Flexion Tests/X-Rays on a foal??

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zoeshiloh

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(I put this on the breeders forum, but have had no response, so figured people on here might have an opinion)

Well, its no secret that little Emae is now officially advertised for sale. I have had several phonecalls, mainly from ads placed locally, and had one chap that was very interested. But then we got onto the topic of vetting. I said I was more than happy for her to undergo a vetting, and he replied that he would only be happy with a full vetting, including flexion tests.... Well, I objected to this (I don't even let my horses undergo flexion tests as have seen horses injured by vets doing them incorrectly) but said she was open to any xray etc. The man then said I should be more worried about x-raying a foal than a flexion test, as the foal is so small, xrays would flood its body with radiation. To be honest, I had never thought about that. Whilst I think he was overexaggerating somewhat, he did raise a valid point with regards to xrays - I mean, some horses have over 20 xrays when they are vetted, and how much damage would this do, especially to a young animal?

I just wondered what other people's views on foal vettings were - whether they should be subjected to flexion tests and xrays, or whether a two-stage should do? I had my yearling colt vetted for his insurance last year, and despite the valuation (conducted by their own assessor) a two stage was deemed enough.
 
Flooding a foal with radiation!? What a load of bo****s to do that you'd have to x-ray it THOUSANDS of times. Not sure about the flextion tests, all the joints and tendons are a bit soft. Maybe you could as the vets opinion.
 
I tried to reply to this in Breeding but got pushed off machine by son and lost it!

Having had many foals vetted by many different, efficient equine vets over the years, I think this person would almost be laughed at by them.
I'm sorry, if you're buying a foal, you are buying potential and what you see on that day. The only safeguards you can take are to test eyes, limbs, lungs and heart. Even the most stringent of vet checks on a foal will do no more than that along with a check for soundness - on that day. A flexion test would be a nonsense and not suitable for young bones anyway I would have thought and the idea of putting a foal through x rays with the resulting sedation needed is utterly unrealistic I feel.
I think I would rather lose the sale than put a foal through either of those if I'm honest. Not because of what it might show up but the stress it would put the foal under with possible repercussions, health wise later in life. Having had x rays many times as a small child due to my Mother having TB, I know there were serious questions asked about the safety of it all for me and they were stopped ASAP so just on that personal reasoning alone, would be enough to put me off doing foals at all unless there was an urgent medical need of course.
 
Insurance companies wouldn't be stupid and would not expect a full vetting to be carried out on a foal. X-rays are not going to tell you a heck of a lot either as the bones are still forming anyway. Fair enough people do like to be cautious but buying any horse is a gamble especially a youngster!

I would not want to put a foal through a full vetting either (and I know nothing about foals really) but it is a pretty strenuous process. For insurane purposes it is only likely if the foal is of very high value that any type of vetting would be required and this is mroe than likely just going to be a confirmation really the horse is free from illness, injury or disease at time of vetting.

def don't even entertain that man anymore!
 
TBH I think he is completely novice when it comes to buying a foal. There is no way on earth that I would let someone flexion test a foal, it is a procedure that I am afraid I can see little point in anyway.

I kindly said to the man in question that I thought he was a little inexperienced to take on a foal. He was very good about it all. I wouldn't let Emae go to a home unless I thought it was right. She is far too special for that.
 
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