horse injured in vetting

When I was selling one of my horses a few years ago I had 3 different vettings.
First vet found 2/10 lame off fore on flexion.............. buyers ran away quick!

Second vet found 2/10 lame off hind on flexion............ other 3 legs fine!! Buyers still wanted horse so arranged for another vet
Third vet passed sound on all counts...........

All vettings within 3 weeks and I had the horse for 6 years with not a day missed through illness or lameness.


Certainly makes you think!
 
If I were in the position that the OP is in, I would contact my farrier, for his opinion of the horses feet prior to the vetting, get him out tomorrow if possible, to assess them now and then ask him to write a report about the damage, if any, caused by the vet in the pre-purchase vetting.
 
I wouldn't allow hoof testers or flexion tests to be done on my horses/youngsters at any PPEs; not that the vets have asked to do them anyway. Over here x-rays on all 4 legs/feet are the norm. Flexions are so primitive and it would be odd for a buyer of mine to ask for them tbh but if they did then I would refuse and would tell them well before any PPE was booked.
 
Spring Feather said:
I wouldn't allow hoof testers or flexion tests to be done on my horses/youngsters at any PPEs; not that the vets have asked to do them anyway. Over here x-rays on all 4 legs/feet are the norm. Flexions are so primitive and it would be odd for a buyer of mine to ask for them tbh but if they did then I would refuse and would tell them well before any PPE was booked.
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An X-ray will give no help in checked for heel pain at all , using hoof testers on the heel is to flag up soft tissue problems , As a buyer I am disinterested
In X -rays unless the vet wants them for a particular reason , many sound horses have abnormal X-rays .
As for flexions I totally understand why sellers dislike them but as a buyer I would not purchase a young horse who failed a flexion but depending on the vets advise I might have it repeated in a few days if the vet thought it was likely to be a transient issue.
I know vetting procedures vary from country to country so my view is a British based one.
Flexions show difference between limbs a good indication of the abnormal .
 
Spring Feather,


If by primitive you mean 'imprecise' then I agree with you, but the fact is that they do expose arthritic issues when they are still at a stage when they will not show on xrays and soft tissue injuries like PSD, sacroiliac strain, shoulder muscle strain (one of mine failed on this), and tendon and ligament damage inside the feet (which tend to be progressive without treatment and carry a poor prognosis for a shod horse).
 
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ester said:
But isn't Gb a vet who is likely to have done vettings?
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Well if so I am baffled because they are rarely done - in my own experience once in fifteen or more vettings and only then because I declared the horse as a laminitic.

And why on earth would it be useful to repeat hoof testing at stage 5?
 
cptrayes said:
Well if so I am baffled because they are rarely done - in my own experience once in fifteen or more vettings and only then because I declared the horse as a laminitic.

And why on earth would it be useful to repeat hoof testing at stage 5?
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Because it would show an increase in caudal pain after work and then standing.
Honestly everytime I have been present when my purchases are vetted they have been used.
 
Goldenstar said:
Because it would show an increase in caudal pain after work and then standing.
Honestly everytime I have been present when my purchases are vetted they have been used.
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I've read the BEVA guidelines now and there is no mention whatsoever in them of hoof testers.
 
Surely any soft tissue problems would be evident in gait or ability to move over rough terrain? I'm with the person who says they're instruments of torture. Using them on thin soled horses is almost guaranteed to produce bruising or an abscess surely?
 
Your poor horse, there he was no problem at all, along comes a vet and hey presto - sore feet :mad: I would seriously consider making a complaint if I were you, especially as you have now incurred costs from your own vet as a result of the careless use of the testers. One of my farriers used to say that hoof testers were absolutely useless and that you could lame just about any horse by using them too aggressively.

My sympathies are with you and I hope your horse makes a quick and full recovery.
 
cptrayes said:
Spring Feather,


If by primitive you mean 'imprecise' then I agree with you, but the fact is that they do expose arthritic issues when they are still at a stage when they will not show on xrays and soft tissue injuries like PSD, sacroiliac strain, shoulder muscle strain (one of mine failed on this), and tendon and ligament damage inside the feet (which tend to be progressive without treatment and carry a poor prognosis for a shod horse).
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I think imprecise is a good way to think of them but then imprecise reaction is good enough for me as a buyer .
This because the ' why ' of it matters less to me as a buyer.
It's my experiance that the vets I have used are very fair in their assessment of flexions they don't expect perfection particularily in the older but they do expect evenness of reaction .
The assessment of horses feet is difficult often presented for vetting poorly shod and due for reshoeing horses often don't get the best chance they can to ' pass' the vetting.
If they fail as a buyer you have to think what next do you take a chance that you can fix the issues you see and chance there's not something nasty lurking of a serious nature ( I don't insure).
OP has had a very unlucky experiance I think if I where her I would be guided by her own vet about what if anything she can do to recompense.
I hope Op your horse comes right quickly and you find him a nice new home without much delay.
 
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