Horse purchase after vet failure

[k3rri3]

I’m considering buying a 8 year old horse, originally advertised for £14k, but failed the vetting. Owner has had hocks injected, and offered him to me for sale again.
Should I a) run a mile, b) buy the horse for the asking price (he’s perfect), or c) offer less money. If ‘c’ what price reduction would be suitable?

 

[EllenJay]

a) run a mile

 

[shortstuff99]

Run a mile or buy for £2-3k.

 

[ycbm]

The asking price of £14k, after a vet fail with hock issues and injections at 8?

What planet do they live on?

 

[Upthecreek]

Buying a horse with a known medical problem is a risk so only pay what you can afford to lose. If you buy it you would not be covered by insurance for further treatment of this problem so can you afford to pay the vet bills if necessary? Personally I would not buy an 8 year old with dodgy hocks that had been injected.

 

[ycbm]

Run a mile or buy for £2-3k.

This. If you are dead set on him and prepared to face the rest of his working lifetime treating the hocks (because the first injection is usually the first of many with increasingly shorter intervals between and very rarely the end of the problem) then a few £k max.

Bear in mind also that he will probably be uninsurable for any hind end lameness.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

As somebody who has a 12 year old with hock arthritis it’s a no from me. He has to have injections every 12 weeks and it’s only going to get worse the older he gets. Walk away.

 

[shortstuff99]

I hate seeing adverts at the moment where they state 'only needs' or 'just needs' hock injections as if this is normal every day practice ?

 

[Andalucian]

Run a mile or buy for £2-3k.

Exactly my thoughts

 

[oldie48]

Definitely not on an 8 year old that has had hock injections and still fails the vetting. Did they tell you about the hock injections and what they were treating? If not, what else didn't they tell you. Rose failed a vetting (rt hind flexion) as a 9 year old, having been sold for more than £14K subject to vetting. They injected the hocks but then didn't sell her. I bought her three years later I only found out about the injections because I asked for vet records to be made available but she passed a rigorous 5 stage vetting with clean hock XRays (paid for by owner) and I was happy to take a punt at a hugely reduced price.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Nope. Wouldn’t waste my money

 

[Michen]

I am quite surprised by the posts tbh. We don’t know the quality of the horse and whilst I’d expect a reduction in price, 2-3k purchase price seems a bit extreme!

I guess the trouble is the horse isn’t out doing a job at the moment, it would be easier if it was competing and doing well and the hocks were an incidental finding.

You haven’t said how he failed the vetting but many people would be willing to buy a horse that failed slightly on a flexion for example, with a sensible price reduction.

If it failed on a straight line or the lameness post flexion was significant then that would be a different matter.

FWIW if you do a search on twitteventing (facebook). You’ll see a load of posts from people who had their horses hocks injected and then haven’t done it again for years and years. Equally some who have had to do them regularly and some who never did them again. My horse had his done 8 months ago and hasn’t needed them since, he is very slightly lame post flexion but it trots out.

The market is so hot, good horses are very hard to find and unless you have a significant amount of money to spend the chances of finding a perfect horse are becoming slimmer and slimmer. I’d be expecting a good 4-5k off the price though assuming the lameness was very very minor on the vetting. Also I assume the horse is now sound, with the injections?

 

[Bellaboo18]

Tbh I just dont think we've got enough to go on at all.

Has the horse be vetted again after the hock injections?
What's the horse currently doing?
What do you want the horse for?

I'd want something off the original price assuming when the owners advertised it they thought it would pass the vetting but how much depends on the horse.

It might have originally been a bargain at 14k or it's got 'potential' and 14k was always steep ?‍ who knows.

 

[TPO]

Echo Michen

What is the horse being bought for, what level is it currently working at, access to full vet record and were there any issues or lameness prior to a failed vetting etc.

I am in agreement with the not "just needs joint injections" train of thought and I personally have issues medicating horses to keep them at the same level of work or to step them up. I know it happend and I know "pros", and people who know pros, will be rolling their eyes at saps like me.

So if for example this was a horse doing Intermediates but needed medicated and would step down to novice then I can understand that objectively. If this is a riding club level horse/level of work and its needing jagged to be sound then nah.

