Ex racer hole in tendon , to buy or not to buy?

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Honeysrider

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I have been very taken by this beautiful sweet horse, only thing is he recently suffered an injury racing and has a hole in tendon ive been told. The price definitely reflects the injury and he has/hd some gorgeous paces on him. Ive fine with the time hell need off and the attention he'll need, support boots leg wraps close attention etc. But i want him to be able to be hacked regularly and then a bit of hunting and XC, is it likely he'll be up for this ? or am i thinking with my heart :(
 
Honeysrider said:
I have been very taken by this beautiful sweet horse, only thing is he recently suffered an injury racing and has a hole in tendon ive been told. The price definitely reflects the injury and he has/hd some gorgeous paces on him. Ive fine with the time hell need off and the attention he'll need, support boots leg wraps close attention etc. But i want him to be able to be hacked regularly and then a bit of hunting and XC, is it likely he'll be up for this ? or am i thinking with my heart :(
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A gelding with a hole in the tendon which has not yet been rehabbed or reschooled from a racing career is worth absolutely nothing.

Does his price reflect that? Why would you buy a horse that needs a year off and may never stand up to work?

By the time he is ready to ride you'll have spent enough to have bought a sound horse in the first place.

Run.
 
Honeysrider said:
I have been very taken by this beautiful sweet horse, only thing is he recently suffered an injury racing and has a hole in tendon ive been told. The price definitely reflects the injury and he has/hd some gorgeous paces on him. Ive fine with the time hell need off and the attention he'll need, support boots leg wraps close attention etc. But i want him to be able to be hacked regularly and then a bit of hunting and XC, is it likely he'll be up for this ? or am i thinking with my heart :(
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As a gift maybe but I have my own land so turning away for 12 months will cost very little, as far as rehab goes try and do this without boots or wraps, they offer no support and may heat up the tendons rather than cool them, the last one I rehabbed from a tendon injury never wore boots or bandages apart from when he raced or did xc they were not for support but to help reduce the risk of him striking into himself, no one has a crystal ball so cannot tell you whether he will stand up to work.
 
I am going against the grain! I'd take the punt!

How big is the hole? Is it the only injury and not a reoccurance? The horse is currently worth naff all in it's current state, maybe a token £100 to say you bought it and not gifted (that can lead to a whole world of problems sometimes!) Horses have come back to race again at the very highest level after tendon injuries. I myself have had 2 horses with tendon injruies. One was a 15% SDFT hole which healed perfectly and there is nothing he can't do. The other did a 100% hole - yup! He tore his tendon into 2 pieces! No he wont ever hunt, gallop across a beach or jump big fences but 6 years down the line he has never had another days lameness and has won a hell of a lot in the show ring!

11267748_10153334606559721_4587395884502194020_n.jpg


Have a quick look at this too. The 2017 Grand National Winner's scans and progress that his owners very kindly shared with the world. He is on track to try to regain his crown!

https://www.facebook.com/ArlaryHous...1826.413668735345626/1749971825048637/?type=3

I wouldn't use boots or anything more than basic brushing boots if you want to protect the legs from scuffs but I personally don't bother, never have. So long as the horse is given the right time off and is brought back into work slowly and carefully there is no reason why a year down the line the horse can't be doing anything you want them to do. But it does depend on how big the hole is and if it is a SDFT or a DDFT.
 
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I am looking for a horse like this. Must be younger... i.e under 7 ideally. Something that needs the summer off so a little while in the tendon wouldn't worry me. Must be cheap. Have had a look on Facebook but I am not paying £1500 for a horse that needs a year off.
 
Yes, I would consider buying it if I really liked the horse. A lot of racehorses blow tendons, I know that out of racing I'm never going to work them anywhere near that level again, and I've seen good recovery from some really spectacular tendon injuries.

I wouldn't pay any (meaningful) amount of money for a horse with a blown tendon though.
 
Tricky one.

On one hand I know a horse who was competing 4* Eventing and had an 80% tear in his tendon. He was given the right after care and rehab time and then he went on to compete PC Nationals. So it is possible. I too would also advise against booting apart from basic brushing boots. You actually want to make the tendon weight bare and load (once healed), so giving it support would actually make it weaker. I never use boots other than for XC for this very reason, and I like to think my horses tendons have always been pretty strong!

However, there are SO many horses out there who need homes, but aren't as big a risk on if they will come sound and be able to do a job you want. There would be another horse out there with a sweet temperament etc that wouldn't need the gamble.

Personally I wouldn't take the risk, but that's because I can't afford to pay out the livery for a whole year on a horse whose future is so uncertain and I don't have any history with.
 
For me? Absolutely not.

For someone willing to take a punt and not want to go much higher than basic WTC odd hack and jump? Probably be ok... Depending on severity.

Sounds a lovely horse but a huge risk, they are heart breakers anyway so my best advice is to walk away.
 
