A scenario for you - What would you do?

OK, So here is a scenario for you to think about.

A 14 year old girl is looking for her first pony. A perfect pony comes along. He ticks all the boxes. The girl adores him. This is going to be her first pony to just do hacking and low level riding club.

He is a 12 year old 14.2hh Irish Cob. Very chunky type. Handsome with an adorable temperament.

A part Vetting is done. All is fine until the flexion test.

One leg is fine the other not good at all.

The present owner has owned him for 4 years and he has never been "unsound".

He is playful and nosy and never shows any sign of lameness.

Out of interest, What would you do?
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It would depend what the present owner used him for and what the girl would use him for and what the vet said. If the present owner said he'd never been unsound but only sat on him once a week then probably look for another one...
 
depends on what they mean by not nice, and how much £££ they are parting with, if she can get a good few years out of him and he ticks all other boxes then i probably would have him, but try and negotiate on price
 
this is a hard one but to find a horse that tiks all the boxes is rare and as long as the rider isnt going to become over ambitoius which does happen then he would proberly be fine with what u wnt him for as long as the owner isnt lieing i think u wud be alrite
xxxx however maybe get another vet to do the test a second opinon is always better
 
I wouldnt bother buying it (unless BARGAIN price) as 12 yo is likely to grow out of the pony OR move on and require more from pony and in which case the pony may have to be resold which will be a hard if lamness is uncurable/gets worse.

There are plenty more horses in the field...!
 
TBH that wouldn't worry me excessively and i would probably still buy it - safe, confidence giving PC ponies are worth their weight in gold - and i am convinced that often passing/failing the flexion test comes down to how it is done on the day anyway
 
sorry scousa, that's a lot of as long as's.
I would not be happy if one leg is 'not good at all'
Owenrs tend to 'forget' unsoundness I have to say!
 
Normally when I have seen flexion tests done, the horse is normally lame for a few strides and then comes sound. This one did not come sound during that trot up. Does that make sense?
 
this is a hard one but to find a horse that tiks all the boxes is rare and as long as the rider isnt going to become over ambitoius which does happen then he would proberly be fine with what u wnt him for as long as the owner isnt lieing i think u wud be alrite
xxxx however maybe get another vet to do the test a second opinon is always better??
 
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Normally when I have seen flexion tests done, the horse is normally lame for a few strides and then comes sound. This one did not come sound during that trot up. Does that make sense?

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Ooooo well that's a bit different.... I don't set too much by flexion tests as a whole, but if it didn't come sound at all, then that's a whole different ball game. TBH IMO, it's now in the vendor's best interest for them to investigate further themselves!
 
scousaxx, i don't want to knock your posting enthusiasm but your post are quite challenging to read, and there is quite a bit of resistance to 'textspeak' from us oldies
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If you use Firefox you will find a fabulous spellcheck facility that I have to say i wouldn't be without
 
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If you use Firefox you will find a fabulous spellcheck facility that I have to say i wouldn't be without

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I use FF, never knew about a spell checker - where is it please? Sorry Bonza!
 
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If you use Firefox you will find a fabulous spellcheck facility that I have to say i wouldn't be without

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I use FF, never knew about a spell checker - where is it please? Sorry Bonza!

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sorry =post hijack!
I downloaded it with Firefox when i put it on the pooter - but it is regularly offered when they upgrade so look out for it then
 
if hes not sound at all then i would be very very wary, would also scrutinise trotting on hard surface/circle etc

If they really really want him, 2nd opinion, if it comes up the same then i would walk away

Like above, if they are going to outgrow etc and not get the best out of the pony, its not worth the heartbreak, esp when its for a child.
 
Its an Irish Cob !! Very few of them would pass flexions beyond the age of 10! It is because all heavy animals become stiffer in their joints as they go on. However despite this they will go on to lead long, sound and usefull lives.

Due to the type of horse he is, and the type of work that he is going to be used for, and the fact that he has good soundness history, I'd be inclined to give this one the benefit of the doubt (depending on the severity of the reaction to the flexion of course)

Trevor failed a flexion on 2 legs when I bought him, evented for many seasons, completed 3 day events. Then passed a full vetting and xrays
 
Personally, I'd walk away, but I would have wanted the full picture (5 stage, not part vetting) from the start to know if anthing else was lurking.
 
it was only one as long as and buying a horse is a risk and pc ponys that are confidence givers are gold, you will take a rsik with whatever you buy so id go for itxx
 
It might be worth bearing in mind that flexion tests were originally done back in olden times to test to see whether a horse was drugged. Normally a sound horse will be lame for a few paces afterwards but a drugged horse will not be so it didn't used to be a test for soundness per say. Not sure if that's helpful?!
 
yes i second what the watcher says, as at the end of the day you can make a horse hobble by doing a rough flexion test! which joint was it that was tested when he hobbled, did you then have good look for visible signs of wear? put on circle check for equal steps/suppleness, hard ground? its a tricky one though, as how long did it take for him to come sound?

pony i sold, it failed its flexion test on hind leg, they still really liked him so had him re-vetted, and he passed no probs???
 
My boy hobbled badly on his left fore during the vetting, he was 4 yrs old. It wasnt for a few strides either. We walked away, looked at others and stupidly went back and bought him. That was nearly 5 yrs ago, touch wood again and again and whispers 'its not caused a problem ... yet'
Flexion tests are very contraversial sp, my vet says it depends on who does it as to how its done as each vet will use different pressure and even flex them differently. My boy wasnt overly expensive and we took the risk. This could be complete rubbish but I think I'd think twice with an older horse.
 
Buying horses is such a mine field, and many horses fail flexion tests, with no problems before or after. The only thing I would say is if you have a horse vetted follow the advice of the vet. Having said that I have never had a horse vetted, the only problem we have had is a 6 year old shire who went on to develop cushings syndrome(probably). This would not have been found in a vetting as it took an incredibly long time to diagnose when she was symptomatic, which was 18 months after we had bought her.
 
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Its an Irish Cob !! Very few of them would pass flexions beyond the age of 10! It is because all heavy animals become stiffer in their joints as they go on. However despite this they will go on to lead long, sound and usefull lives.


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That's is pretty much what I've said to Bonza on the subject!!

I have a five year old filly who will not take one short step after a full two minute high flexion test on either back leg. Wonderful I hear you all cry........except she had an op to correct an OCD problem on a hock as a two year old. The op went slightly wrong & has left her with a huge lump on the front aspect of her nearside hock joint. She is in foal & unbroken, but is sound as a bell, & will gallop through the heaviest of ground when looning around in the field. However I can't see anyone buying her as a potential eventer (even though that's how she's bred) on the basis that she'll pass a flexion test!!!
To my mind given the type & age of this horse, & the level of demands that are going to me made on it the only value the flexion test has is as a bargaining point on the price.
 
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