Failed vetting - what do you think????

[be positive]

A 2 stage vetting does not always include lunging, not all vets do it in a 5 stage although it has become more common, the last one I had vetted, a 5 stage, the vet didn't even bother to do the final trot up and did no lunging, he passed!!

I don't think the seller can be blamed for her cob not lunging properly, the vet could have put a bridle on, they may not be there to give lunge lessons but equally should not be allowing the horse to stand eating grass during the vetting, it sounds as if the facilities were unsuitable and that everyone involved has lost out.

There seems to be little consistency in vettings, from my experience some vets look to pass, others are looking for any reason to "fail" one vet got stroppy when told the horse didn't do flying changes and spent most of the riding phase getting him cantering in the tightest circles possible, almost on her toes while she stood in the middle, he failed when she "diagnosed" spavin, later checked by my vet and nothing wrong.

 

[Booboos]

Very weird situation as a two stage vetting does not include lunging. If the vet had decided to lunge against all expectations she should have taken two seconds to get the groom to swap the head collar for a bridle and continued - a much easier solution than causing all these issues. I'd complain to the vet.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

What an utter load of crap people post. I am the seller of this horse, the vet asked me if he lunged and I said I didn't know he hasn't done it in years, she said are you happy for him to be lunged in the halter and said I guess so, I didn't know otherwise she didn't ask me for his bridle, which she could have had if she had asked. And as for not wanting him to be bridled the potential buyer had tacked him up herself twice so that's rubbish.

It was an open space surrounded by grass she had herself let him stand eating and he hasn't had a lot of grass at home recently due to the weather conditions, he yanked back off to the grass thinking oh this is a jolly, she said I'm not here to give him a lunge lesson and that was it, she didn't ask for his bridle or she could have had it.

And she didn't end the vetting she carried on and finished it, she only had to check his eyes after that anyway.

Loads of rubbish, he's had those warts about 3yrs and they've haven't changed.

So short story she did complete the vetting and she never asked for a bridle, so people should get their facts straight before accusing people of having something to hide or lying!

She also stood there and said to me that his conformation was "perfect" and she rarely sees that. so if you want to turn that down over a wart then go ahead.

Ahh feathered. Were you the lovely day who had the issue with the arthritic mare who had to move a few miles up the road and I suggested Flexi Joint a few years back and she was so much better after till sometime later when she had to be pts????

 

[ester]

Quite, lungeing should never have been part of the vetting! I can understand turning the horse down on the basis of the warts/sarcoids but not that the horse couldn't be lunged.

 

[Feathered]

Ahh feathered. Were you the lovely day who had the issue with the arthritic mare who had to move a few miles up the road and I suggested Flexi Joint a few years back and she was so much better after till sometime later when she had to be pts????

Yes that was me. �� Still miss her.

 

[Rollin]

Vets don't lunge? When I took my CB stallion to Equine Hospital in Nantes, in spite of the fact there were lots of students and helpers present, The Professor, an FEI vet lunged him.

 

[MagicMelon]

I think its the owner that is more to blame, the vet probably could have suggested it but its not really their responsibility. Surely the owner wants the horse to pass so they would have simply thought to put a bridle on it?! Could the vet not have called you at the time when they were about to give up, then you could have suggested it. I wouldn't expect to pay the vet for a full vetting though!

 

[ycbm]

I've sold quite a few horses vetted and bought a handful. It's my experience that vets sometimes know or feel that the horse is wrong for the prospective owner in some way, physical or otherwise. In order not to cause a fight with a seller, they then either say nothing to them or mouth a few platitudes. Then find a genuine or otherwise reason to put the buyer off. I just wonder if this is what happened in this case.

It doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with the horse, just that the vet thinks the buyer won't be happy with it and doesn't want to get caught up in the middle of it goes to pot.

 

[ester]

I think its the owner that is more to blame, the vet probably could have suggested it but its not really their responsibility. Surely the owner wants the horse to pass so they would have simply thought to put a bridle on it?! Could the vet not have called you at the time when they were about to give up, then you could have suggested it. I wouldn't expect to pay the vet for a full vetting though!

But it was a 2 stage vetting, no need to even try to lunge it and the vetting carried on.

 

[Lizzie66]

This all seems something and nothing.

During a two stage vetting the vet tells their student to just lunge the horse in a circle the horse pulls to the grass, vet decides to just get student to trot it up in hand as lunging wasn't necessary anyway.