Basically I dont think that the OP has provided enough information for anyone to make an informed decision

ETAcross posted with bellaboo

 

[AmyMay]

It would be a no from me too, unless the price was in the £2/3k region, and you could afford to take a hit ultimately on the purchase price if the horse goes wrong six months later.

Hind limbs won’t be insurable - chances are all four would be excluded.

 

[Melody Grey]

Re: insurance, you might be in the “hind limbs and all associated conditions” category of exclusion....which can mean practically everything lameness or loss of performance related. ?

 

[Cortez]

Option A.

 

[millitiger]

I don’t see how anyone can answer without more information on the horse and what you want to do with it.

 

[Goldenstar]

A .

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I certainly wouldn't buy it. In fact I'd be wary of having it on loan

 

[Puzzled]

I’d like more information and hate to say this but lots of international horses are medicated regularly! ? Don’t think they’d be selling at two grand!

 

[greenbean10]

I’d like more information and hate to say this but lots of international horses are medicated regularly! ? Don’t think they’d be selling at two grand!

I agree. There isn't one horse at my current yard that hasn't been medicated somewhere, and there are some horses worth a lot of money. I'm not saying it's right, but in showjumping it's unbelievably common.

 

[holeymoley]

A.

Certainly not for £14k ?. £1400 maybe...!

I’d be interested to hear how they have priced him at £14k...

 

[gallopingby]

Interesting comments yet again from the people who still want to buy a made horse for £2000!!

Would leasing be an option? this would enable you to see how things are going to work out. I'm assuming the horse has a good competition record and would maybe give you the opportunity to achieve things that a, say £5k horse , wouldn't. Sometimes you have to take a risk but I agree £14k is a lot to loose depending on your circumstances.

 

[AmyMay]

Interesting comments yet again from the people who still want to buy a made horse for £2000!!

I don’t agree. A made horse it may be, but is a vet failure with medicated hocks. If someone is prepared to take the risk at £1k, £2k, £5k or indeed £14k that’s entirely their prerogative.

The OP asked for thoughts, and she’s had a variety...

 

[Michen]

I still think its unrealistic for anyone to be making a judgement that the horse is now worth 20% ish of it's value based on the info the op has given.

For all we know this is a proven badminton grassroots horse, and it was a 1/10th lameness post flexion, and it's now sound post jabs... does anyone really think in this current market that if that was the scenario it's value would now be 2/3k!?

 

[holeymoley]

Likewise. It may be pre-made and experienced but it is effectively unable to do ‘the job’ without medicating it’s joints. Which yes is a common thing, but to me, personally no matter how experienced the horse is, it’s a large negative aspect and not worth the price is advertised at.

We don’t know it’s history though or what OP plans on doing with it. It could be competing at national level for all we know in which case relatively speaking, £14k is a very good price! Equally it could be a very good talented sought after all rounder in which case I’d expect a couple of grand knocked off it if it’s going to be used low key to show someone the ropes.

We don’t know enough about it to make a fair evaluation.

 

[Michen]

Likewise. It may be pre-made and experienced but it is effectively unable to do ‘the job’ without medicating it’s joints. Which yes is a common thing, but to me, personally no matter how experienced the horse is, it’s a large negative aspect and not worth the price is advertised at.

We don’t know it’s history though or what OP plans on doing with it. It could be competing at national level for all we know in which case relatively speaking, £14k is a very good price! Equally it could be a very good talented sought after all rounder in which case I’d expect a couple of grand knocked off it if it’s going to be used low key to show someone the ropes.

We don’t know enough about it to make a fair evaluation.

But you don't know that it's unable to do the job. It's just not passed a vetting. It might have been doing the job happily for years. We don't know enough to make that assumption.

 

[ihatework]

It does make me giggle and eye roll too.

I can’t make any comment on the horse in the OP, because it’s all so nuanced. Could be a dud to run a mile from or could be very much worth the gamble.

 

[shortstuff99]

Well yes no one can make a real opinion but we can make an opinion on the info we have been given, if that turns out to be wrong well then.

For me personally I am not sure a lame horse can be classed as doing a job happily, is the horse not in pain? If they are sound after injections to do certain activities then okay. I think keeping horses sound is hard enough as it is without buying one that is already needing work to keep sound, but if someone else thinks the risk is worth it that is up to them.