Even if it were a gift horse I would be hesitant - there is no way of knowing how this will affect him longer term, so you have no idea if he will ever even be properly field sound. Certainly don't hand across much money in this transaction if you do go ahead.
 
Having dealt with the heartbreak of an acute DDFT tear in my youngster there is absolutely no way I would willingly put myself through that emotional rollercoaster again, no matter how cheap or nice the horse is!
 
FestiveFuzz said:
Having dealt with the heartbreak of an acute DDFT tear in my youngster there is absolutely no way I would willingly put myself through that emotional rollercoaster again, no matter how cheap or nice the horse is!
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Ddfts are hugely different from sdfts.

I'm actually amazed at how many people write these horses straight off. Maybe because I work in racing and see the injuries from start to finish and onto winning races again it doesn't bother me as much. A tendon isn't the end of the world for the most part. Yes sometimes it is but not always.
 
EKW said:
Ddfts are hugely different from sdfts.

I'm actually amazed at how many people write these horses straight off. Maybe because I work in racing and see the injuries from start to finish and onto winning races again it doesn't bother me as much. A tendon isn't the end of the world for the most part. Yes sometimes it is but not always.
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For what I would want to do and my current set up, it would not be a horse for me. For someone who wants a happy hacker and low level dressage then see no reason why it wouldn’t be worth a punt.

The fact that they will sell before even attempting rehab or even healing time would suggest that they don’t think the horse will stay sound, a rehabbed nice ex racer is worth a lot more than a just injured one.
 
only_me said:
For what I would want to do and my current set up, it would not be a horse for me. For someone who wants a happy hacker and low level dressage then see no reason why it wouldn’t be worth a punt.

The fact that they will sell before even attempting rehab or even healing time would suggest that they don’t think the horse will stay sound, a rehabbed nice ex racer is worth a lot more than a just injured one.
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Or they need the box to bring another horse in to pay the bills. Or the owner doesn't want to wait a year. Or the horse wasn't the best at racing and there's no point in bringing it back into racing after a year. There are more factors than not expecting the horse to make a full recovery. The lad I picked up with a 15% hole has gone on to do everything. He was sold to me for a £200 donation to the ROR as he wasn't very good at racing that was all. If he was good enough he would have gone back into racing without a shadow of a doubt.

No not everyone can deal with or want to give the time to a horse and want one they can get on now. But some people don't mind the wait.
 
EKW said:
I'm actually amazed at how many people write these horses straight off.
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That's because the majority of horse people don't have the luxury of their own place, unlimited time to get something right again, and endless funds.

If someone is in a position to buy, it's pretty normal to want something that is, at purchase, sound and healthy!
 
Right where are these blummjng horses then...
If anyone years of anything less than 6 years old and under £500 which fancies a summer in the field recovering. Doesn't even have to be a thoroughbred... any youngster. I suppose it's a good thing but everyone who has been in touch so far wants over £1000 which is too much to pay for a glorified companion.
 
For me I would want to know how long ago the injury occurred? Was it during a race? Was he on box rest with controlled exercise for a period of time also using some form of cold therapy? How high,or low on the tendon is the hole? If the tendon is bowed, this can cause problems with the annular ligament if low down.
If an equine vet has scanned the tendon I would ask to speak with them about the prognosis.
I have successfully rehabbed 3 horses who would have been fine for what you want to do but I do agree that their value is low.
 
Honeysrider said:
I have been very taken by this beautiful sweet horse, only thing is he recently suffered an injury racing and has a hole in tendon ive been told. The price definitely reflects the injury and he has/hd some gorgeous paces on him. Ive fine with the time hell need off and the attention he'll need, support boots leg wraps close attention etc. But i want him to be able to be hacked regularly and then a bit of hunting and XC, is it likely he'll be up for this ? or am i thinking with my heart :(
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One of mine had this. I'd noticed nothing, but he went away to start eventing and after finding heat, he was scanned and a 10mm hole found in the superficial flexor. Bobby McEwan was the vet, and was unconcerned, saying to take him easy for 6 weeks, and that he would be fine to compete in 12 weeks. I treated him with an Arc Equine, and he went on to event within 6 months and never had a problem with it. When rescanned, my vet couldn't find it at all, so the arc did its job.
 
EKW said:
Ddfts are hugely different from sdfts.

I'm actually amazed at how many people write these horses straight off. Maybe because I work in racing and see the injuries from start to finish and onto winning races again it doesn't bother me as much. A tendon isn't the end of the world for the most part. Yes sometimes it is but not always.
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I didn't think the OP had specified whether it was SDFT or DDFT when I wrote my comment. Agree the two are different, however for the job I'd want it to do and having had experience of both SDFT and DDFT injuries I still personally wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.
 
Just another thought - are you used to riding and handling TBs as you will be rebacking a horse after a year off who may only be used to a racing yard training regime.
 
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