Am I silly to consider buying this mare?

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horsse

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Just looking for some advice. Tried a bay, mare for myself in February, she had a great temperament, BS record to 1.05m and was exceptionally easy to hack and ride. Priced at £7250 but i felt she was one of those '1 in a million horses'.

Then she suffered a kick so was taken off the market, but I kept in touch with the owner as the owner is in my Riding Club and has another mare so I saw her at the local events. Vet gave mare the all clear about 8 weeks ago to come back into work, lady has got the horse hacking fit and lightly jumped. She has been offered to me, at the original asking price.

I like the mare, she seems a unique horse. But my instructor suggests she would need to be re-xrayed as the all clear to return to work doesn't necessarily mean she will stay sound.I am not sure if this should affect price or whether i should even be considering a horse that's just recovered from injury and is not actually back out on the BS circuit.


Maybe my heart is ruling my head. Any advice?
 
Auslander said:
What injury did she sustain? Seems like a long time off work for a normal kick
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This, plus jumping 1.05 is nothing special, I would expect most decent RC horses to jump that, it equates to BE 100 without the XC or dressage so it depends what you are looking for as to whether it will be a good buy or not, you don't mention what makes her unique in your mind, that may have a bearing on what you do, a few xrays are not going to cost much if you do go ahead and get her vetted.
 
It was a bone trauma to the cannon bone, no chips or fractures though. She is unique to me as she is kept at home, she is that unusual mix of a straight-forward, competition horse that also doubles as a laid back family horse - to date i have struggled to find something that fits that criteria.
 
Would depend very much what the injury actually was. But if you forget about your past trial and think freshly on it would you pay ~£7,000 for a horse you went to see now who was only hacking fit due to an injury and hadn't jumped since the start of the year or last year?

Edited: Just seen your post above I would agree needs re X-rayed and you need a copy of the vet notes.

Edited; I don't think the original price was overly expensive. An uncomplicated competition/RC horse That can jump 1.05,1.10 with scope to go more and is good on the flat ect is worth that every day of the week in my opinion, but if it was marketed now at its level of fitness is it worth that now. Proberly not.
 
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Is she scarred?

She sounds expensive for a horse that only has a record to 1m 05, but if she was the right horse for you five months ago she's probably the right horse for you still. But I'd want a reduction of she is scarred, and also a recognition for the easy no-advertising sale.
 
No there is not any scarring, it was trauma and swelling but no break in the skin. I am just surprised the mare has been offered at the same money as previously, and don't even know if it is worth my while / risk negotiating. With a hacking fit horse I guess i also run the risk of the mare going lame/ leg not standing up to the jumping when I start competing?

It is so hard when you find a horse you like! Thanks for all the replies, you are helping me think it thorugh
 
I would say it's a lot of money for a horse who has recently sustained a fairly serious injury and hasn't proved it will stay sound doing the work you want it too.

Presumably that leg will now be exempt on insurance too.
 
Girlracer said:
I would say it's a lot of money for a horse who has recently sustained a fairly serious injury and hasn't proved it will stay sound doing the work you want it too.

Presumably that leg will now be exempt on insurance too.
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I agree with this - you're in a more privileged position ofc knowing this history but, knowing that, I'd want to pay less.
 
horsse said:
It was a bone trauma to the cannon bone, no chips or fractures though. She is unique to me as she is kept at home, she is that unusual mix of a straight-forward, competition horse that also doubles as a laid back family horse - to date i have struggled to find something that fits that criteria.
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I think if you have not found anything to match her since Feb then it is worth going ahead, I don't think her over priced I just wondered what made a low level BS horse unique and your answer is fair enough, I think I would want to have a really good jumping lesson on her, with your own instructor, as a final trial and get a thorough 5 stage vetting, no excuses of her not being fit or having nowhere suitable for lunging on the hard, plus just the xrays required to compare with the ones already done, I would expect all her history to be made available to your own vet before the vetting takes place, as for reduction in price the £250 is added on and will usually come off easily enough, another 250 or so for a quick sale with no advertising, if she were mine I would probably accept £6500 possibly even a little less.

