importance of vettings

[lucy1123]

on a scale of 1-10 how importand is it that a horse passes the vet?


we just had lucy vetted (despite the fact she already has a 5 stage vet cert) and she failed on the flexion tests, being slighlty uneaven behind on her right leg


how important does everyone think this is?

 

[Halfpass]

I think you need to look at what you are doing with the horse. If you are using it as a hack local show etc it wouldn't be a problem to me but if badders is the next step i'd probably walk away. I think alot of our neds would fail on the flexion tests the tester needs to be really exact and offer the same test with each leg. I've seen a horse fail with one vet then pass the same day with another. The other thing that you need to think about is insurance. Will the insurance company put a clause on that leg. Its really hard isn't it maybe talk to the horse owners vet to see if the horse has ever had a problem. Hope this helps.

 

[KatB]

I'll back on Halfpass on it depending what your intending to do with her. If your intending to do more strenuos work, i'd advise getting x-rays done, and a possible second vet to look at her. Flexion tests done incorrectly can make any horse lame, so if sound trotting in circle on hard ground, and/or xrays clean, I personally wouldnt be hugely concerned about very slight unevenness, but would want it retested.

 

[lucy1123]

she has a 5 stage vet cert from 2 weeks ago, and i am planning on bsjaing her...just for fun so probably to newcomers level at the maimum so...hmm


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[lucy1123]

and forgot to say, we were out at rowallan last night jumping so it could be possible she clettered a leg on a pole or in the trailer or something?

 

[RachelB]

So she passed one before and then failed the next? Flexion tests are an area open to a lot of debate on their usefulness anyway, so if she passed a vetting already I wouldn't worry that much. I see a vetting more as a way of warning potential owners of what the horse is like physically, rather than a the be-all-and-end-all of whether to buy or not.

 

[BenjaminBunny]

I'd add to that though do no take the vet's pass as an ok

as there are many problems which don't aren't flagged up in a vetting

for example my horse who i bought 4 months ago - passed a stage 5 with flying colours - the vet told me he will make a fantastic horse once up to fitness

2 months down the line i knew something wasn't right and he had suspensory ligament damage - he's on the mend now (two weeks box rest left with walking 1 hour a day)

but in hindsight (wonderful thing) I should have valued my own opinion more - i.e. taken a good look at him myself rather than relying so much on the vetting - having said that i doubt i would have noticed anything either - but you never know

 

[miamibear]

I would suggest if you are serious about getting it vetted and ruling out any problems to get x rays done. I had my boy vetted and 3 months down the line he was lame, needed x rays and had arthritis in his coffin joint.

Vettings arent everything, either have a really thorough one done or dont bother (or have a 3 star - check the main things)

As most have said it depends what you want to use it for and if you want to insure it for a lot of money!

 

[appennea]

Don't forget your insurance company may not take out cover without a vetting certificate.

 

[MagicMelon]

I think flexion tests need to be seriously looked at with suspicion! I HATE flexion tests, they are a load of rubbish. It totally depends on HOW the vet does them (some vets yank their legs right up, hold for differing times etc.). Imagine holding your leg up really tightly and then making you run, Im sure you'd limp for a short time too!

Sorry, but I feel very strongly about flexions. One of my boys had this done for a pre-purchase sale. The vet failed him, saying he had a lameness of 1/10 on one hind and 2/10 on the other. He basically put the potential buyers right off my horse saying he didnt think the horse could cope with competing. The horse in question had competed almost every single weekend for all the years I had him doing eventing and BSJA etc.!! The horse had never been lame.....! We thought the vet who did the vetting (not ours) was a total idiot anyway so we got our own vet out for a second opinion, he did flexion tests after lungeing for ages etc. and said he was fine. He was sold to someone else who has hacked him daily and done the odd little event and again, he's never been lame. So it was total c*ap.

I would take into account what the horse has done to date, like if it has been competed up until now with no problems, Id talk to the owners vet to see if they've been called out to the horse for anything etc. To me its not important, as long as obviously there is nothing badly wrong (like its failing on more than 2/10) and there is proof to say its fine.

 

[lucy1123]

only problem is majic melon shes from holland lol!


honestly, as she is 11 and ment to of evented a bit, i would expect her to mabey have something


think we have decided to keep her, ive convinced mum anyway i think, saying we could always take a foal off her in a few years lol!

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[Anastasia]

Did you buy her from a dealer or breeder in Holland? Just wondered why you did a stage-5 vetting twice within two weeks? I am presuming the first one was done before you purchased her.......just a bit puzzled, as if she passed the first one, why did you get a second one done, as if for insurance would the first certificate not have been enough?

 

[KatB]

Could have been for insurance, my boy had had one a mnth before I brought him, but the old owner kept it as theyd paid for it, and it didnt come over from ireland with him, so i had to have another one done for the insurers. Could be reasoning??!

 

[lucy1123]

yeh we are getting her from a dealer lol

so far...our insurers havent asked for a vet cert, my old 148s were never even vetted and my 148 that came from irelana never had a lame day in 3 seasons competing


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