Bog Spavin in a potential purchase...

[grhands]

Me and a very good friend of mine thought we had found our perfect horse and were going to put in equal amounts to purchase it. All seemed great. The horse had been taken to a yard known well to us to be sold. A lady had purchased him for £15000 from a very well known sports horse dealer however the horse had spooked / bucked the lady off at an event when she apparently shook out her test sheet whilst on board. The horse is 6, and was 5 when this happened.

Since then the horse has done nothing for the last year, been turned away pretty much with this woman then sent to the guys we know to sell. Lovely moving horse, a little behind the vertical, needs a few months of work but that's kinda what we wanted. A project to help my friend get to the level she could well ride at...

This is said chappy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zemi7Qo8DSY

Anyhow we had the horse vetted today by our personal vet and also friend. He said the horse has a bog spavin on offside hock. This is causing no lameness or problems at the moment however it obviously could be a risk. We're not sure what to do as even the vet said the horse is exceptional. And the price tag is very reasonable so would this be a red flag?

Opinions appreciated

Thanks

 

[L&M]

Bog or bone?

A bog spavin tends to be more of a cosmetic problem, whereas bone spavin can be potentially career ending and expensive to treat.

 

[be positive]

I was waiting to see right canter but the video stopped just then, it would probably be where any weakness shows if he finds it hard to push under with that hind leg. At times it is btv it may be because it finds it hard to carry weight behind, it almost nods on occasion also as it tries to rebalance.

I would get x-rays done of just his hocks before proceeding, he has not worked hard recently so it would worry me more than it would if he had been in work for the last year. If it was just superficial it should have settled during the break and it may be that once in full work and getting fitter problems start to show.

The price may be good but it can cost more in the long run if the horse is not fully sound, hocks are so important for dressage as soon as they move up the levels they will be compromised by any underlying weakness.