How many times did you go through vetting until you found one that passed?

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tasel

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As title above...

... will most likely be on horse hunt next year, but I'd like to know this as failed vettings could deplete my bank account!!!

I wished they had HIPS for horses!!!
 
I was lucky in that I took a very experienced friend with me who could nearly always tell if the horse would pass or not :p but still had 4 fail (major back probs, horse older than owner stated and bad legs) and the only 1 that passed the owners descided that they couldn't part with her. So I'm still looking but am in no rush :D
 
Depends on what you mean by "passed". There is no official stamp or area on a vetting certificate that states "passed", its whether what the Vet finds, as to whether it meets your requirements, or is accetpable to you (and possibly your insurers if you insure your horses). For example a horse with a very slight heart mumur maybe perfectly fine if all you want to do is gentle hack around, but would not be accetpable if you were looking for a top level eventer (poor example, but only thing I could think of right now !)
 
Jake10 said:
I was lucky in that I took a very experienced friend with me who could nearly always tell if the horse would pass or not :p but still had 4 fail (major back probs, horse older than owner stated and bad legs) and the only 1 that passed the owners descided that they couldn't part with her. So I'm still looking but am in no rush :D
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Did the owners of the one that passed repay you????
 
It took 3 vettings before i found my horse. one of the horses was blind in one eye, vet said the owner must have known!!! the owner then kicked off at the vet saying the vet was lying, all hell broke loose that day.... O the joy's of finding a sound horse. Good luck
 
tasel said:
Did the owners of the one that passed repay you????
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Nope, it's a fairly long story as to why they were selling her. They bred her, backed her took her to a few small shows. Just the mum, dad, kid and mums sister. The reason they were selling was that they found her OH dead in the field and could no longer keep 4 horses, they broke down crying when I went to try the horse. But the horse was a big part of the family so they descided they couldn't sell her, fair enough. It's just unfortunate that she was the only horse I've found that I wanted to buy. Should they have repayed me?
 
Luckily just the one. Wasn't so much a pass or fail stamp though. She had some little niggles that the vet discussed with us and we chatted about what we would be hoping to do with her - he could then make the assesment as to wether she would be suitable and able to stand up to the work we would ask of her. Fortunatly he thought she would, and so far so good!
 
only ever had one vetting.

the horse failed and i still bought him and 6 years later he was the best horse i ever bought (out of dozens and dozens).

i don't bother with vettings anymore.
 
I've had a fail (vet advised that the horse probably wouldn't withstand the work we wanted long term) but not found another we like enough to get vetted yet!
 
I never bother with vettings. I take what I see.
All the horses iv sold have been vetted and all been fine and sold so I never bother. The only thing I would consider doing is having eyes, heart checked if I was worried but that's it
 
when i go my first horse Charlie (in '96) he was the 4th one we had vetted (parents funded that as i was only 15 :o) only had him for 11 months, px/d for horse no2.

second horse Kiana, not the first one i looked at but first one vetted and she passed a 5 stage.

third horse Andy, second horse i looked at and he failed the vet but i bought him anyway!! :)

ETA: Kiana was semi retired after i'd had her 5yrs due to various joint problems.. although Andy failed the vet (for a heart murmur) he is still eventing 8yrs on (13yo now) he's had his fair share of injuries though!!

so i am slightly sceptical regarding the worth of a 5 stage vetting as they only show the horses soundness/suitability in that vets opinion, on that day. if i ever get another horse, i will get a 2 stage. (unless i win the lottery and buy a v expensive horse :D)
 
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Gucci_b said:
one of the horses was blind in one eye, vet said the owner must have known!!! the owner then kicked off at the vet saying the vet was lying, all hell broke loose that day....
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It could have been possible. I didn't know that my horse was blind until he had a pre-purchase vetting. I was devastated, but no-one knew, or suspected, and he was on a busy yard with lots of knowledgable people who knew him well.

OP, I don't have vettings done, some of my horses cost less than the Vet fee would. If there is something wrong then that is my loss. Obviously if I was buying an uber expensive performance horse then that would be a different matter.
 
