Dreading the 5* vetting!!

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Christmas Crumpet

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Mare is being vetted tomorrow and I have very bad vibes about it all. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with her at all - she's on top form. However, when she was seen by another vet just after Christmas he said she was lame on both front feet. I couldn't tell.

The people tried her out and loved her. She has been in the field for 2 weeks, ridden once or twice so she's not too wild when vetted, been on Cortaflex for a month or two, new shoes on etc to ensure nothing goes wrong. Bet the silly sod doesn't pass and I end up having to keep another horse!!

How easy is it for a horse to pass a 5* vetting and how many people ignore what the vet has said?
 
When Thumper was vetted it wasn't a case of pass or fail - my vet doesn't do that. What he does do is point out what is right with the horse, but what is also wrong. My horse came to me with a bad back and a question mark over a badly scarred pastern just where the supsensory ligament runs. He didn't advise me not to buy the horse, however, he was explicit in his view that there was a potential problem with the suspensory ligament - but that his back was fixable.

I went ahead with the purchase of what is my dream horse. Not everyone would have. But the pro's outweighed the con's and my vet was happy with the purchase.

I have since found out a significant amount of history about my horse (including what caused the scar) from his breeders - and remain very happy with the purchase.

Hopefully all will be well with your sale, and it will pass with flying colours. Some vets are harder than others though.
 
Yes they know about horse being lame. The reason for lameness was bruised soles and they are aware of that.

All our horses are on Cortaflex regardless. Considering the amount of hard work they do we feel they benefit from it. The prospective purchasers are aware she, along with all the other horses on the yard, have it in their feed. I have been 100% honest with the prospective buyers - since the horse is being sold on behalf of someone else I have treated the horse with kid gloves since being tried out etc because I don't want to break her or do something to her that may cause her to fail the vetting. They are very aware that I have turned her out in the field because I don't want to break her.

The reason I asked how easy is it for a horse to pass a 5* vetting is because I have heard awful stories about horses being failed for very little because the vet's want to cover their backs.
 
Thank you AmyMay - just what I wanted to know. Fingers crossed it will all be ok. The horse is fantastic and would go far with the new people. And the horse going would free up a stable for my new horse!!
 
I think it depends on the vet and also how the buyers read the vets comments and how it affects what they want to do with the mare. I had a horse vetted last year and it failed by lameness but I was there and could see it for myself.

Fingers crossed for you!!
 
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I think it depends on the vet and also how the buyers read the vets comments and how it affects what they want to do with the mare. I had a horse vetted last year and it failed by lameness but I was there and could see it for myself.

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I think that's the key in many respects. That the buyer is there when the vetting is done. It's so much easier to talk things through there and then.

edts: I was so confident in my purchase that we actually went up in the lorry on the day of the vetting. And brought him home!
 
I worry about this post, you now say all your horses are on supplement but in this post you were told to put her on a strong supplement and previous posts suggest this horse is not the soundest.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/sh...rue#Post2805641
£6000 is alot of money for a cob that has a history of poor feet, puffy legs and lameness.
I worry you have rested this horse to get it sound .
Sorry but true
 
Is being lame at some point a 'history of lameness'?

Puffy legs can be caused by anything. My horse gets them from standing in and from the current bout of bloomin mud fever he has.

Many people put horses on a joint suppliment as a matter of course. And to be honest, if the horse is buggered no joint suppliment will disguise it.

I don't think the OP is being misleading in any way.
 
Ah now i have read your last post it puts a slightly different slant on it.

You say above that the reason for her lameness was a bruised sole yet you say in your last post that the vet wanted to do more tests, scans/xrays to identify the problem. These have clearly not been done so as far as i can see you do not know the reason for her lameness.
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So as far as it reads you havent been entirley honest with the new buyers as they believe the lameness is due to a bruised sole and that you dont know. Im sorry if ive read it wrong but this is how it comes across!

It now also reads that you have only put her on cortaflex after the vet states she was lame and not because you feed it anyway.
 
In previous post.....Vet did say she was only worth half what was being asked and that is if she was 100% sound. You were worried that she had remedial shoeing for a problem .
I wish you luck and hope it works out but if you are unsure then put it in owners hands and don't give yourself the hassle.
If you think there is a problem be upfront, if things go wrong and they get a previous vet report then it may cause further problems.
Do you honestly think this horse is up to hard work .Be honest.
 
We have recently had a vet advise someone not to buy a horse of ours "because when he canters his front feet go up and down into the ground too much, which is fine with a lightweight rider (I think he meant me!) on, but not with a 13 stone man on (potential purchaser!)" Hmmmmm.....
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This horse is 17hh, TBx, tough as old boots, goes like stink and has never had a lame day in the 18 months we've had him. I have hunted him hard all season and my OH had him out regularly autumn hunting (he's 13.5 stone). This is the horse that was 6th in the Melton Hunt Ride that came out the next day sound as a pound and ready to go round again! Any vetting is going to show something up, but it's whether the potential purchaser can live with it or whether the vet's advice puts the wind up them to the point where they pull out of the sale.
 
