Would you buy a horse with sarcoids?

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summer03

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Have looked at a horse to buy and really like it but it has a sarcoid on his head but does not affect the bridle. What is everyones opinions about them? My friend had a horse once with them but she had big problems selling him on because people were that put off by them those her horse had quite a few. Opinions please to help make my decision! thanks :)
 
yes, my mare has had a couple or 5, they have not affected us in any way at all, and she is my horse of a lifetime. the last one was banded off over a year ago and she has not had one since!
 
Problem is they can pop up on any horse but having one already means its more likely, my horse had one on the end of his willy so when I saw him I never noticed til he was relaxed at home one day!

I was wary because I used to look after a horse that was riddled with them, he had one on his sheathe when his owner bought him.

If I reall liked the horse I would go for it, although becareful with insurance as some wont cover you for treatments.

Also I don't think a horse can pass a vetting with sarcoids so maybe use this to your advantage and get some money knocked off?
 
I've just had a sarcoid lasered off my horse. It really popped up so quickly. If you want to see the pic it will be on my recent posts. I'd always been worried about them after knowing a horse covered in the blighters. The treatment we've just had was efficient and quick - it would not put me off buying the right horse.
 
Be very very cautious!

Even if the sarcoid is in a place that is not likely to cause a problem at the moment it does not mean that it will not grow aggressively at some stage in the future and cause problems.

There is also the risk that once the horse is "infected" (and I use that term with caution as no infective agent has been isolated from all sarcoids at the moment)
that other sarcoids will develop elsewhere in the future (this may be months or even years - or not at all) and these MAY be in a more problematic place.

One solution will be to ask the vendor for a written warranty that states that should the sarcoid grow you can return the horse , get some money back, or they pay for treatment etc, but these may only be agreeable for a term which is relatively short compared to the actual risk period.

They WILL put off a lot of people so future resale value will be affected. Also any treatment will be paid for by YOU, as you will be unable to get any insurance for veterinary fees to cover this as it would be a pre-existing condition. Any attempt to buy the horse and insure it without telling the company would constitute fraud and would invalidate your insurance and possibly get you a criminal prosecution on top. Insurance companies can follow the paper trails for horses back through previous owners if they have to and some mention may have been made on its medical records or a previous insurance or pre-purchase examination.

There are plenty of horses out there without sarcoids - is it worth the risk?! At the end of the day its your money and time!
 
No!

i had a mare with sarcoids. One developed on her belly and was dormant for a few years, then suddenly it started getting growing and getting messy, more and more popped up on her belly and she had them removed by cryosurgery at Liveerpool. They kept coming back and being removed for 3-4 years, then just as suddenly they stopped.

I woiuld never risk it again.
 
Depends on the type of sarcoid and location, combined with how much the horse was and how good the horse was otherwise!

I'd never rule a horse out, but would want an expert eye on it and for the horse to be proven and competitively priced
 
No, never again I'm afraid. I lost my last horse to sarcoids - he had them in his groin and despite several years of treatment we lost the battle. They were removed either with lamb rings or Liverpool cream and the last one just kept reappearing, with a wound site that would not heal. I had decided to have him pts, on the vet's advice although there was no particular urgency, and was waiting for him to have a few days spring grass and sunshine after a long, hard winter when about a week later I found him in the field bleeding heavily. The sarcoid had, unknown to us, grown into the artery and ruptured when he was galloping about enjoying himself.

It took me a long time to come to terms with that, and I would never risk it again, no matter where the sarcoid was.
 
I was in a similar situation when horse shopping.
My vet recommended looking on the Liverpool university website and searching sarcoidosis. Professor knottenbelt is the UK expert and it explains all you need to know well.
Bottom line is the only predictable thing about sarcoidosis is that it I'd unpredictable and there are plenty of horses without
I sympathise as I was smitten with the horse that I was looking at but didnt take him as I wouldn't be able to insure against sarcoidosis and the treatment is expensive. Its a really tricky decision but google equine sarcoidosis and Liverpool and you can at least be as informed as possible
Good luck!
 
Yes. If the horse fitted my other criteria, I'd buy it.
I'd accept the risk of possible problems, on the grounds that every horse could potentially develop sarcoids at any time.
My horses are usually other people's rejects...and they still do me proud, regardless of any lumps and bumps :-)
 
we bought a horse in May with sarcoids and they haven't given us any trouble - no changes in appearance and they dont bother him/us any. However, a word of caution, there was some scare mongering at our yard and thankfully due to the yard owner being very reasonable we got the problem solved by moving horses to different fields and the problem has settled down but nearly had to go down the Liverpool cream path, even though I wasn't keen to (not because of the money just didnt feel that I wanted to open a can of worms). So far, no other horses have been infected but we have to be very careful with fly control and covering the sarcoids in hot weather.
 
I found a lovely horse at a dealers yard and at vetting they found a sarcoid in his sheath. I may have been lucky or not but chose not to proceed for two reasons 1) I had just nursed my old lad thru decades of chronic mud fever and didn't want to watch the new lad suffer if he developed multiple sarcoids and also 2) It was picked up at vetting and he would not have been insured and they cost £2k a pop to laser off.

Good luck hope you get sorted soon.
 
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