Buying without vetting

I m really suprised so many of you dont vet! We always vet for a 3yr old and above , though take a chance on yiungsters, and when we bred /backed horses we encouraged new owners to vet , whatever their rew horse s age. Ok its £200 or so , but why buy in problems? A lame hoss costs a lot of money in the long run.
 
Only ever had one vetted,and all others have been fine. I think gut feeling can tell you alot! Minus the obvious things that could be wrong which i'm sure you would have looked for anyway.
 
I didn't have my last horse vetted and she turned out to have a grade 4 heart murmer. It doesn't matter how reputable the dealer is they may not detect that type of thing. I was lucky, the dealer I bought her from took her back but it was heart breaking. I'd never buy another horse without a vetting.
 
Best way to haggle on the price of a horse? Turn up with the horsebox and cash and say you'll take it away there and then with no vetting.
We did however have my eventer vetted as she was quite expensive, but anything <£3000 we wouldn't bother. I feel capable enough to spot a lame horse myself.
Vettings are a total farce. We Sold a pony who was vetted, failed on something redicilous, had it revetted by a different vet who failed it on something completely different and it is now out doing BE and hasn't had a lame day in her life!
 
I haven't had any of mine vetted but all were 'cheap' and I also bought all 3 of mine from genuine sellers (family owners who were very honest about their history etc)

If I were to spend more on a horse I think I would have it vetted.
 
Funnily enough I would be more inclined to vet a youngster than an older horse. Horse which reach their teens and are still alive and sound are often a smaller risk than those which have not been tried.

If I was buying a thoroughbred or warmblood youngster these days I might go for a vetting and xrays. There is a lot of heartbreak (and vets bills) of putting years into something to find it will never work
 
I had one vetted, and a couple of issues were pointed out by the vet, but they didn't (then and even now) affect the horse in anyway he performed.

So then I tried to insure....

From what the vetting report said, they wouldn't insure one of his back legs, the whole leg...because of something on his foot!

Decided then to say sod it.

6 horses and ponies later....didn't get them vetted, no problems.
 
Never had a horse vetted, but then I have never paid more than £600 for a horse (and that was for an Arab yearling)

My current horses are the Arab yearling ,now 16, a little NewForest 24yr old mare, given to me, a 18 yr old Arab mare payed £400 as a 9 yr old and the last one is a 22yr old Arab mare given to me as a 9 yr old. All the Arabs have been successful in Endurance. Yes things have gone wrong but nothing more than may have happened even if they had been vetted.

On the other hand a friend has had 6 vetted all failed before she found her current one.

If I was to pay a large amount of money then I may think about having it vetted only because the Insurance Company insists.
 
Never had one vetted for purchase in over 37yrs of owning horses. Recently bought 2 new horses and neither were vetted. One of them (show cob type) had failed a flexion test on a 5 stage vetting and we got her cheaper than she was originally advertised for. We were fully aware ogf the failed vetting and still bought her. She's super, just what we wanted and well worth the gamble! Yes not to have a vetting done is a gamble but having had friends who have paid £100s for vettings only to find new horse has problems soon after I've decided to go with gut instant and buy from the 'right' sort of homes. TBH whatever a vetting picks up will be excluded for insurance purposes. If I was spending megabucks then yes I would have a vetting as I can only gamble on what I can afford to lose.
 
I would always vet because I am not knowledgable enough to pick on subtle issues especially on an unfamiliar horse. Also before I even go to view I will mention that I will be requiring the horse to pass a 5 stage vetting before purchasing, it was interesting how when I said that a few people then admitted the horse would not be suitable.

Having said that my pony passed a 5 stage vetting nearly 5 years ago and he was young when I bought him and he has had quite a few things wrong with him but they have mainly been accidents and would not have been picked up by the vetting.

A question for the lady who bought the horse which was 1/10 lame did you then try and investigate what was causing the lameness to try and cure it after you bought it?
 
With a 3yr old the thing to be thinking about is OCD, which cannot be diagnosed without xrays. however check out the horses weight. 3 yrs should be on the thinner side as weight is the prime cause for OCD and is very expensive to put right -if it can. id ask to speak to the vet and get a full report from them first.If your seller is willing for this, then they have nothing to hide.

Some vets will fail horses on the smallest thing as they dont want to be sued, however insurance wants vets certs over a certain cost.

I always but from a dealer then you get a three month warrenty and have always brought babies so havent felt the need to get a vetting for mine.

PS dont take the sellers word for anything!
 
I always have a 5 stage on horses I buy to compete myself, just to be safe. I bought one with no vetting but I knew who I had him off. I was lucky enough he was okay and when sold the new owners didnt want a vetting either. He was accident prone in the time I had him though. Its the only time I did it and I think I will stick to getting horses vetted in future, but thats just me :)
 
A vetting on a youngster, say a 2 stage, may just help with peace of mind. If something is raised you can discuss with the vet whether you go ahead or not.

I usually have a vetting, but we have bought two horses from acquaintances, and these were not vetted. Not really sure why, except that I guess one was repayment of a debt that was owed to us, and the other not that expensive. Both young, green only lightly started.

On all the vettings we have had done the vet has raised some issues, and we have made a decision whether to proceed or not. These were going ponies though and not that young.

I think I would definitely want a vetting for an expensive youngster.
 
I pay for a vetting. Every time. I can't see what is happening internally and can't afford to increase the risk of buying an unsound horse. Neither can I afford to throw money away! Would still expect a 3 year old to have a 2 *
 
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