Horse failed vetting - offered as loan

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bluewhippet

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I am a reasonably experienced rider and after a lifetime (I am middle-aged now) of longing for a horse I am finally in a position to get one.

Everyone has advised me against young horses because I am a novice at the ownership side of things but...I went to see a cob/arab 6 year old who had only been backed last winter, last week - rode him twice, out hacking and although he was spooky, I really enjoyed riding him and agreed to buy subject to vetting.

He failed the vetting on Monday. I couldn't be there - school holidays - and the vet rung he had gone through the flexion and then had been lame trotting up. The owner said he was uneven rather than lame. The vet said he should be rested until sound but that then he should be ridden for a week before he could ascertain if he really was sound to work. The vet said he was not great to handle - more like a four year old - which makes sense since this is his age in handling terms..he advised me to keep looking, plenty more fish in the sea etc.

The woman then offered me the horse on loan. She is not well and needs to rehome him - he was bred from her stallion and mare - but given to a friend where he did nothing for 5 years. I said that he would need to be sound before I would loan him - I don't want to get fonder of him if he is unsound and I will still have to pay his livery.

She has come back today and said he is trotting sound today and she thinks it is just the way he is. she has often thought he seems footsore but that he does a lot of work on difficult terrain (he is shod) and that he has never been properly lame. She also said that she has entered him in the sale next week.

I am feeling very sad because I did think he was lovely, but his inexperience in combination with a failed vetting is too much and I don't want to be manipulated into taking him on loan and getting even fonder of him.

The livery where I would keep the horse is owned by a vet and his wife. The wife said she would walk away, and so I feel that I should be sensible!

I am going to see another horse tomorrow but I do feel torn...
 
With Horses always go with your gut and your vet/ advisors (or else why ask for their advice?)

If you think its a bad idea, it probably is!!

(and there really are lots of horses looking for homes)

V x
 
Thanks. I just want to be told that a lot of times as he is a gift horse as a loan - but maybe the wrong gift horse and I would rather pay for the right horse. And I would definitely agree with the vet in terms of not buying - it is just the loan aspect...
 
Having the wrong horse is an expensive and heartbreaking and if you are like me, difficult to reverse, mistake. You know this horse isn't for you... see some more and you'll find something more suitable...

BnBX
 
bluewhippet said:
Thanks. I just want to be told that a lot of times as he is a gift horse as a loan - but maybe the wrong gift horse and I would rather pay for the right horse. And I would definitely agree with the vet in terms of not buying - it is just the loan aspect...
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it costs as much to keep a good one as a bad one!!
 
A loan is a loan and in reality there are terms to a loan and it should be able to be terminated within a particular timescale by either side. That would mean that, if you took the horse on and he was lame then, theoretically the owner should then be prepared to take him back. However, it sounds like in this case that is not going to happen if she cannot look after him so you are likely to be left with what could potentially be a lame horse! It is a tricky one as interpretation of flexion tests varies from horses to horse and vet to vet BUT if this vet is really advising to look elsewhere then I would go on their advice.

IF you had your own land and money was no object then I would say take the risk. However, if you're paying livery this costs the same whether you have a lame horse or a sound horse!!!

I think, as hard as it is you should really walk away. There are plenty of horses out there after all. Plus, if you were considering a loan then maybe look at loaning a rideable horse from a charity (ie the Blue Cross for example). At least then you know they can and will definitely take the horse back or rehome it should you no longer be able to keep it.

It's so tricky - you could just as easily buy a horse that does pass a vetting and still could go wrong within a year! I still think it's better to start off with a sound animal mind! Lol
 
walk away it costs just as much to keep a lame one as it does the perfect horse and if he is "unlevel" at 6 what on earth is he going to be like when a bit older and the owner is saying to you if you don't keep him ill send him to sale :(

don't get involved ,you'l find the right one "sound" eventually
 
Was it just the flexion test he failed on?
If so i wouldnt be too worried.......you try holding your leg up,and then running off....i think you would be lame or uneven too.
 
If it was just the flexion test I wouldnt be totally put off, but the fact the owner has said she thinks he has been footsore or something ? working over difficult terrain and he appears to be very green so he hasnt done much would definatly put me off. Plenty of reasonably priced horses out there also probably quite a few for loan. Saying she will put in the sales sounds like a bit of emotional blackmail to me
 
My advice is walk away - get the right type of nice horse. You have waited long enough so don't blow it now!!! 'Buy in haste and repent at leisure' is such a true adage!!!

Good Luck!
 
I had a pony fail a flexion test, turned out he was developing mild arthritis. His eventing career was over (fairly big fences) but he's now gone to a lovely PC home where he is still competing up to 2ft6 going to camp and hacking on long hacks. He just struggles to jump over about 3ft.
 
Sorry to hear your predicament, been there done that. My first mare wouldn't never have passed a vetting so I didn't have her vetted but the only time she had off work was through accidents in field. Lots of horses show a degree of lameness after a flexion test. My friends mare always trots up lame after a flexion test but she's never actually been out of work through lameness.

Look at the other horse and see if you like it as much. As someone else said there are lots of horses for sale so you may find another one you like as much.

Other option is to take this horse on trial for a month or two.

Good luck with your decision and search.
 
