Failed Vetting - really stressed

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minerva

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Latest in my horse buying epic! lovely horse, just what I want (apart from being grey) have been to see him a few times and he is a total poppet, so I arrange the vetting for today and he only goes and bloody fails!!!
So pissed off, he was hopping after the flexion test, we double checked and still lame so he was failed.
There is a small problem with his eye as well wich would be excluded on insurance, but he wouldnt fail on that.
Now the seller has contacted me and is adamant that there is nothing wrong with him and he will pass a second vetting.
I am waiting to talk to my vet to see what she thinks and was wondering what you guys think??
 
TBH, I'd say leave the horse. There are lots of wonderful horses for sale just now & unless the seller really drops the price I wouldn't risk it. There might not be anything wrong with horsey just now, but it could be in the pipeline.
xa
p.s. Good luck!
 
If the seller is adamant he'll pass a second vetting then ask them to pay for it. Just make sure it's an independant vet and not one that they know - not making any accusations, just to be on the safe side!!!
 
It is a minefield. One vet will pass a horse, the next will fail it. They are so worried about covering their backs, understandably!

I think if you trust your vet you should speak to them and seek their advice. My friend sold her TB mare recently, it failed the vet due to lameness, she had another vet look at it and it passed with flying colours!

Ditto the horse she bought, failed first time as being consistently lame behind (it had scars from a car accident) on the "dodgy" leg, second vet passed it. It was never lame and has never been lame on that leg since.
 
If you really like the horse, have its hocks and fetlocks x-rayed on the leg it failed on. Hate flexion tests as done wrongly they can make any horse lame. X-rays will give you a truer picture.
 
Think I might get a second opinion - we had a horse who was never lame, he was as tough as anything, hunted and never stiff the next day. We decided to sell him as a hack/hunter - and he failed on a flexion test. We were very confident about him, and asked our vet to come and look at him to reasssure ourselves - and he found nothing wrong - and he is known as a tough vet when doing vettings himself. So we readvertised, found a perfect home, and he passed with flying colours - and as far as I know is still sound years on.
 
I've had problems with this.

I'd ask the owners to pay for another vetting, with a vet of your choice and go for x-rays as well. That should sort out how genuine they are!
 
i tried to sell my horse when he was 3, he failed the flexion test twice, on different legs

so i kept him

he's 12 now and never had a day lame, apart from when he lost his shoe and managed to dig a huge hole in his foot-can't blame that on failing the flexion tests

we've had 9 years full on fun, riding most days, jumping, fun rides, lessons, dressage (well my attempts at dressage) galloping, blah blah blah and so on

9 years of fun that the prospective buyer has missed out on - ya boo sucks to her and hooray for me.

seriously, flexion tests are a dubious way to go about looking at a horses soundness. if you like the horse investigate further or take a gamble and use it as a bargaining tool to get a lower price?
 
If it was just the flexion test, and the owners paid for another independent vetting, then I'd try again. However, with the eye problem as well, I think I'd be more inclined to walk away from this one
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My old horse failed his vetting due to the flexion, but I bought him anyway, and he was never lame with me. I didn't pay much for him, and knocked quite a lot off his price due to the vetting failure, which if you really like the horse might be an option for you
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Personally I'd walk away from this as you know it has an eye problem aswell. I've had many vetted in the past who have failed and I trust our vet. If you have talked it through with the vet and you trust his opinion then why bother getting a 2nd vet?

The vet is going to air on the side of caution anyway as would not want to say it's liekly to be fine as if it turns out not you could well come back on him! Vets do have to be careful thes edays with so many people trying to claim off them when a horse goes lame not long after a vetting.

My sister's old horse did not effectively pass when we ahd him vetted - we had him on a trail perido and had him vetted at home. Vet said could not pass as was lame for longer than should be on one leg after flexion. However, no actual phyical cause for it so we decided to take the risk and buy him and he was never lame. However, in hindsight we shouldn't have as he turned out to be a bit of a rearing looney!!!
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If you have talked it through with the vet and you trust his opinion then why bother getting a 2nd vet?

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I totally agree with this. Why use him in the first place if you are not going to trust his opinion?
 
i spoke to my vet after my 3 year old failed the flexion test

he was kind enough to be frank with me, saying the flexion test was hit and miss, and that he wouldn't worry if his horse failed it.

vets look hard to find something to fail on, to protect themselves (who can blame them) but this leaves the purchaser looking for a very long time when they could be happily set up with a perfectly suitable horse who happened to fail a dodgy flexion test-dodgy in the sense that it's a test doesn't really mean that much, even to a vet.

however buying a horse is costly and risky, so there is no easy answer to this problem.