We tried lots of horses before finding one we really liked, tried him a few times, had him vetted only to find he was about 20 years old, they'd told us he was 10 :mad:

Tried a few more before deciding on Toto, had a few disasters before the vetting, first he got into a scrap in the field and was kicked, but he was sound after a few days. Organised the vetting, and then Toto (who is 14hh) was turned out with his best friend (who was 16.2hh!) who decided to jump out his field, 16.2hh horse made it over the 5 bar gate no probs, Toto decides to follow, unfortunately Toto didn't quite make it and got stuck halfway, with his front hooves on the floor and his back end on the gate :o The gate was at least 4ft 6 and metal, he put a huge dent in it and skinned his back legs :o :( :eek: Needless to say he was quite sore! Our instructor from the riding school we were at told us then that she didn't like Toto and we weren't to buy him. But he healed quickly, had a few physio sessions and vet treatment and was right as rain, we ignored our instuctor and Toto passed a 5 star vetting! And we still have him 5 years later and he's never sick or sorry :D We don't have that instructor anymore :p

So we tried lots of horses but only vetted 2 :)
 
I've never had one fail as such. A heart murmur was picked up on my current horse's vetting so we had one of the top UK heart specialists check it out, and she said it was unlikely to affect his performance. But we did get money off him because of it so it was worth it.

I would always have a 5 stage vetting done, and x-rays also on a more expensive horse.
 
millitiger said:
only ever had one vetting.

the horse failed and i still bought him and 6 years later he was the best horse i ever bought (out of dozens and dozens).

i don't bother with vettings anymore.
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Same, I used to work for a dealer where my horse came in to be sold, I desperately wanted him but couldn't afford him at full price :(
The lady who wanted to buy him had him vetted and he failed, it worked out perfectly for me. I paid half of the original price and so far have had 4 wonderful years with him! I am one of the lucky ones :D :)
 
I had one fail on eyes - cateracts but could only been seen on close suspection by vet and vet also said one more week on good grass and the pony would probably have lami as well.

2nd one flew threw even though he had been kicked in the leg he still passed flextion and I had bloods done as well just to check he was not doped up. However the vetting did not pick up an allergy he has in the autumn to something in the area I live in possibly a fungus that causes him to get asthma. I think vettings are not good at picking up allergies as they need to exposed to the allergen to have symptoms which may not occur all year round.
 
Jake10 said:
Nope, it's a fairly long story as to why they were selling her. They bred her, backed her took her to a few small shows. Just the mum, dad, kid and mums sister. The reason they were selling was that they found her OH dead in the field and could no longer keep 4 horses, they broke down crying when I went to try the horse. But the horse was a big part of the family so they descided they couldn't sell her, fair enough. It's just unfortunate that she was the only horse I've found that I wanted to buy. Should they have repayed me?
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Well, I don't know... it's a sad story, but to be honest, if I was the buyer, (1) I was never part of that family and (2) I pay for vetting thinking that after passing it, the horse will be available for me to buy. If you were buying a house, and the seller withdrew their acceptance of your offer, you can ask them to contribute towards any costs incurred though they are under no legal obligation to do so.

If I was the seller, sad enough what happened to my family, but I would feel even worse (guilty) having made other people pay for something without getting anything...
 
tasel said:
Well, I don't know... it's a sad story, but to be honest, if I was the buyer, (1) I was never part of that family and (2) I pay for vetting thinking that after passing it, the horse will be available for me to buy. If you were buying a house, and the seller withdrew their acceptance of your offer, you can ask them to contribute towards any costs incurred though they are under no legal obligation to do so.

If I was the seller, sad enough what happened to my family, but I would feel even worse (guilty) having made other people pay for something without getting anything...
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I too would have expected to be repaid if they changed their minds after you shelled out for vetting
 
I viewed 9 horses before I had the 10th vetted, I either took a knowledgable friend, instructor or literally went over the horse with fine tooth comb - had it walked and trotted up before i got on so could see how it moved and how foot landed etc. I viewed 2 lames ones, one with sarcoids, one with huge scar down shoulder that wasnt told about, one with horrendous pigeon toes, - all these I had a 30 min conversation about on the phone with my list of 45 questions to ask before i went!!!

The one i bought last tuesday - i just knew she was right, she moved well, everything seemed right, I had vetting for my own peice of mind and she flew thru it.

Just take someone with you, I also took video of walking/trotting up and working and showed it to my own vet beforehand and he gave his opinion on it!
 
One failed horrendously- I swear it can't have been the same horse I tried as apparently it was crippled with tendon and front feet issues- be interested to know what happened to it- quite distinctive 15hh bay with white spots called willow in bedfordshire if anyone knows?
The second vetting was horse I then bought- she flew through- same vet as above. I think it works better when you are able to use a vet you know rather than any in the area.
 
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