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I worry about this post, you now say all your horses are on supplement but in this post you were told to put her on a strong supplement and previous posts suggest this horse is not the soundest.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/sh...rue#Post2805641
£6000 is alot of money for a cob that has a history of poor feet, puffy legs and lameness.
I worry you have rested this horse to get it sound .
Sorry but true

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Have to agree with Carthorse here especially after reading your previous post.
I also cannot understand why you would want to have anything to do with the sale knowing the problems when you dont even own the horse.
Imagine it was somebody doing this to you and you found out £6000 later that the horse has lameness problems. If the horse came with wide shoes on that would indicate to me that there is a reason for this remedial shoeing.
I'm sorry if I sound harsh but I have been on the receiving end of less than honest horse sellers and it is wrong.
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Can someone explain to me what problems this horse is supposed to have???

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Lame in both front feet, vet wanted to do x rays/scans etc to find out why
 
It just is strange , the OP has worried about this horse and selling it , she has said in previous posts that she worried that it had a problem before her loaning it. It is only being ridden a little at the moment.
Sorry it just doesn't feel right.
If she doesn't own it, I would have nothing to do with selling it, that is if she is not 100% certain it is sound.
Her worrying about it speaks volumes!
 
Mmmm I can see your dilema.

But just trying to look at it objectively. Being lame at some point doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with it. All of us have had a lameness at some point. And let's face it - vets just lovel to scan and x-ray.

Anyway - we should probably leave it there. And wish all concerned good luck.
 
She states in her previous post that the vet wanted to do more scans/ xrays to find the route of the lameness. This appears to have not been done and the horse turned away. She now states that the lameness was due to a bruised sole??
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It appears she hasnt told the prospective buyers that the vet wanted to do more tests to discover the cause of the lameness, thus to me is dishonest.
 
I cant see the problem really- potential purchaser must have ridden the horse? therefore seeing that its sound- horse is being vetted and the vetting will pick anything up! My horse was on a cortaflex type suppliment for years even though he wasnt lame- nothing wrong with that.

If the seller is hiding something it will be found- simple as that- but I was worried when shadow was vetted because of flexion tests- not because i was hiding anything- but because of all the stories of horses failing them...... he passed by the way
 
Yes, I hope it works out but I feel the OP is worried because she thinks something is wrong.
It is not her horse and I feel very sorry for her. Just don't try to pull the wool over our eyes!
 
I have just spoken to the vet and voiced my concern about the vetting tomorrow and he said he thought she'd be fine. She hasn't been lame since just after Christmas and has been ridden and hunted throughout. It is highly likely that she had bruised soles from being hunted in very flinty country by her owner on one Saturday. I am sure there are a huge amount of you who have had horses go lame and don't know the reason why but once the horse is sound you don't worry about it. I know she is up to hard work because she has been hunting twice a week all day.

The reason she is in the field not being exercised every day is because hunting is about to finish and therefore she doesn't need keeping going. Since she has been tried out I haven't been able to take her hunting in case something happens and because she isn't mine to break. Our horses are hunters and as soon as the season is finished are roughed off and left in the field till August. I have other horses to hunt and seeing as she is being sold and I can't hunt her I have no reason to keep exercising her. There is only so many hours in the day and with a full time job I ride the horses that need riding when I get a chance. I'm not just leaving her in the field to make sure she is sound.

The prospective purchasers know me and the horse pretty well so it is not as though she is being sold unseen and unknown.
 
I'm sorry for warbling on!! I'm just worried about her selling because I need the stable space and just don't want the hassle of being stuck with her as it were, which I would be. The worries have stemmed from the fact that she was lame a while back and I know that vets are very careful when vetting a horse in case something comes back to them and they get sued. I have treated her with kid gloves since she's been tried out because the people who want to buy her are lovely and they really want her and I didn't want to be responsible for anything going wrong that could have been avoided - hence the not hunting etc.

I hate selling horses.
 
In that case, fingers crossed and hope she passes.

I try not to worry about things I have no control over ............ otherwise I'd always be worrying about something or other. I think it's at age thing, I never used to be quite so chilled.
 
well one if my horses i bought passed 5 star vetting and he was lame on all 4 legs with kissing spines !!!, so i found out a few months down the line. Wasnt happy.
 
I think these days a vetting is not so much about "pass or fail" as whether the horse is suitable for the purpose intended by the purchaser. For example, a horse may fail for some reason if intended as an eventer, but the same horse would pass if intended as a hack.
 
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