Acceptable wear and tear in a 10yr old?

[Millertime]

I'm looking at buying a 10yrs old ISH, he's been competing on the flat at Elementary, doing Medium work at home. I noticed when I tried him that he didn't have the muscle across his back that you might expect and while he had muscle in the right place on his neck - he also had muscle on the lower part of his neck. I took the precaution of taking him to a physio prior to the vetting.

He has jumped, but his ride of the past 18 months isn't interested in jumping.

The physio detected he has a sore back - owner confessed to 'borrowing' a saddle as he had changed shape, but not having a proper saddle fitting. A proper saddle fitting is now taking place in the next few days.

The 2nd area the physio picked up was a RH toe drag, reluctance to flex through the hock and placement his foot under the belly, rather than towards the front foot. Potential arthritic changes, what is normal wear and tear - he's a lovely horse, perfect for me - should I continue with the vetting and get x-rays, or should my concern be that this has not been picked up before now and there may be other problems brewing because of that?

So I need to be cautious and at the same time realistic that horses aged 10 will have 'something' wrong.

I don't have the best of luck with horses. I'm not competitive, so novice/elementary level is great for me. I just want a horse to enjoy and have fun with. Should I be glass half full or half empty? Progress to a vetting or not?

You thoughts are appreciated!

 

[Charliechalk]

Hi, i would definately go for x-rays if you are considering buying this horse, i have recently bought a horse who was sound when purchased however, after working him for a few months became a little lame on his right hind, i had this investigated and eventually xrayed and it turns out he has arthritic changes in both hocks! He is only 10 years old. Although i am having this treated and hoping the hocks will fuse, there is a big question mark over whether he will ever be sound enough to do the job he was bought for (dressage). I think if you are considering him do have x-rays as then you can make an informed decision about him. Good luck.

 

[Paula18]

I would agree with the xrays as you need to further explore the arthritic changes. My boy has arthritis and although i would never ever swap him for the world it can at times be difficult to manage, costly and never goes away.

 

[hellybelly6]

I advise x-rays as well. My horse had bone spavin aged 9/10.

 

[soulfull]

think I would walk away unless I was truly hooked on him