Can a horse have a minimum price to be worth vetting?

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As in title.

Following a conversation I had recently, would there be a price you wouldnt consider a horse needing a vetting? or would you always vet these days?
 
I paid about 3k for Genie and had her vetted. Titchy I paid £1, and needless to say didn't have her vetted. She was only a year old as well at the time.
 
I think I would go on insurance, a horse cant be insured for more than 2.5k unless has a recent vetting cert so I would say up to 2.5k its not worth vetting so long as your knowledgable/lots of veiwings/take knowledgable friends and can spot any potential problems! :).
 
Most I've ever paid for horse is £1k (& I get lovely registered animal for that), so never bothered with vetting. Think 3k is a reasonable sum of money so would want vetting for that.
 
Snowysadude said:
I think I would go on insurance, a horse cant be insured for more than 2.5k unless has a recent vetting cert so I would say up to 2.5k its not worth vetting so long as your knowledgable/lots of veiwings/take knowledgable friends and can spot any potential problems! :).
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My insurance company says they want a vet cert for horses worth over £5k. By anyway even if you paid £500 for a horse, if it was permanently unsound, it is still not a cheap horse. So I think it is always wise to get a vet to look at them.
 
I always have my horses vetted however cheap they are as a cheap horse costs as much as an expensive horse to treat. In future I will also ask for a blood test to be taken to detect any damage caused by Ragwort as well.
 
Its a difficult one really as regardless of cost if theres something wrong, you are left with a horse that needs caring for whether its vetted or not. Hopefully a vetting will pick up an existing problem or potential problem so you have the chance to walk away.
Insurers dont pay out for the cost of the horse if we decided its of no use anymore, also we cant just decided to PTS and claim insurance, it has to be on humane grounds so regardless of vetting and cost we are stuck with a horse that isnt fit for purpose.
 
It would depend on your experience as a horseperson, the job the horse is intended to do and your own personal attitude to risk.

There is no right or wrong.

However what I would say is that the cheaper a horse the higher risk I would percieve of there being an underlying issue. Vets fees and heartache are exactly the same, no matter how much a horse costs to purchase.

Of the 6 horses I have owned I have 5* vetted x 3, 2* x vetted 1 (horse was 18 months old), and not vetted 2.
 
Snowysadude said:
I think I would go on insurance, a horse cant be insured for more than 2.5k unless has a recent vetting cert so I would say up to 2.5k its not worth vetting so long as your knowledgable/lots of veiwings/take knowledgable friends and can spot any potential problems! :).
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My insurance didn't ask for my vetting and insured for £3.5k

ihatework said:
It would depend on your experience as a horseperson, the job the horse is intended to do and your own personal attitude to risk.

There is no right or wrong.

However what I would say is that the cheaper a horse the higher risk I would percieve of there being an underlying issue. Vets fees and heartache are exactly the same, no matter how much a horse costs to purchase.
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Exactly this
 
Surely there's a bit more to it than that?

I had both my daughters ponies vetted (each cost £2,000) because if there had been a problem it would have been even more heartbreaking a year or two down the line. I bought the half sister of one of the childrens ponies for £300 to run out on the forest, she was not vetted.

I don't know where my cut off would be for whether or not to have a vetting. There are so many variables too like age and so on, but maybe I would vet anything that was costing more than £1,000.
 
Purchase price is irrelevant for me, keeping a horse is expensive and unless I had the facilities to keep a retired horse for little extra cost, I'd err on the side of caution.
However, if I knew the horse well,then I probably wouldn't bother on a cheap horse.
 
PennyJ said:
Surely there's a bit more to it than that?

I had both my daughters ponies vetted (each cost £2,000) because if there had been a problem it would have been even more heartbreaking a year or two down the line.
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horserider said:
Purchase price is irrelevant for me, keeping a horse is expensive and unless I had the facilities to keep a retired horse for little extra cost, I'd err on the side of caution.
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Yes, I do see your points, but vetting will not guarantee that the horse will be problem free. Its always a risk, thats the nature of horses.
 
Anything over meat money if going to a less experienced home- better to find out. Experienced horse owners who feel confident in their own judgement could probably not worry about it until you start talking 3kish but it's always going to be a risk that way.
 
I get attached to all of my horses regardless of price, so I would prefer to vet them all because a sick horse costs the same in vet fees regardless of its purchase price.

Having said that I didn't get my mini vetted, on the grounds that he is a companion, he was in good condition and he would be affected by fewer things, e.g. mild lameness in a companion mini is not the end of the world.
 
depends on price and age combined.. if i was buying a 0-5 yr old for any amount of money, i would have at least a 3 stage vetting.. probs 5 to be safe.. if it was older and below 2k.. probs not.. all depends on the combination of factors really!
 
The only reason that I would not have a vetting, even a basic one, is if I would have the horse put down regardless if anything major (over a few 00) went wrong.

I wouldn't risk it otherwise.

Saying that, Puzzle obviously wasn't vetting as shes a rescue horse, but if we ever couldn't cope then she would go back to the charity so that doesn't worry me too much (although I'd sell a kidney before it got to that point....).

xxx
 
the only horse I ever had vetted was £4.5k- he failed and I still bought him :)

Since then nothing has been vetted (another 10+ horses).

I don't see the point in a vetting unless you get full x-rays as well so wouldn't vet unless insurance company required x-rays.

(btw, I have had no issues insuring numnerous horses for up to £6k inc loss of use and not been asked for a vetting cert)
 
Would always vet. I can see external things and have back up in the shape of instructor but you can't see about problems like heart etc. Int to know which insurance company would insure over £2.5K without a vetting though! I have previously insured with petplan and now NFU and they both insisted on it anyway..
 
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