Disillusioned - 5 Stage Vettings

[Mystified]

I am beginning to wonder whether having a horse/pony vetted is worth it.

Have bought a horse and pony in the last 18 months both of which were 5 stage vetted and both of which displayed symptons of lameness within day/s of getting them home.

First horse ended up having DJD of the pastern joints but took nearly a year to diagnose. Now sold as a hacking horse.

Recently purchased pony who has now been diagnosed with sacro-illac problems, although advised behaviour due to saddle fitting problems.

In both cases final diagnosis only because I kept pushing that something else going on not behavioural or saddle fit.

Am I just unlucky or has anyone else had this experience?

 

[sally2]

I think it depends on the vet and if they specialise on equines i am fortunate the vet i use is really good. I suppose the vet can only give you a report on how the horse performed on the day he did the vetting. It is kind of like a car mot the mechanic can only report on the car on the day he checks it, 2 days later it might break down but that doesnt mean he missed something. I have every sympathy with you and it is very disheartening and most horse owners have had similar misfortunes. I had horse that was vetted and 9 months later she was destroyed due to chronic lameness. The last horse i bought i did not get a vetting but gave her a good work out before i bought then i took her on a months trial before i payed up. I have had her 8 years and she is only now beginning to get things wrong she is now 17 so i cant complain.

 

[opinionuk]

I brought my horse with a 5 * vetting certificate and I have now found out she has a kissing spine!

I would always get a horse vetted no matter what, I was due to buy a lovely horse and had it vetted and it failed so I would definately get all horses vetted.

After my experience buying my 4 year old that has been diagnosed with kissing spine with a view to event who is now of no use, I will also ensure that my horse has her spine xrayed as its said over 80% of horses have signs of kissing spine.

 

[EQUISCENE]

I am in a similar situation to you, horse 5 stage vetted 2 1/2 yrs ago by my usual vet within first week contacted same vet to say horse wasnt right with some bizarre intermittent symptoms. He came to our yard said he couldnt see anything wrong on work up but recommended a back specialist vet do some manipulation to his poll area as horse was bit headshy (this is an irish horse and IMHO most of them came over headshy!). It has been a long and testing journey which I have had to keep pushing along including having thermal images done, making videos of his symptoms, bute trial and a referral to equine hospital but eventually yesterday I actually managed to stop feeling a neurotic horse owner when the vet at the hospital agreed that the horse wasnt right and following nerve blocks thinks the problem may lie in the sacroiliac area!

As at a vetting the vet can only judge what he/she sees on the day, my current thinking is if I purchase any more horses would be to have a 2 stage vetting plus thermal images taken, this would probably be around the same cost as a 5 stage anyway! Of course being able to take a horse on a couple of weeks trial before buying would be a huge advantage..

 

[MerrySherryRider]

Yep, had 5 stage vetting by vet who specialises in pre purchase exams. Horse arrived on yard next day, noticed within a couple of days she was lame. Had regular vet out,from same practice, said horse was sound. Had another vet out, also from this same large practice, who did diagnositic tests after agreeing horse was lame and was found to have navicular syndrome.

Dealer offered to take her back, but decided to keep her as her fate would likely have been at the local horse market.

 

[TicTac]

I bought a horse that had a asymetrical pelvis ( which I noticed and mentioned to vet ) He passed a 5 stage vetting with the vet saying that ' at the time he couldn;t get a lame step out of him ' When he arrived within 4 days he suffered nose bleeds which turned out to be guttural pouch mycosis, £1000 cost and not covered by insurance! A few months later he showed hind leg stiffness which were xrayed and found to have degenerative changes. Hocks were injected. No change. A few weeks after that horse couldn't walk in a straight line. Bone scan revealed fracture to pelvis, kissing spine and 3 x bone cysts. End of horse and no insurance payout for pts.

I have decided if I ever buy another horse I will take my chance on a £1000 special and not bother with a vetting!

 

[cptrayes]

I haven't had a horse vetted for years since -

I was a naive and inexperienced horse buyer and I bought a horse which failed a trot-up on the front (no flexions) and the vet told me it just had a bruise and was fine. It had navicular.

I bought a replacement that was base narrow and the vet (different one) did not comment. It pulled the inner branch of a suspensory ligament which I later discovered is an injury which base narrow horses are predisposed to.

I sold the horse I replaced that one with after having her two years, and she passed a 5* with flying colours. Two months later her new owner threatened to sue me for selling him a horse with navicular. He said his vet had told him she must have had it for some time, from the xrays he took, and that I must have had her drugged when she was vetted. My advice was to not respond to his letter, but if I had responded I would have told him to have his blood sample tested, that mare had never been near any drugs in two years.

I never had another horse vetted and I've bought a couple of dozen, but you do have to be prepared to use your own judgement (I've walked away from as many as I've bought), know what you are looking at, and lose the money if you make a mistake.

On the kissing spine issue, if 80% of horses show kissing spines on x-ray then NOT having kissing spines is the abnormality and you could turn down a hundred good horses who will never have any problems before you find one with clean back xrays, couldn't you? I understand the similar figure for foot xrays is 60% or more, as well.

 

[Ivebeentangoed]

My boy had 2 vettings just to be sure and was diagnosed with kissing spine a month later.. absolutely gutted!!

I think the route of a 2 stage vetting and x-rays or thermals is a very good idea!

 

[Bug2007]

Paid £900 for my TB, wasn't going to get her vetted...the price was small enough to take the risk.
She was sound and relaxed on the day we viewed, i know a bit so i could see she was ok.

Two years later no problem, but if there was then i'm not losing thousands of pounds.

If i paid a lot for a horse i would have it vetted 5 stage as it's alot of money to risk on my medical view of a horse.

But like it has been said your horse could still go wrong two days later...it's just limiting the risk you are taking on.

 

[dixie]

My boy had 2 vettings just to be sure and was diagnosed with kissing spine a month later.. absolutely gutted!!
QUOTE]

Same here. But this paid off as the insurance company paid up immediately for loss of use without any fuss at all.

So, I would still always go for a 5 stage vetting, if only for insurances purposes.

 

[Miss L Toe]

I bought my four year out out of a field, a muddy field, lot of heat in legs due to mud fever( or so I hoped ), he had a poor conformation behind, but many positive points, a good walk, a nice head, good front, excellent feet, so I bought him. He has never been unsound, though the vet who came to look at him to check for a back problem (there was no problem) was pretty scathing as to his chances of staying sound, but I fed him and walked him up hill and down dale, and he is looking a different horse. I do not recommend taking a chance unless you are very experienced. When I sold one, the vet took a blood sample, but passed the mare without the test results, I think he went on my reaction to his request to take a sample, also in this case I did protest that he seemed to be intent on finding a problem even though the mare was sold as a first riding pony for a teenager, not a three day eventer.