advice needed on my new horse

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katieibiza

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hi i have just got a horse she's 15.2 dark bay tb 8 yr old i have got her on a months trial but when we got her home on saturday we noticed that her front legs right one more he joints look as if they are cracking each time and do not flow properly then tuesday the farrier came out tuesday to put shoes on her and he said she has got problems and he wouldn't buy her if he was me he said her front legs are not straight and not working properly and that it will cause alot of proplems i phoned the bloke who is a dealer in ex racehorses up and mentioned it and he said that there is nothing wrong with her at all but even my non horsey partner noticed this problem and the girl who keeps her horse has. i am ment to be buying her for £1500 and i have bonded with her and i really just dont know what to do.
also she has really flackey skin on her neck and ears.


please help
 
get your vet out, asap. honestly. the sooner you get an expert opinion that the dealer will respect, the better. do not bond let yourself with her, she sounds as if she has got a lot of possible problems. it's very sad, but unless you are happy to have a pet you can't ride, you should be prepared to send her back asap, depending on what the vet says.
the flakey skin on her neck and ears wouldn't worry me, unless it's ringworm or something, in which case, you definitely need the vet's opinion anyway!

also, if you post pics of her front legs on here, we can give opinions. there's a lot of very knowledgeable people on here. but vet first, it might well save you an absolute fortune and a LOT of heartache.
 
Well you havent had her vetted I take it?

do you mean she has clicky joints in one leg?

Can you describe in more detail what is wrong with her front legs, surely if your non horsey partner noticed it you must have noticed before bringing her home?

sounds like she either has some arthritis, or an injury.

I would return the horse ASAP before you get the blame for it, or get your vet out.
 
Hmmm

I would send her back...have you paid for her?

How old is she etc?

Trust me, you cant have bonded with her as much as you think you have in less than a month - a much stronger bond will come with a horse that you can ride (and is sound for a start) and by the sounds of things you wont be riding this mare for a while if she has 'broken down' in the way that racehorses often do.

I would not go near a horse my farrier said had dodgy legs before he even saw her under saddle!

I think you have to return the horse and start again,

How much experience do you have?

The flakey skin could be anythng from sweetitch to ringworm.
 
well he said he will paid to have her vetted but i am convinced he might of given her something because i checked her when i went to look at her and there wasn't nothing wrong with her and they want to trailer her and take her and i dont trust them and i dont want to stress her out anymore she has already been moved about enough the past week
 
Echo Both of the above points BTW. TBH I have never had a horse vetted however I can see a lame horse a mile off and have very exp. friends (one of which is a vet and another a farrier) who I have taken with me to oversee any purchases.

Anyway....how much experience do you actually have?
 
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well he said he will paid to have her vetted but i am convinced he might of given her something because i checked her when i went to look at her and there wasn't nothing wrong with her and they want to trailer her and take her and i dont trust them and i dont want to stress her out anymore she has already been moved about enough the past week

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Ask to see vetting certificate then. How old is she?

Horses can get clicking joints for a number of reasons however the thing that stands out is that you say the farrier said she was knackered and you shouldnt buy her! That woudl set alarm bells ringing to me!
 
do NOT let his vet look at the horse, get an independent vet of your own.
a lot of people inject horse's joints to make them sound for a while.
horses get moved around all the time, as long as she's got a haynet she'll be fine. unless you are happy to have a very expensive field ornament that you can't ride, sort it out now, honestly! best advice i can give you, sorry.
 
Completely agree with Kierelli -

How old is the mare?

You have no obligation to keep her, have not paid, and have been told she has problems. You have to cut the emotions out and send her back - it sounds like a recipe for disaster to me to be honest.
 
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do NOT let his vet look at the horse, get an independent vet of your own.
a lot of people inject horse's joints to make them sound for a while.
horses get moved around all the time, as long as she's got a haynet she'll be fine. unless you are happy to have a very expensive field ornament that you can't ride, sort it out now, honestly! best advice i can give you, sorry.

