diff --git a/discovery/syncer.go b/discovery/syncer.go
index 478e7acd3..b8c51a9a5 100644
--- a/discovery/syncer.go
+++ b/discovery/syncer.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"iter"
 	"math"
 	"math/rand"
 	"sort"
@@ -1446,8 +1447,29 @@ func (g *GossipSyncer) ApplyGossipFilter(ctx context.Context,
 		g.cfg.chainHash, startTime, endTime,
 	)
 
+	// Create a pull-based iterator so we can check if there are any
+	// updates before launching the goroutine.
+	next, stop := iter.Pull2(newUpdatestoSend)
+
+	// Check if we have any updates to send by attempting to get the first
+	// message.
+	firstMsg, firstErr, ok := next()
+	if firstErr != nil {
+		stop()
+		returnSema()
+		return firstErr
+	}
+
 	log.Infof("GossipSyncer(%x): applying new remote update horizon: "+
-		"start=%v, end=%v", g.cfg.peerPub[:], startTime, endTime)
+		"start=%v, end=%v, has_updates=%v", g.cfg.peerPub[:],
+		startTime, endTime, ok)
+
+	// If we don't have any to send, then we can return early.
+	if !ok {
+		stop()
+		returnSema()
+		return nil
+	}
 
 	// Set the atomic flag to indicate we're starting to send the backlog.
 	// If the swap fails, it means another goroutine is already active, so
@@ -1461,14 +1483,45 @@ func (g *GossipSyncer) ApplyGossipFilter(ctx context.Context,
 	}
 
 	// We'll conclude by launching a goroutine to send out any updates.
+	// The goroutine takes ownership of the iterator.
 	g.cg.WgAdd(1)
 	go func() {
 		defer g.cg.WgDone()
 		defer returnSema()
 		defer g.isSendingBacklog.Store(false)
+		defer stop()
 
-		for msg := range newUpdatestoSend {
-			err := g.sendToPeerSync(ctx, msg)
+		// Send the first message we already pulled.
+		err := g.sendToPeerSync(ctx, firstMsg)
+		switch {
+		case errors.Is(err, ErrGossipSyncerExiting):
+			return
+
+		case errors.Is(err, lnpeer.ErrPeerExiting):
+			return
+
+		case err != nil:
+			log.Errorf("Unable to send message for "+
+				"peer catch up: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		// Continue with the rest of the messages using the same pull
+		// iterator.
+		for {
+			msg, err, ok := next()
+			if !ok {
+				return
+			}
+
+			// If the iterator yielded an error, log it and
+			// continue.
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Errorf("Error fetching update for peer "+
+					"catch up: %v", err)
+				continue
+			}
+
+			err = g.sendToPeerSync(ctx, msg)
 			switch {
 			case err == ErrGossipSyncerExiting:
 				return