Age-old Question - 2/5 Stage Vetting WWYD

Esme

Esme

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Hi all,

I've been to view a horse this morning who seems, for my purposes, absolutely wonderful. I've left a 20% deposit to hold him subject to vetting.

The horse in question is a 10 year old ex-racer, fairly green and lacking a bit of confidence. Potential to make a fab all-rounder with time and work but equally, could be seen as a bit of gamble. To reflect this he's very reasonably priced IMO (cheaper that some ROR charity rehoming fees).

Now the big question - 2 or 5 stage vetting? I understand that it's not as simple as pass/fail and the PPE is technically only to 'suggest' whether or not the horse is fit for purpose, which would be hacking, RC and in the future I hope some 90/100 ODEs.

Taking into consideration that a vetting will only ever be a snapshot in time, and it can be hard (if you do have a problem later down the line) to prove that it was missed, is 5 stage really worth it? Is it unnecessary on a cheap horse who realistically might well have picked up some knocks in his 10 years? Is it going to throw red flags that are unlikely to ever cause a problem in low-level work? Or in the grand scheme of vets bills, is it silly to scrimp on a £300 health check?!

Is there really little more to a 2-stage than you can establish yourself - i.e. level, happy, no heat, lumps/bumps? Is it not worth paying the callout fee for a quick trot up?

Any thoughts welcome. Thanks in advance, and fizzy wine & roast potatoes!
 
I think it depends on your own level of experience and knowledge for spotting issues. What you spend now could well save you a lot of time and money later on
 
The only horse I've ever had vetted (and I've had 100's) broke down 8 weeks after I bought him..........If you plan to insure him I think you are required to vet?
 
Do you need to vet if paying nominal price? Assuming you can see any obvious issues yourself, I have never vetted anything we have brought, though a lot have been youngsters, but I would not vet unless ever paying £5 plus, which is unlikely to ever happen!
Never paid more than £1500 and always insured without needing a vetting.
It is literally a snapshot of the horse on that day, imho, and if you have enough knowledge to nothing de if its sound, breathing seems normal and so n, I have never bothered.
Agree, I take a chance on things like heart or eyes, but that's such a small risk, imho it's not worth worrying about.
 
I bought an un backed horse last year,for the first time ever I had a vetting, horse is now rehabbing after a failed backing attempt. Has ligament damage from mild kissing spines,lame on front feet & lame behind with hoof imbalance. Now the vetting feels like a total waste of money!!!! Not sure I'd bother getting a cheap youngster vetted again tbh.
 
I found there was very little price difference between a 2 stage and a 5 stage. I couldn't have a 5 stage because the horse was unbroken and there was no area to free school.
 
There tends to be little difference between a 2 and 5 stage (in the grand scheme of horse ownership) so I'd do a 5 stage.

I know some people will say they don't bother with a vetting, it's a snapshot in time etc. but for the sake a £300 I wouldn't take the risk. Vets see thousands of horses a year and a good one should have significantly more experience and knowledge than your average horse owner. You will also have bloods should you need to get them tested at a later date.

The problem is £1k horses cost the same to keep and maintain in vets bills as £50k horses. I don't have my own land and so injured horses are very expensive to keep. For that reason, regardless of the price of the horse, I'd always get a 5 stage vetting. It doesn't mean the horse won't go lame/get kicked but it does reduce your risk of buying a horse with existing problems.
 
The best horse I owned failed a vetting miserably on LF flexion. I walked away and went back a few weeks later and bought him as I just loved him! Stupid I know but in the 12 yrs I owned him up to being pts with something totally unrelated he never was lame. My last horse flew through the vetting and got kicked in the field a few weeks later, things can happen that changes everything overnight. Its a tough call. Would I vet another?? If it was expensive then yes, cheap then Id seriously consider not doing. Insurance covers upto a certain amount without a vetting, it used to be 5k but I think its less now. Its daft as you get penalised by the insurance for vetting as they exclude any little thing that shows up, yet if you hadnt had the vetting you would get full cover. Its wrong really.
 
With a horse of his age you want to ruleout any underlying problems that are going to shorten his ridden career, mean you spend months 'rehabbing' etc- so a 5 stage vetting is the thing you want. It's pennies compared to the cost of treating a problem!
 
It depends! If you feel you have the experience to see any problems that the horse might have yourself, then I guess a lot of people would advise not to get a vetting.

For a ridden horse, I would always get a 5 stage vetting, though I don't think i'm experienced enough to spot and potential issues myself. When I was looking for my first horse (18 months ago), I got 2 horses 5 stage vetted. The first was a 7 year, the vet spotted a few things that could potentially lead to future issues, he technically 'failed' the vetting as the vet informed that because of his age, if he is put into hard work these small things *could* lead to bigger issues. THey also told me if he'd only had 1 thing come up they would have advised me to buy, but as there were alot of small things then their advise was to not.
I could have bought this horse and he may have been fine, but then again, maybe not and I decided the risk wasn't worth it.

