Sarcoid experience?

[saddleup]

I’m in the market for a new horse, and spoke to someone about a horse they have for sale. This gelding sounds great, and at the seller’s suggestion I contacted a mutual friend who knows the horse well. This friend confirmed the horse is just as described, and then said she would have bought him but he has sarcoids on his chest and near his sheath so she passed on him.

I did some searching online, and as usual the descriptions range from “no big deal” to “the worst thing EVER to deal with”. So, anybody here have experience with them? This might also explain why the price seemed almost too good to be true. Obviously I would have seen them once I saw the horse, but he’s out of state and I would have traveled a few hundred miles to try him…seemed like the seller should have mentioned it, or am I delusional?

[AKB]

My horse had a sarcoid on his face that cleared after a few weeks of Imiquimod/Aldara cream. It was really swollen and ugly when I was using the cream, but healed without a scar. Many sarcoids are no big deal. Are you sure he has sarcoids and not squamous cell carcinoma or other more worrisome problem?

[Lord_Helpus]

My new (2 years ago) horse had an undisclosed sarcoid (buying sight unseen can have its drawbacks, but I am thrilled with the horse, anyway). I did my COTH research and found the recommendation of Crest toothpaste and… It worked perfectly!

You need to use either the original or the cavity control type. With a toothbrush, I gently scrubbed it in 2x/day. I saw significant improvement in 2 weeks and in a month, the sarcoid was totally gone — never to return!

A year later, I saw the beginning of another sarcoid, so I started the toothpaste immediately, and it went away after 2 weeks and has never come back.

The Crest cost $1 at Dollar Tree and was the cheapest and easiest thing I have ever done with a horse.

My only worry might be the location – near the sheath. It might be easy or the horse might object. I would try to find that out because surgery is expensive and does not always work.

[Zu_Zu]

please keep looking for your new horse ~

Jingles & AO ~

[Quinn]

Have had 2 with Sarcoids. Both cleared up well with a fluoride toothpaste.

[SonnysMom]

I had one that got a sarcoid on his face under his cheekpiece. I tried the toothpaste, I tried another RX cream from the vet. Finally the vet injected it with something and it went away. Nothing too expensive. He was left with a spot where the hair was thin but not totally bald.
I wouldn’t pass on a horse for a sarcoid if they aren’t anywhere that would interfere with tack. Under the saddle, girth or on the poll I would think twice. Where you describe wouldn’t worry me. You can ask your vet about them or if you like the horse ask the PPE vet.

[PNWjumper]

I’ve had several horses with sarcoids over the years. Haven’t ever had Crest (or any other toothpaste) work to clear them up, but I have used a bloodroot extract product (very similar to Xxterra) with great success. I would not be likely to make a decision against a horse based on presence of sarcoids.

[GoodTimes]

I’ve known a couple horses with them and like others said, unless it’s going to interfere with tack than I wouldn’t be concerned.

One mare had one near her teats (successful hunter turned broodmare). They were worried it would become a problem once she had a nursing foal so they used a cream to get rid of it. It worked and never came back.

The gelding I knew who had them was grey. They were confirmed sarcoids. He had several in his ears. They tried getting rid of them, it didn’t work which unfortunately just resulted in no one being able to touch his ears. Still, not a big deal. We just had to be careful with halters/bridles and he had to be tranqd to clip his head.

[Horsecare101]

My senior gelding has a small sarcoid behind his sheath. It hasn’t grown and our vet said not to touch it. Some react poorly to treatment and get exponentially worse so if they are small and aren’t near the eyes or somewhere that can cause a real issue, it’s not a big deal. I’d definitely get a vet’s opinion on it if possible, but I don’t think it’s a reason not to buy the horse.

[saddleup]

Thanks for the input. The owner has now offered to trailer him to me to try, so I can check him out for myself and have my vet look at him.