treatment with Liverpool cream to date!
 
Thank you all so much, the vet has been out and she treated him last year and thinks that they have not got worse, although they look unsightly she has recommended i keep competiing him as he is perfectly sound and acts like a 4 yr old some days. She has ringed lots of them and shelled some out, she is not concerned at all so i guess i shouldn't be, as long as he is happy and not in pain then i can live with that.

Thanks for your comments, it seems to depend on personal experiences and opinions with the purchasing, i know i would get a vets opinion before having another with sarcoids but would not write off a horse just because of them.

Miranda
 
My mare is eighteen this year and has had sarcoids for thirteen years, gradually increasing in number over the years. She is loaned - I offered to buy her, but her owner said to save the money for vet treatment, which turned out to be sensible. I wouldn't advise against getting a horse with sarcoids if in every other way it was the perfect horse, but I would advise people to check the Liverpool University website on sarcoids and to speak to their vets about treatment and costs, so they know exactly what they are taking on.
 
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