I am a believer that some not all vets can over do this test and make a problem appear so i wouldnt be too put off by that however if he is foot sore with shoes that i find slightley suss ,but all that aside he doesnt sound right for you hun look else where you cant buy because you feel sorry for him or loan either you could end up just as stuck with an unsuitable horse x
 
bluewhippet said:
I am a reasonably experienced rider and after a lifetime (I am middle-aged now) of longing for a horse I am finally in a position to get one.

Everyone has advised me against young horses because I am a novice at the ownership side of things but...I went to see a cob/arab 6 year old who had only been backed last winter, last week - rode him twice, out hacking and although he was spooky, I really enjoyed riding him and agreed to buy subject to vetting.

He failed the vetting on Monday. I couldn't be there - school holidays - and the vet rung he had gone through the flexion and then had been lame trotting up. The owner said he was uneven rather than lame. The vet said he should be rested until sound but that then he should be ridden for a week before he could ascertain if he really was sound to work. The vet said he was not great to handle - more like a four year old - which makes sense since this is his age in handling terms..he advised me to keep looking, plenty more fish in the sea etc.

The woman then offered me the horse on loan. She is not well and needs to rehome him - he was bred from her stallion and mare - but given to a friend where he did nothing for 5 years. I said that he would need to be sound before I would loan him - I don't want to get fonder of him if he is unsound and I will still have to pay his livery.

She has come back today and said he is trotting sound today and she thinks it is just the way he is. she has often thought he seems footsore but that he does a lot of work on difficult terrain (he is shod) and that he has never been properly lame. She also said that she has entered him in the sale next week.

I am feeling very sad because I did think he was lovely, but his inexperience in combination with a failed vetting is too much and I don't want to be manipulated into taking him on loan and getting even fonder of him.

The livery where I would keep the horse is owned by a vet and his wife. The wife said she would walk away, and so I feel that I should be sensible!

I am going to see another horse tomorrow but I do feel torn...
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I had a friend who had the same thing but on the other foot! Her horse failed a vetting on flexion. The horse had never been unsound and was a lovely horse.

She had no suspicion whatsoever that the horse would fail and she was a very experienced rider.

I think she may have loaned the horse or even sold it eventually.

But the horse was an older horse so a slightly different scenario as it had been there and done it so to speak.
 
Absolutely walk away. A youngster is a risky choice for a first horse especially one that has done so little. If he was spooky on a hack on home ground he is likely to be twice as bad in a new yard. Add to that the failed vetting (uneven IS lame, I don't know what the owner means by 'not properly lame') and the fact that this looks like a loan you would have great difficulty in returning to the owner and it's a disaster in the making.

Sorry to sound harsh and I appreciate how horribly disappointing all this must be, but from the outside and without an emotional attachment to the horse it does sound like the worst possible deal for the buyer!
 
Booboos said:
Absolutely walk away. A youngster is a risky choice for a first horse especially one that has done so little. If he was spooky on a hack on home ground he is likely to be twice as bad in a new yard. Add to that the failed vetting (uneven IS lame, I don't know what the owner means by 'not properly lame') and the fact that this looks like a loan you would have great difficulty in returning to the owner and it's a disaster in the making.
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Agree with this completely!
 
I also didn't get the different between lame & uneven, surely uneven indicates unsound??

Having arabs, they generally have very hard, concave feet which you have to got over some seriously bad, stoney going to bruise if they are shod. I would worry about the amount & speed of the work this recently backed youngster is being asked to do. Many slightly older horses do fail flexion tests, but we are talking a recently backed 6 year old. Walk away, as if you take him on loan & he doesn't come right, it will be so much harder to send him back when you know the owner can't care for him.

You paid a professional person for his professional opinion, he gave it to you clearly. I very much doubt you told him you wanted a high level competition horse, so if he thinks this horse is unsuitable for the quieter life you have in mind, he obviously has serious concerns. No-one on here can say if the horse is okay to take a risk on, as like you we weren't there & we have never even seen this horse. You have, & you talked to the vet. It sounds as though you've made your decision, you're just being subjected to emotional blackmail which really isn't on, but does happen.

Chin up. You can only give one horse a lovely home, why should it not be a horse that can give you the pleasure of being able to ride him in return? Surely given the amount of time & emotion you will be investing in them you deserve that?
 
I had a horse that failed a vetting when I was selling it, I bought her without vetting her BUT i had been riding her twice a week for 2 years prior to me buying her and I was satisfied that the horse had been in excellent health during those 2 years prior to my purchase.

She failed on the flexion test part and the vet then asked me to ride her and said that she was sound... but it did put the buyers off.

In all honesty I wouldn't buy a horse that I hadn't already known for some time unless it passed a vetting. I took a risk on buying that one because I was riding her twice a week but it did shoot me in the foot when I came to sell her on.

In your case, the horse is young, a bit spooky and it has failed a vetting. It can be really upsetting when you have your heart set on a horse and then it fails a vetting... but I would walk away from this one. Although you are an experienced rider, you are a novice owner and it would be a real shame to buy a horse like this only for it to end up as an expensive field ornament if the problem developes further...

I wouldn't pay any attention to the seller saying it is going to the sales, she obviously knows you really like the horse and is playing on your heart strings a bit there.

Start your search again... there WILL be a horse out there for you, one which will be a complete perfect match :)

...Also, if you were to take it on loan and this issue got worse, is the owner likely to say that your riding & care have exasperated the condition and the horse is now worth less than it was before being placed in your care and that she is now at a finanical loss because of it...
 
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