 
The horse I bought failed the flexion test the first time he was vetted. Then he was re-done as the vet suggested getting a back person in, which the owner paid for - then the owner paid for a re-vetting with the same vet. He passed that time - although it did delay everything by about 3 weeks... I was happy with that.
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Arggghh, just spoken to my vet, who i have total trust in and she is said it was black and white to her, that there is a joint problem and that she wouldnt be happy to do a second vetting! so i guess thats a fairly final decision, poor lad he is lovely, but having had one boy with spavins I really dont need another.
i do really trust my vet, she knows all about what i want and had been there at end for both my past two boys,
thanks for all your advice but it looks like the show must go on!!!!
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i don't blame you, i'm glad that your vet has made it easy for you
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flexion tests aren't always so black and white and it's a shame to miss out on a perfectly good horse because of it.

if the horse is definately wrong though you'd be daft not to liste
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I really think you should get a second opinion from a unknown vet, as in unknown to you and I would get the owners to pay for it..... but I would also ask for blood tests to be done, the owner is adamant that it will pass the next one??? Is she thinking of giving it bute?
 
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If the seller is adamant he'll pass a second vetting then ask them to pay for it. Just make sure it's an independant vet and not one that they know - not making any accusations, just to be on the safe side!!!

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Yes good idea, get the owner to pay for it if they are so adamant!
 
IMHO once failed a flexion test, is conclusive, i would walk away!! i am sorry for you tho its expensive to vet these horses and have them fail!!! also how does the owner kno better than the vet!!!??? the only thing you can b sure of is the word of your vet!!
 
I fell in love my my girl when I first saw her and got her vetted - she failed miserably. I was gutted and hubbie went a bought her for me for christmas for half the original price. Her conformation is terrible but she has never been lame. She has been having problems so i got a vet out to see her and she wouldn't even allow him do the flexion text! I got her x rayed and there was nothing really dodgey there apart from the conformation - there was a very slight bone spavin but nothing to worry about really just now. Have started doing lessons with a great instructor and we are building musle on her and getting her to work from behind without tight circles. she is coming on a treat and I am so glad I bought her (had her bought for me
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You need to discuss it with the vet who failed her/him and find out what they think. It will depend on what use you want the horse for as well. If you are looking for a competition horse, then they might not hold up for that level of work but if you are looking for just a hack/pleasure horse, then they might be able to do the job!

Good luck!!!
 
I bought my last horse after he failed flexion tests, I never had a problem with him and kept him all his life.

Flexion tests are notoriously controversial.

I think it really depends on what you want to do with it.
 
Please walk away - you've paid for a 5 stage (I'm guessing?) and you can't argue with the vet!

I had a 5 stage on Ty and he was blind in one eye and lame on his behind.....and the vet didn't pick it up......there are alot of healthy horses that need good homes
 
i think you should walk away too, i know that it is really hard when you really like the horse but a failed flexion could mean that there is something more serious wrong, alternatively of course he might be fine for the the rest of his life but personally i wouldn't risk it unless you had another vetting and he passed. if you brought him even though he failed it may be harder to sell him on if you ever had to in the future
 
You have paid for the vetting in order to find out what, if anything, is wrong with the horse. Now you know you should trust your vet and walk away. Of course the current owner wants you to 'vet' the horse again cos he/she wants to sell you their horse!
Keep looking there are plenty of sound one's out there. Good luck.
 
If your vet says no then go with that!!! You trust the vet, they know you ... what more can you as.. there are plenty of horses out there... though it ma not seem like it at the mo...
 
I bought my TB mare as a rising 5 yr old (unbroken) and she 'failed' the vet due to a 'bone spavin' on her left hind.
While she's not been lame yet...but she is only 19yrs old...the true picture may be yet to appear
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We had this situation once with a horse who we believed to be sound in wind and limb. When she was vetted the vet said she was a roarer and had advanced sidebone. We agreed with the prospective purchaser that she would go to the local vet school to be scoped and have her front legs from fetlock down xrayed, with us paying for the cost if she failed and halfing the cost with the purchaser if she passed.

The vet school said she was 100% ok in both wind and limb, and the purchaser had years of fun with her. It's tempting to walk away but a second opinion from an independent vet of your choice at the vendor's expense will put paid to any lingering thoughts of "what if..."

Good luck
 
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