Buying with pre-existing conditions

SaddlePsych'D

SaddlePsych'D

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Where are your lines for this folks?

This is coming from me steadily starting to look more seriously at horse for sale ads, and prompted by a FB 'wanted' post I saw yesterday. The post was maybe a bit of an unrealistic one as, in addition to being not to old/young and within a few inches height range and not a cob and not a TB and being 100% safe, it had to have no existing health issues. Which made me wonder a couple of things: 1 - how many horses out there really don't have any existing health conditions? and 2 - if the answer is 'not very many', what are the hard no's and what can be worked around?

Things I have seen listed in ads include has had ulcers, hock injections for arthritis, juvenile arthritis (seems like a big no?), sarcoids, head shaking, sweet itch.

For context, what I'm looking for is a very low level RC sort to hack, prelim dressage, groundwork, and maybe if I'm feeling brave pop a little jump here and there (I'm surely not at risk of going over 80cm, or even 50cm, any time soon...) so perhaps different answers compared to those looking for an eventer, hunter etc.
 
I think theres a lot with no current issues, but not so many that have never had an issue. My TB colicked once, the day I got him he gorged on the trees round the track, he also had some issues getting his feet right, but today, he's barefoot with excellent feet and no colic episodes for years and absolutely sound.

Previous issues are probably less of a worry than current soundness.Theres an epidemic of lame horses that owners appear oblivious to.

I wouldn't ever have anything that had lammi before. Absolute hard no for me. I wouldn't touch a head shaker either, and they would have to be cheap for me to consider one with sweetitch again. I'd not take on anything with PSSM, not even for free.

Context and price also matters, I've bought lame horses, unhandled horses, colts etc. But that was back when that sort of thing cost you £500 and when I liked a challenge. For a first horse I'd spend more and find something sweet and easy, and make a case by case decision on what if any issues are okay with you. Ideally you'd like none, but what you want is very popular and there isn't enough to go around so you might need to compromise.
 
Things that are always hard nos for me:

- KS
- PSSM
- Previous PSD issues
- Cribbing (simply because it's a PITA + teeth issues)
- Sweet itch
- COPD
- Headshaker

Anything else I take on a horse by horse basis because like you say, it's extremely rare to find something that doesn't have anything. People do need to be realistic - you'd struggle to find a human who doesn't have some niggle or other!

I would not be put off by a horse who needed hock injections, particularly if the life that I planned for it was low level or it was an older horse. I bought Rocky knowing he had a small cataract, 5 years ago I would not have even considered it but I think the longer you've been around horses the more you realise what you can cope with and accept that all horses have something.
 
I wouldn’t buy anything I knew needed to be rehabbed and kept in a certain amount of work to be comfortable. (PSSM, KS etc) as come winter I don’t have the facilities, enough daylight around work and the weather can be so bad to make sure their workload can be kept up.

My first pony was supposed to have navicular and I did retire her after 2 years but I had her for nearly 20 as she came sound once not in work.
My big one had a pretty bad injury as a 3 year old. She was sound when I bought her and it isn’t causing her any issues now but it may at any point. (Or may not) but mine are at home so I don't have livery costs and riding comes second to ownership for me so it’s a risk I will take.
 
For me it would be more about when was it diagnosed (whatever ‘it’ is), and how successful/consistent has the horse been since and with what level of management (and is it something you can replicate).

There are very few horses out there with no issues ime. There are plenty whose owners are ignorant to their issues and the horses cope (or don’t!)
 
The OP specifies a low level RC horse, but doesn't say whether they want a schoolmaster at that level or a younger horse that they could potentially develop.

I think it is realistic to accept a schoolmaster type horse that is taking a step down and may or may not need some type of management at the lower level even if it has at a higher level. HOWEVER, be aware that a horse can be kept 'sound' with correct work from an experienced rider with feel and that many issues may become 'more apparent' X months down the line when said horse is taken over by a more novice jockey.
 
The only one I found acceptable was low level sweet itch that I knew I could certainly manage far better than the seller had been doing.

Very little else to be honest, money I spent on horses was hard earned, why spend it on a crook horse when there are plenty of healthy sound ones out there.
 
gunnergundog said:
The OP specifies a low level RC horse, but doesn't say whether they want a schoolmaster at that level or a younger horse that they could potentially develop.

I think it is realistic to accept a schoolmaster type horse that is taking a step down and may or may not need some type of management at the lower level even if it has at a higher level. HOWEVER, be aware that a horse can be kept 'sound' with correct work from an experienced rider with feel and that many issues may become 'more apparent' X months down the line when said horse is taken over by a more novice jockey.
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Sorry I should have clarified in OP that it's a first horse so the schoolmaster is the ideal.

I'm not averse to younger horses but accepting that will cost more ongoing as I would need to pay for someone with experience to help me out even more.
 
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If you look hard enough you can find issues with an awful lot of horses. Most people will decide what they can put up with based on past experience with that condition, rather than on the condition itself.

For the kind of horse described temperament is key, and if the right kind of forgiving, sane and saintly schoolmaster has some issues that are easily managed, it shouldnt be a problem, particularly as the horse is going is be working at a lower physical level.
 
daffy44 said:
If you look hard enough you can find issues with an awful lot of horses. Most people will decide what they can put up with based on past experience with that condition, rather than on the condition itself.

For the kind of horse described temperament is key, and if the right kind of forgiving, sane and saintly schoolmaster has some issues that are easily managed, it shouldnt be a problem, particularly as the horse is going is be working at a lower physical level.
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These are the lines I'm thinking along so wanting to find out a bit more about what constitutes a more easily managed problem and what could be taking on too much trouble. Temperament really is the top of the list and I know I need to be flexible and open minded on other criteria.

The FB ad that I saw did make me raise a brow and think 'gosh I hope you have a very good budget!'
 
SaddlePsych'D said:
These are the lines I'm thinking along so wanting to find out a bit more about what constitutes a more easily managed problem and what could be taking on too much trouble. Temperament really is the top of the list and I know I need to be flexible and open minded on other criteria.

The FB ad that I saw did make me raise a brow and think 'gosh I hope you have a very good budget!'
Click to expand...
Yes, the budget needs to be very healthy for a saint with no issues!

For example, I have a client who bought a lovely horse who had been a Hunt horse and an Intermediate eventer, he was in his teens and needed a quieter life. He had yearly hock injections, and a couple of small sarcoids that had never bothered him, and where nowhere near any tack, she bought him knowing these things and he was a wonderful horse for her, did all RC activities and teams, a fun hack and she adored him, and gave him several extremely happy years, and then a happy retirement. He had a bit too much go to be schoolmaster for a more novice/nervous person, but for my client he was perfect.

I have a companion pony with mild sweet itch, she needs to wear a sweet itch rug a lot of the year, and I put lotion on her a very midgey times, but she manages fine, and it wouldnt bother her if she was ridden, but you'd want to see a horse with sweet itch at the right time of year, and not take someones word for how much the horse is affected.
 
The RDA group that I volunteer with bought a pony that the vet found had noisy breathing, when the vet found where he was going, moorland way above sea-level, he said he should be fine because he would be moving away from low-lying arable land and certainly 3 years on he has not had any problems.
We used to have a mare with mild sweetitch at livery but when we moved to our own place, away from the mixed woodland, that disappeared.
 
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