Laminitic horse bought despite 5 stage vetting

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ladylady

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I have just bought my first horse and yet despite me having a vet do the 5 stage vet check, have only managed to ride my horse once before it went lame (3 days after taking delivery) and has been diagnosed with laminitis. Should this vet check not pick up that the horse had previously been a laminitis sufferer?
 
Was the horse shod? You can usually see changes in the feet and if he went lame 3 days after you would expect the pressure test in the hoof to show something but i dont think they pick everything up! A well respected vet practice round here passed my friends horse and he had navicular, went lame as soon as she bought him too. Such a shame and annoyace that the owners were not honest about it, or didnt know. Also is it a horse or a pony?
 
Hi,

Yes he was shod and he is horse. I just wondered whether the Vet would be expected to pick this up as I now find myself in exactly the situation I didn't want to be in, which is why I paid the Vet lots of money!
 
I contacted the dealer last week and told them that he was lame, but the vet initially thought it may be an absess, however the farrier tonight said it was definitely laminitis and he could see from removing all shoes that he has had it before. The dealer said that he had always been a sound horse and that she was sure he would be fine after a bit of box rest.
 
Laminitis can come on very quickly and be caused by many things including stress.

I had a pony vetted a few year ago who was very overweight, I specifically asked the vet to check for any signs of laminitis because of the pony's weight. The pony was not lame and there was no reaction to hoof testers but the vet picked up raised digital pulses and said a very days on good grass and the pony would probably have gone down with laminitis.

It is possible that the horse has not had laminitis before.
 
If your vet thought it was an abscess then it looks like it would have not been easy to detect in a vetting anyway, especially if your farrier could only notice once the shoes had been removed.

Did you get bloods taken when you had the vetting, could the horse have been butted up to disguise lameness?

How long has the dealer had the horse? If it was only a few weeks then how do they know it was always a sound horse?
 
Excuse me for being naive but did the dealer not offer a warranty or option to return? I have not bought off a dealer having heard too many horror stories but many advertise this service.

Also if a vet signs his/her name on a vetting certificate then they are professionally liable for any mistakes that have been made. A friend of mine had a vet miss a sarcoid and was preparing to take the vet to court over it. The vet is insured with professional insurance for such instances.

But I also agree, laminitis can come on very suddenly and be caused by a wide range of factors, like stress, feed changes. If your horse has been laminitic before it will have rings/marks in it's hoof wall.
 
Agree with the above. Get another vet to check for evidence of previous laminitis (which will be there). However I have noticed that poos very green atm and along with frost/move/stress it is entirely possible this was a first attack - after all it has to start sometime.
 
Was the vet who carried out the vetting, appointed by you or did the dealer provide the vet? Were you present for the vetting?:o
 
I think that since you bought from a dealer you can return the horse as unfit for purpose regardless of whether the horse had the laminitis before or not (a slightly bizare side-effect of applying the Sale of Goods Act to horses, but in this case it's in your favour).

As for the vet, I would agree with the others, first of all you need a vet to diagnose laminitis and then you need a vet to testify that the horse had it long term and the other vet should have picked it up. All of which may allow you to pursue the original vet, but will cost you a lot in money and effort.

I think you should get a firm diagnosis and then decide if you want the horse or not. If you don't return to the dealer, if you do then many horses lead very useful lives after recovering from laminitis (apart from anything else you need a vet to tell you the extent of the laminitis and the chance of making a full recovery).
 
I bought a pony unseen from ireland and had it vetted over there. Soon as it arrived I saw its feet and knew it has had laminitis before, my farrier also took one look and pointed that out!
I would have expected the vet to at least report that it had signs of prev having laminitis and was really annoyed but it wasnt an expensive pony, wasnt unsound, just managed it carefully and we were fine, decided not worth the hassle of persuing it with the vet.
If its an expensive horse and a dealer though thats different
 
Thank you for your replies. I am having my horse x-rayed tomorrow to determine the extent of the laminitis and will decide where I go from there. We would like to keep him, but that decision will be determined by the outcome tomorrow - however, I feel that I have been ripped off having spent £4,000 on this horse and if his use is limited and therefore not 'fit for use' I will be persuing the Vet as I don't think I have any come back with the dealer as they have the 'no returns policy'.
 
Dealers or any one that trades in horses are covered by the sales of the good acts. so you do infact have come back.

the only way a dealer can not be covered is if the horse was on sale on behalf of a client, and no money may of gone through the dealers hands.
 
Yes strange that, I arranged to see the dealer and her horses and when I got there she said 'I have a couple of other horses on livery here that are for sale if you would like to try them out aswell' - and guess what the horse we bought from her 'friend' so therefore the receipt is from her 'friend' and did no go through the dealers yard - convenient! Someone else mentioned to me that she was representing the horse though, so it would not make any difference - but I doubt it. I think I have been well and truly stitched up!
 
Hi,

You would have to prove that it had a pre existing condition and was unfit for purpose, so you will need evidence that it had lami before you bought it, not just now. As everyone has said there are a multitude of things that can bring on an attack, from stress down to concussion, its not just fat ponies!
 
"Rings" on the hoof don't always indicate that a horse has had lammi. They are event lines, and can happen after sudden changes in weather, feed or other conditions. My lot have them from when we had the snow, they've never had laminitis. I think this could be tricky, because as others say, laminitis can occur for a variety of reasons and can happen suddenly in a horse that's never had it before.
I hope you can get this sorted out to your satisfaction.
 
I will be persuing the Vet
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For what exactly??

If the horse showed no signs of lameness or laminitis when he was vetted, how is the vet negligent??

The onset of laminitis can be rapid, and a horse sound one day, can be chronically lame the next. It is not always possible to diagnose that a horse has had a previous attack, either.

As for your where you stand with the dealer. You are covered under the sale of goods act - so you are protected, and have come back.
 
Sorry, just seen that the horse was sold on behalf of a client (friend). So the receipt came from the client and cheque made out to client??
 
SO1 said:
Laminitis can come on very quickly and be caused by many things including stress.

It is possible that the horse has not had laminitis before.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with this. It may have had no history of laminitis. The change of routine / environment etc. could have caused it. Remember its not just grass that can cause it, my pony went down with it due to concussion.
 
Horse was sound on day of vetting? Could it be that said horse was stabled 24/7 for how long at dealers and then you turned it out on grass when you got it home?

Sometimes dealers know very little about the horse's history... that is one of the downsides to buying from a dealer.
 
I am sorry that your new horse has suffered from an incident of Laminitis.
I would firstly check the horses passport and the record of it on Ned-Online to determine who the true last owner of the horse was.
Whoever you purchased the horse from is the person that sold it to you. Whether they are a dealer or not you can ask for your money back for the horse provided you do it within a reasoable period of time.
If they refuse to give you a full refound then you need to consult a specialist equine solicitor to take action against them on your behalf.
Do not be hood-wincked or delay taking action as ortherwise you will loose a lot of money and also suffer a serious amount of anguish.
(You must remember that dealers sell horses to each other, buy them from markets etc and very rarely know the history of a horse).
 
plenty of dealers do sales livery.... it is not at all unplausible.

Why don't you ring the dealer and ask for the old owners phone number. Not being awkward or anything, just to know if the horse ever had laminitus before.

Even if the horse is on selling livery, I would expect you to be able to contact old owner. Or are her details on the passport? I had my mare on selling livery and would have been quite happy for any prospective buyer to phone me about her past.
 
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