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Echo this, sorry but it looks like they have tried to mug you off!
 
yes i know. the vet he wants to take her to is the vet i am reg with any way but i would prefer them to come to her field.
plus when i went to pick her feet this morning her leg was really stiff and no she wasn't being awkward
 
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she is 8 yr 7 months

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Did you ask

1) What she has done
2) Why she is with the dealer

when you bought her?

Seems very cheap money for a sound 8 year old tb mare....therefore I think there is a reason for her low price (that she is lame being one of them)

If she was young I would say that it may have been a ligament over a joint which can make a clicking sound - have had a horse pass a vetting with this. However at eight and as a tb I would run a mile, especially as her fromt legs are not right, as you say.

Did you not see this when you bought her?
 
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yes i know. the vet he wants to take her to is the vet i am reg with any way but i would prefer them to come to her field.
plus when i went to pick her feet this morning her leg was really stiff and no she wasn't being awkward

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What are you intending to do with this mare? TB's usually dont live out that well thru winter when they are in work?
 
I agree, I would run for the hills personally!
frown.gif
 
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yes i know. the vet he wants to take her to is the vet i am reg with any way but i would prefer them to come to her field.
plus when i went to pick her feet this morning her leg was really stiff and no she wasn't being awkward

[/ QUOTE ]As its you buying her get the vet out to her where she is, even if it means paying yourself. Its possible for them to give her something that will make her appear sound by the time she gets there (not saying they would, just that its possible) so its much better to get the vet to you.

I agree with the others, an 8-9 yr old should be sound so if she is cheap and you can see a problem with her leg its best to find out quiclky so she can go back before you fall for her.
If a dealer lets you have a horse on trial thats got a leg problem you can bet its so the person falls in love with it and does not want it to go back in case a nasty person buys it!
 
If she was given something the joint would still crunch - it would only mask the pain.

How lame is she.

Do you know her history.

I would get vet out - if he was just for hacking then I would see what was wrong and evalute from there...if it is arthritis and you only want to light hack then I would consider keeping her, but not pay the full asking price.

To x ray nerve block (only with dealers permission) woudl cost you about £350...

I would call the dealer and say you really like the mare but you are concerned with the crunchy joint thing, and say to him you want to get the vet out to see what it is.

If it is something that makes you not want to keep her (as in something that means she will be permanently lame, for example) I would send her back and foot the bill

However if it is something, like arthritis for instance, I would question the vet about management and riding her and if it is something that will/could be managed with consideration and the occasional bute for instance, I would seriously consider keeping her.

If after this you do want to keep her I would call the dealer and say "look, the mare has arthritis in its fetlock joint however I am prepared to keep her. As I have allready spent out £400 on vets fees, and as it will take management, I am only prepared to offer you £500 for her. Take it or leave it"

He will probably take it unless he is a completely immoral individual and wants the mare back to inject its joint and sell on to some unsuspecting person and go through the same process again (if he does say no you should send the mare back)

Thats my advice anyway.
 
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yes my worry is if i send her back she get shot but i have got to be practical i know

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Not your problem. Its his. Harsh but true.
 
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yes my worry is if i send her back she get shot but i have got to be practical i know

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Not your problem. Its his. Harsh but true.

[/ QUOTE ] Agree - and if you keep her you might end up arranging for her to be PTS anyway!
 
There are lots of lovely sound horses around, unless you are prepared with a bottomless pit of money and time to spend on something which you probably can't ride most of the time and will almost certainly be unable to sell in future, I would send her back regardless of what the vet says. A sound, rideable horse costs less to keep than a problem. With small animals you can afford to be sentimental, but unfortunately it's never as easy with horses.
 
I feel for you, please be strong and send this horse back, you sound like you don't need this on you.

And just to say I paid 1500 for my completely sound 8YO gelding so it can be done - so you will find something better.

Best Of Luck
 
SEND it back asap before he tries to blame you for the problem!!!!Dont waste money on the vetting!!Loads of horses out there that will give you years,this sounds like it will cost you and cause loadsa problems!!
 
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