2 or 5 stage vetting

[soulfull]

Head shakers can be a real nightmare! I would never buy one, especially not this time of year. If it turns out to be pollen related it may well be un rideable in spring and summer
If not pollen could be any number of pain related problems
My honest advice is walk away. Even if horse was free I wouldn't take it. Sorry

 

[Bojingles]

I'm cautious by nature and always have a 5-stage. I think the difference in price is too small not to. I only ever buy hacking horses, but I consider this irrelevant as vets' fees are the same whatever the horse.

 

[benson21]

one died from sarcoids, .

Really really sorry if this comes across as insensitive, but how can a horse die from sarcoids???

 

[AmyMay]

Really really sorry if this comes across as insensitive, but how can a horse die from sarcoids???

Some horses can suffer so badly from them that the only kind thing to do is have them destroyed.

 

[1Lucie]

Unless ur v experienced and in the know. I'd have a five stage.

 

[Girlie1998]

Thanks everyone really appreciate all your replies. Just not sure whether to walk away because of head shaking which is gutting but I will speak to vet for their opinion

 

[Nicnac]

Really? I have nearly 15 years experience in carrying out 5 stage (stage NOT star btw ) vettings and I still think that I always have more to learn about heart problems particularly. I did some CPD recently specifically about interpreting the findings of cardiac problems that show up at vettings and there were several well known horse vets (30+ years in the business) on the course with that were me keen to expand their knowledge. I would say that detecting and evaluating the significance of subtle murmurs or arrhythmias is pretty close to rocket science!

On another point the reason that a lot of vets won't do 2 stage vettings is that the company that insure us and provide professional indemnity cover don't feel that a 2 stage vetting is a thorough enough investigation and likely to leave problems undetected which may, in future, lead to litigation against vets. They'd rather that we didn't do any 2 stage vettings at all any more but will still provide cover if a disclaimer (as one previous poster mentioned) that they drew up has been signed by the purchaser.

Thank you Gamebird!!

 

[eggs]

Some years ago I bought a dressage horse in the autumn and had him 5 stage vetted. Come the spring he turned into a head shaker - hence the autumn sale! Fortunately a nose net helped enormously and he was fine with it is it is not all doom and gloom for a head shaker. However I wouldn't knowingly buy a head shaker.

 

[FionaM12]

As the owner of a head-shaker, I don't think I'd buy one again. Mollie's previous owner said it intermittent and mild, but I certainly don't agree with her. I've got round it (I hope) with the use of a bitless bridle and a nosenet in summer, but went through hell over it to get where we are now.

I'd suggest you look up some of the many sites about head-shaking and consider carefully. Also, it often tends to be much worse in summer, so if the horse is head-shaking now, think what it might be like in two months. It's often very hard to find the cause and can be untreatable.

 

[Girlie1998]

As the owner of a head-shaker, I don't think I'd buy one again. Mollie's previous owner said it intermittent and mild, but I certainly don't agree with her. I've got round it (I hope) with the use of a bitless bridle and a nosenet in summer, but went through hell over it to get where we are now.

I'd suggest you look up some of the many sites about head-shaking and consider carefully. Also, it often tends to be much worse in summer, so if the horse is head-shaking now, think what it might be like in two months. It's often very hard to find the cause and can be untreatable.

Thanks, they have said it's just something she has picked up because she's been out of work and is excited. They quote "if you give her a tap with the whip she stops it as she plays up on it"

 

[FionaM12]

Thanks, they have said it's just something she has picked up because she's been out of work and is excited. They quote "if you give her a tap with the whip she stops it as she plays up on it"

Well I'd do lots of reading up about head shaking as their explanation doesn't sound convincing to me. There are plenty of good sites on the subject.

 

[Spring Feather]

I would say that detecting and evaluating the significance of subtle murmurs or arrhythmias is pretty close to rocket science!

Detecting an irregular rhythm is not difficult. Most horses owners who have any degree of knowledge on taking the vital signs of their horses should know how to detect an irregular rhythm. Diagnosing it is something else. The point is, when checking a horse that one is potentially looking to buy, if an irregular heart beat is heard then it would be up to the potential buyer as to whether they wish to proceed with the purchase and have their vet further investigate or whether they wish to walk away. A 5-stage vetting will only detect possible problems, in the same way as a competent buyer can detect these same problems at a viewing.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

Some people are assuming that 'shakes her head when ridden' automatically means its a headshaker. It doesn't and it would be a shame if a horse was passed over because of a misunderstanding.

 

[caseycat]

Also a shame though to get a horse fall in love with it and then see it struggle to enjoy life when the pollen is high. That is assuming that the problem if there is one is allergy related.

 

[EstherYoung]

Really? I have nearly 15 years experience in carrying out 5 stage (stage NOT star btw ) vettings and I still think that I always have more to learn about heart problems particularly. I did some CPD recently specifically about interpreting the findings of cardiac problems that show up at vettings and there were several well known horse vets (30+ years in the business) on the course with that were me keen to expand their knowledge. I would say that detecting and evaluating the significance of subtle murmurs or arrhythmias is pretty close to rocket science!

And not all vets can do it either - it is a real skill. Ours has three murmurs (all regular irregularities, two harmless and one 'mostly harmless') and he's had a lot of vets listen to his heart at rides. Some real heart geeks not only spot all three but identify them too, and some don't spot them at all....

Really really sorry if this comes across as insensitive, but how can a horse die from sarcoids???

Really aggressive malignant sarcoids can be very very unpleasant and impossible to deal with - they are a proper cancer. They're a totally different animal to the odd small one that sits there dormant for the horse's whole life. Maybe they don't die from the sarcoids but they can die from complications. Our mate has just lost her lovely boy after many years' battle with sarcoids - she called it a day because he ended up getting an abscess behind his eye due to the sarcoids spreading around and behind his eye, and the skin around the eye and face was too damaged by sarcoids to remove the eye. Just horrendous.

 

[Kokopelli]

OP go for a 5 stage and make sure that includes bloods, if it doesn't get blood tests done. It protects you as the buyer but also protects the seller.

Try to be there for the vetting so you can see for yourself any issues and you can have a more in depth conversation with your vet and you'll probably learn a lot. If the seller is genuine then they'll have nothing to worry about. We actually try to encourage clients to attend vettings and take bloods.