Vets report states we didn't lunge as the horse was strong and pulled to grass, items of concern regarding sarcoids/warts.

Vet has done what was asked of her, owner did what was asked of her and buyer decided sarcoids/warts were enough of an issue to stop her buying.

So no fault with anyone, just a miscommunication regarding expectations maybe ?

 

[amandaco2]

I would expect the vendor to present the horse in appropriate tack to control it in, regardless of where the vetting took place, and I would be looking to the vendor to pay the costs for the waste of time, and professional services.

To be honest I would be flipping seething !

Me too

 

[ycbm]

I'm bemused by people saying a two stage vetting doesn't include lunging. It can include whatever the vet wants it to include as long as it's got the basic stuff in it.

If I was buying a horse and had it two stage vetted, and the horse was sound on a trot up on a straight line but the vet just had an inkling that it was a bit stuffy and shouldn't be, then I'd be absolutely mad if he passed it without seeing what it did on a circle and I got it home and it was lame on a circle.

The test is to say that the horse is sound on the day. A 2 stage doesn't include strenuous work, no, but a lame horse should fail, imo, and if the vet is in any doubt about soundness the horse should be seen in trot on a circle on firm ground.

 

[Luci07]

Lunging a cob on grass. Braver than me! and actually, you can't say 5K has to include good manners on the floor as a given. Not even sure I would want to lunge my own horse in a headcollar and he is lunged regularly and is a complete gentleman.

I have a friend who has a pain in the derriere lightweight cob - on the floor. To ride, he takes genuine to the utmost and is as safe as can be. She cannot afford to fall off either. She sucks up the fact that her horse is a pain and we have all learnt (to our cost) that we do not attempt to lead this horse anywhere unless in a chiffney! Yet you could put an almost complete beginner on him and he would look after them and then go and whizz around a BE 90 with his mum. Go figure!

 

[zaminda]

If I was going to the effort to take a horse to the vets for vetting, I would expect them to have suitable facilities to do so.
I once went to ride a horse at a vetting for a friend of mine. The horse wasn't the best behaved in the world, but the potential owner knew that he was stuffy, had been gelded very late, and had been used for breeding for several years. The vet passed him, but told the lady he didn't feel the horse was suitable for her due to his nature.
The warts may bother me, but I would decide that for myself, in consultation with my own vet.

 

[cavalier123]

Thank you to everyone who has taken the trouble to reply with thoughts and experiences. I really just wanted to hear what people thought as I couldn't understand and work out why the vet wouldn't lunge in a bridle and felt that they should have, so wanted opinions.
To answer some of the questions, it was a two stage vetting. I had a conversation with the vet beforehand where they ask if you have any concerns and mentioned that I had a pony that had wobblers and breathing problems, I was over concerned about these because of this and would she check for these things, she agreed to lunge pony to check breathing ( I also explained to vendor that I had asked her to check these things).
I decided to pull out because of the warts and the bolshiness, both of which may have turned out to be fine, but I didn't want to take the chance. The pony was otherwise lovely!

 

[cavalier123]

Am I the only one thinking 'a sarcoid in the ear and they didn't want to bridle it in front of a vet'?



I think you may have had a lucky escape.

I didn't think of that, but I did bridle him myself and he was fine.

 

[cavalier123]

Very weird situation as a two stage vetting does not include lunging. If the vet had decided to lunge against all expectations she should have taken two seconds to get the groom to swap the head collar for a bridle and continued - a much easier solution than causing all these issues. I'd complain to the vet.

Vet had agreed to lunge and I've decided to complain to vets, waiting to hear back from them.

 

[cavalier123]

Lunging a cob on grass. Braver than me! and actually, you can't say 5K has to include good manners on the floor as a given. Not even sure I would want to lunge my own horse in a headcollar and he is lunged regularly and is a complete gentleman.

I have a friend who has a pain in the derriere lightweight cob - on the floor. To ride, he takes genuine to the utmost and is as safe as can be. She cannot afford to fall off either. She sucks up the fact that her horse is a pain and we have all learnt (to our cost) that we do not attempt to lead this horse anywhere unless in a chiffney! Yet you could put an almost complete beginner on him and he would look after them and then go and whizz around a BE 90 with his mum. Go figure!

I agree, I would never have tried to lunge on grass in a head collar either, especially a cob! I knew he could be bargey on the ground so was still interested as he was super to ride, but the combination of not lunging and warts has sadly put me off... I just wanted to hear if others felt the vet should have tried lunging in a bridle, so thank you for your reply.