new horse not sound behind- advice?

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katiehatie

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bought my daughter a new pony just over a week ago from a dealer. he was sound and lovely all three times we viewed, unfortunately our vet was on holiday for two weeks and we would have lost him if we had waited til our vet returned to get him vetted, so i got my very knowledgable friend to check him out and neither of u could find any probs except an old injury on his right hind leg but it did not cause him any discomfort when touched and he moved perfectly well, so bought him without vetting.(i know, stupid!)
gave him three days to settle in before riding but when we brought him out of the stable he seemed stiff and was dragging back toe, thought maybe he needed to loosen up so worked him a bit but still very stiff and much worse in walk than trot etc.
a week on he is still like this, getting vet out first thing tomorrow hopefully but i dont know what to expect, he has swelling where his old injury was but still doesnt mind it being touched bit grumpy when his hind quarters are being groomed though. despite his stiffness he is still perfect to ride an tries so hard to please, after the nightmare pony we had before it has been a pleasure to know him, really hope the vet can do something to help him as he is a total sweetheart and we would be heartbroken to lose such a wonderful natured pony as they are so hard to come by.
can anyone offer any advice on possible causes for his problem?
could long term bute be an option? the last thing we want is to cause him pain but i really dont want to have to take him back to dealers and start again
 
I'm sorry to say this but if problem has appeared so quickly after purchase I'd take him straight back to the dealers.

If you've got him insured usually anything that first appears in first 14 days won't be covered so you could land yourself with lots of expense. Even if dealer says you can get vetted & take back if not 100% I'd still be a bit worried.
 
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unfortunately our vet was on holiday for two weeks

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You should really have called in another vet to check him over. If the dealer was aware of each time you were going to visit he could have dosed up the horse to obscure any problem. Many dealers are reluctant to spend money on vets, physio, dental etc as it easts into any profits & bute is cheap. The problem could be any number of things, hopefully physio can sort him out & he'll be ok, I wish you luck.
 
I would say take him straight back to the dealers, isn't there a 14 day warranty or something for goods not fit for purpose, google online or speak to CAB but I would definately be taking him back while you can.
 
Did the dealer say what his injury was/had been? Do you know the reason the pony was at the dealers in the first place? Do you have a passport with previous owner's details?

It could be something and nothing, obviously get the vet to check it out but, if it is a problem the pony has had for a long time and the dealer has concealed it then you would be within your rights to return the pony. However, it depends what the problem is and what you want to use the pony for I guess.

If he's everything you want other than this stiffness then it may be something you can live with and manage. It's difficult to determine really until you've had your vet look at him. If you can contact previous owners though that could be helpful - maybe find out a bit more.
 
Ditto LadyT. If you particularly like the pony and the problem turns out to be long term but can be managed you could approach the dealer with a view to getting some of your money back towards the cost of treatment. You might want to involve Trading Standards if you get no joy from the dealer.
Of course the pony might just have 'tweaked' something exploring his new home. I hope it all works out for you.
 
vet came and had a look, thought it might be spavins but took a video to show her boss for a second opinion, i wanted to get x-ray to have a better idea of the prognosis and then she suggested a week off on bute then bring him bak into work and see how he goes but she certainly didnt seem to be writing him off. waited for a call from her or her boss about scheduling an xray but he actually called the woman who owns the livery stables where we keep him instead which mad me absolutely furious as she has been interferring from the word go telling us we have to send him back etc and she was the one who recommended the first pony we bought that was a complete mental case! anyway she told me the vet said he had multiple problems and we should just send him back, i wanted to hear what the vet had to say so i rang him myself. he apologised for speaking to her but had been under the impression she was dealing with the matter for us, in other words she led him to believe that! anyway he didnt seem to think he was a complete write off and that if we would rather accept that the problem is not going to have a miricle cure but could well be manageable and we realised that when time came for my daughter to move on we may well have to accept a drop in what we get for him than what we paid for him as we would not be dishonest about his problems and limitations and we are prepared that they cannot be 100% on how much better he will get or how long he would stay that way but would try their best to advise us on the best treatment for him and that we accept all of this because the fact that he is kind and safe means more to us than him being 100% sound then there is no reason they cant try to improve his situation for us.
this pony has meant more to us in the last 2 weeks than her first pony ever did, he is good and honest and despite his stiffness and movement problems he has really enjoyed jumping with my daughter which i wouldnt have thought he would do if he was in that much pain which makes me hope it is not too serious but we wont know til xray.....
are we completely mad for wanting to keep this pony????
have tried searching previous owners through passport but no joy and dealers phone off........
 
Of course you are not mad. I can't believe your interfering YO! I really think you should keep him, he sounds a diamond
smile.gif
 
i know skewby, she really has got my back up! i would happily move him tomorrow the last thing i want to do is be lining her pockets after her interference but my daughter has lots of friends there and she really doesnt want to leave them.

i am going to ring the practice in the morning and tell them we want to go ahead with xrays, least they should give us a more definate diagnosis and idea of his treatment and prognosis. i know the longer we leave it we have less chance on getting our money back if it is serious but i just want to give the pony a chance, despite his pain he has been 100% trying to please and god knows what would happen to him if he went back to the dealers.....

i think he came from a riding school before so if anyone knows a 14.2 really dark bay almost black with a star, absolutely gorgeous, very thoroughbred type head but more native type body! 12 years old i believe only first owner is in passport and they were in london but that was 4 years ago and i cant get a number for them at that address, oh his name is marmite
 
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