The 2nd horse i got vetted (the horse I ended up buying) was 14 years old, the vet found a few lumps and bumps with him but advised that, he'd be surprised if he didn't have any lumps by his age and nothing should affect him being able to do what I want to do (all rounder/hacking/low level jumping/dressage) once he was fit enough! Even though the horse wasn't 100% perfect the vet 'passed' him. So even if a vetting brings up some issues it doesn't necessarily mean the horse will 'fail'.
 
For the sake of a few hundred pounds I'd rather have a vets opinion, unless this is more than the purchase price and you can afford to deal with the consequences of buying a problem.

The only horse I've ever had vetted I had on trial and he failed spectacularly. They were fixable things luckily so I still bought him, but for £1. It was the best few hundred I ever spent!
 
whizzer said:
I bought an un backed horse last year,for the first time ever I had a vetting, horse is now rehabbing after a failed backing attempt. Has ligament damage from mild kissing spines,lame on front feet & lame behind with hoof imbalance. Now the vetting feels like a total waste of money!!!! Not sure I'd bother getting a cheap youngster vetted again tbh.
Click to expand...

Agree that I would only want to know that a youngster had a 2stage vetting, to check if it had eye/heart issues and if I wanted to do more than local RC type things, unambitious stuff.
Wanting something to do higher level, I would not choose a 10 year old, green ex-racehorse unless he was exceptional, which is unlikely. I would then have a five stage, and be prepared to make a judgement call.
Horses are expensive, whether good or bad, and you should be prepared to lose it all. Horses from re hab centres should be schooled, and known to the centre, not a pig in a poke. I would expect the horse to be reasonably fit, it should save you three months work, and you should expect to pay for this.
They can still get injured.
If OP wants a cheap horse, there are nice ones here https://www.rockinghorse.co.uk/hand-carved-horses.html?details=true&id=583, tack included. They are sound.
 
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My ex racehorse had a 2 stage and he's actually (touch wood!!!!) been very okay. Biggest/most expensive health problem was ulcers.

We then had two that had five stage vettings, one developed neuro problems and the next was literally never sound, even the day he arrived after the vetting.

So tbh it's luck of the draw... If I was buying again I would probably have x rays... Hocks, feet, back. Vet bills cost as much for a cheap horse as an expensive horse!!!
 
I just went to view a horse in the UK that had passed TWO 5-stage vettings within the last 6 months. He had a disclosed small issue on x-ray in front which was not causing him any problems. When viewed he was spectacularly wrong behind, which the owner hadn't noticed (she was novicey), but how come a vet didn't see it? By the muscle wastage evident it had been a long standing problem.
 
I would at least have a five stage, as others have said in the whole scheme of things it costs as much to keep a cheap horse as an expensive one.
To avoid the situation that Cortez has above them ask on here for recommendations for a good vet.
 
as you've said its a snapshot in time...

my first horse I had vetted and he failed on flexions, owner had her own vet check him over & flex him the next day and couldn't find anything wrong, I had him retested on flexions a couple days later and he passed... I had him nearly 7yrs and competed regularly to a meter/meter 10 and he never had a day unsound, not until much later in mid teens he developed ringbone and had to be retired.

the horse I have now I didn't have vetted, I made sure I tried her out thoroughly though before purchase and it will be coming up for 2yrs now I have had her, again, compete, hunt etc and never been unsound or unwell.

after paying extortionate vets cover for first horse for many yrs and never claiming I now insure with BHS and I put the money I was paying in premiums into a separate account should I need it for emergencies, I estimated I would have had £4k saved if I had done this first time round...
 
Thanks to everyone for responding!

So much to think about! Have to say the more I do think, the more I feel inclined to go for the 5 stage and have a bit more peace of mind. It will be the first time I've had anything vetted but I've got a good feeling about this boy and would be gutted if I missed something that came up a week down the line...

Thanks again, and fingers crossed!
 
never had any of mine vetted think its a waste of time and money but that's just me and can see advatages and disadvantages for both.
 
Would and did not have the foal colt I bought vetted , I think with a very young horse its pot luck really. I would have an older horse vetted, although my last horse had past a two stage vetting the day before I saw him. Which one you do depends on price and what you want to do, imo. Are they worth the paper they are written on, depends on what they throw up. If the horse was super cheap, then I might take a punt, any horse can end up costing you a fortune, vetting or no vetting.
 
ps- I woudl also have feet and hock x-rays done personally! Most common problems found and you do want to event so need a sound horse, but that's up to you too!
 
I have just been looking into this was going for a 2 stage but decided I could check those things so decided on a 5 stage and to save the call out was going to take the horse to the vets so could also check she loaded & traveller at the same time doing this saving the call out the 5 stage as only 60 more than the 2 plus a little fuel
 
I would 5 stage vet with him being older and an ex racer. Although it will be a snapshot of that day, you can pick up on any issues that may cause you a problem in the future.
I didn't vet my new horse, she's a 4 year old and had done nothing and was very cheap, therefore I didn't think it was worth a full 5 stage vetting on a horse that had done nothing, however I would have had her vetted if she was older and more valuable
 
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