I wouldn't expect the leg to be excluded for insurance purposes as it was an accident with no real damage done and certainly nothing that should be an issue long term.
 
I don't understand why people think she won't stay sound? She had a bruised bone, it wasn't fractured or even chipped and her owner has given her plenty of time to recover. As long as I got a clean x ray, I wouldn't wonder whether the mare will stay sound?
 
I would walk away.

Where on the cannon was the bruising/kick impact? If anywhere near a joint, splint bone or ligamentous attachment I would walk straight away.

A bruised bone can be something or nothing; unfortunately, a bone bruise can be a hairs breadth away from being a fracture and not all damage will show on x-ray, an MRI would be required to be as close to 100% as you can be.
 
Get a vetting and xrays.

Are you mad? No... I think it largely depends on the type of person you are and what your requirements are. A lot of my friends are more confident riders than me, happy to deal with quirks and work through far greater issues than I would be capable of. That limits me when I am looking to buy. In the past I walked away from 2 horses that I now hugely regret. 1 was an expolo mare who I adored and i felt gave me so much confidence, Id have jumped her over anything and she was cheap. She failed the vetting on flexions and I walked away , she was only very mildly unlevel. I regret it because for all I would have ever wanted to do with her, she would probably have done the job. The 2nd was a pony who again, ticked every box and made me feel safe as houses... however a very experienced friend talked me out of it as they didnt like his leg conformation, he’d also had a previous minor injury . He was sound however, and would have had no reason to not pass a vetting but I was talked out of it and I will always really regret that one in particular as i REALLY liked him and tbh i could view 50 horses and not have felt that way. If you are anything like me at all then Id consider it and have him vetted, if you arent as fussy and limited by specific requirements then look further afield.
 
LJR said:
You see, I don't think she is overpriced :)

I would have x-rays done at the vetting if it were me :)
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Having recently looked for a similar horse myself I don't think she's overpriced either and would investigate that leg further to make sure. Perhaps say your still interested but would like them to provide x-Ray's. Can you ask your vet for an opinion on the matter.
 
One of my horses got a kick on the shoulder which gave him a nasty bone bruise which took 12 weeks before he came sound with another two weeks before he started any work again. It has not caused any problem since and that was 7 years ago.
 
ycbm said:
I don't understand why people think she won't stay sound? She had a bruised bone, it wasn't fractured or even chipped and her owner has given her plenty of time to recover. As long as I got a clean x ray, I wouldn't wonder whether the mare will stay sound?
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I would tend to agree with this. If you really like the horse you should seriously consider her if you are happy with the price. The owner might negotiate as she will not have to re advertise her if you buy her. Also you could spend lots of money travelling around the country looking at other horses and paying for failed vettings. If you are really keen then I would say go for it.
 
I would go ahead and get the horse vetted if the owner is prepared to release all the vet records and X-rays to the vet doing the examination .
That sort of bone trauma would not trouble me at all as long as the horse passed a five stage vetting and the vet had seen the records .
 
I would want to see the horse back at the same level as it was before the kick. If it's just lightly hacked and jumped since then, I wouldn't be paying the same money. Horses in work at that level are worth more than horses who have previously been at that level but have had time off.
 
I'd just have it vetted and offer less if you don't want to pay the full price. I can see both points of view really, but if you really like her then it would seem silly to let her go when she will probably be fine.
 
I would tell them you are still interested but just voice your concern re long term soundness. Tell them if they are prepared to pay for the 5 stage vetting and full X-Ray's of the leg then you will happily pay £7k if they have faith in the mare they will do this I'm sure. If they won't then walk away.
 
I don't think you're silly. I would want to have a look at the vet reports, have a 5 stage vetting + X rays, and a discount off the original price to reflect that you will presumably have an exclusion on the insurance for the leg that was kicked (unless you can get the insurance company to word the exclusion as "any losses arising directly or indirectly from the (insert type of) injury sustained in May 2016")

i had a horse who sustained a couple of unrelated bone injuries from kicks and he came back just fine after appropriate rest
 
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