Opinions on vetting please

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Cottontail

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Hi I am in the process of buying a small pony for my young daughter. The pony is seven years old and appears to be in good health. She is not an expensive pony and the cost of vetting her is about a quarter of the agreed price, do you think it is worth getting her vetted or just taking a risk?? Any opinions/advice gratefully received!
 
Hmm tough one, personally I’ve always had mine vetted paid 2500, and 3k for them vetting cost around £200. Will you and your daughter be able to cope/deal with if said pony were to have to be put down or long term box rest because of an injury/problem you didn’t see as you didn’t have vetting? I know several people who haven’t had horses vetted due to the fact they were cheap it’s a personal thing, I would though for peace of mind more than anything.
 
Cottontail said:
Hi I am in the process of buying a small pony for my young daughter. The pony is seven years old and appears to be in good health. She is not an expensive pony and the cost of vetting her is about a quarter of the agreed price, do you think it is worth getting her vetted or just taking a risk?? Any opinions/advice gratefully received!
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Get her vetted, if for no other reason than as a mare she could turn out to be in foal... Also, better to be safe regarding health. Especially since any pony of seven years old that is also suitable for a young child would be expected NOT to be cheap! If there are any hidden medical issues then she may well be impossible to insure as well.
 
Always get a vetting , I was buying a lovely healthy looking horse in his prime he has passed a five stage vetting four months before I almost did not not bother a vetting showed he had picked up a life threatening condition and could literally have died at any moment when working .
 
i'll buck the trend and say no i wouldn't bother, but then i've never had anything vetted and haven't run into any problems. I've never felt it was worth it as it doesn't guarantee anything other than the health of the horse at that given moment, i've never paid over £1800 for a horse though so perhaps that's why i feel the way i do;)
 
I personally wouldnt-but only if if you are100% happy pony and vendor ARE genuine- and you can accept that anything you can;t see yourself(such as eye problems, heart,lungs) maybe an issue in the future.
I have never had a horse vetted- but I have never paid over £1500, and have bred one so vetting never came into it with him. If you're not prepared to take that gamble, then you must get it vetted.
I had to have one pts through a twisted pelvis which was probably a pre existing injury I didn't spot,but he was cheap, and nowadays it may have been treatable,but over 20 years ago, it wasn't.That is the only one,touch wood, where a vetting would have revealed something I probably should have spotted and didnt.
You have to do what you feel is right for you, and if you don't vet, be prepared that anything you can't spot yourself - or miss as I did-could well turn out to haunt you in the future.
 
I've never had a horse vetted either. The most I paid for one was £2,500. The last one I knew of previous injury anyway so wasn't worth it. The others I've never had any issues with. Lucky maybe.
 
I wouldn't bother either. If you're happy with the pony and its that cheap i don't really see the point. I've known people pay for full vettings then still have problems a couple of months later anyway!
 
Thanks, my gut feeling is not to bother, but my OH is not horsey at all and thinks we should get her vetted, I keep going round in circles, not being the most decisive of people!
 
Hmmm tricky one.

We've had 6 horses only 2 of which we had vetted. The first was a waste of money as the vet and the dealer we bought from were crooks so the vetting meant nothing and we still ended up with a horse with KS that was hidden by doping and pain killers.
The second the horse only cost us £650 - vetting cost £280 but she's been great ever since but she was older and the vetting did bring up touchy stifles and an eye problem - all of these we manage and have taken into consideration when doing stuff with her.

With the others we took a gamble - an unhandled youngster can't realistically be vetted and the others have been ok. One those I should have had vetted as if i'd known the problems we'd have encountered after I probably wouldn't have taken him but then who vets horses being adopted from a charity for a pittence?

I would personally because then you can choose if something comes up whether you feel you're able to deal with any problems. It's one initial cost that could prevent lots of heart ache and vet bills later on.
 
Do you know the pony or its history, have you had any dealings with the seller prior, or a complete stranger?

If I know the person and the pony - and not expensive I would consider going without (I have three ponies that were not vetted because we had some knowledge /acquaintance with the owner prior) - otherwise - it really depends how honest the person is, and even if honest the pony could still have a potential issue. For peace of mind I would do the vetting - BUT

I had a pony vetted and the girl that owned it rode it too hard the day I picked it up and the next day it was lame - 3 legs. He got over it with rest and an expensive vet bill. Nevertheless the vetting stood for the day the pony was examined and what occurred after was my problem, so pick the pony up same or next day of vetting if possible.

We also purchased a pony that the vet raised a few issues on. - She had a cloudy eye, which has not been an issue, she has a phobia of vets, and is a rearer. the vet mentioned that a pony that rears can be a problem for kids - however, while she does nap and rear (rears non stop when a vet in her presence) and when she loses confidence, (from time to time) - she also has been a really good pony club and family pony. (It took her a good 6-12 months to settle in, and for me to let the kids ride her, but she will jump, sport or hack or puddle around with the kids in the paddock all day long, so she has her quirks - but overall has been worth the purchase. I did speak to the instructors at the pony club she had been at before I made my decision.

A vetting may be helpful or may not - I think there is a lot of heartache if it all goes wrong that costs more than the $$$ on a vet check, so I would lean towards rather than against. But a vetting does not guarantee no problems, often they raise issues and then you need to decide if you can live with them.
 
My previous horse I had him on trial for 2 weeks, as the owner was genuine I only had the vet give him a quick check over. A month later he went lame, had low articular ringbone and was treated for 10 months but no improvement. He was PTS, had I had him 5 stage vetted the lameness would have almost certainly be picked up on flexion tests. A lesson sadly learned for me I'm afraid.
 
Check with your insurance company, some of them require a vets cert. before thhey will cover you.

Sod's Law says that if you don't get it vetted something will be wrong!

Do you know the pony's history first hand?
 
I'd get it vetted only because your OH insists.

If something were found later and you hadn't, can you imagine the fuss he would make about it and the nag, nag, nagging:eek:;)
 
No I don't know the ponies history, only what I have been told, which seems to gel well with how the pony is. The person I am buying from has a bit of a good reputation to uphold locally from what I can gather from speaking to people who know of her, so I feel disinclined to think she would be keen to sell locally if she had a lot to hide, but I may be being naive..
 
I'd be inclined to get a basic one done - just to check eyes, heart and lungs and sound in a straight line. That will cover the basics... anything more sinister should be pretty obvious and I'd expect vet to suggest progression to a full work up should anything come to light in the 2 stage that might need investigating further...and if the pony is only intended for light work (up to an hour a day) any problems should be minimaly significant.
 
Get a 2 * vetting. It's not worth the nagging from your OH or the possible heartache of your daughter if new pony turns out to have something wrong.
 
I'd probably go for a 2* aswell.

I always think it depends on the price of the pony too. My first 2 I didn't bother - one was £700, the other £300 bought for the daughter just to start out on but our boy we have now I got a 5* done because he was bought for competing & cost quite a few £k's!!
 
Would you buy a car without having a mechanic or someone with good mechanical knowledge checking it over or without an MOT, even a cheap one?

I'd get a 2 stage vetting. It costs just as much to cure a problem on a cheap pony as an expensive one. Those who haven't had vettings & everything has been alright have been just plain lucky.
 
I wouldn't bother, I had a two star vetting and passed with flying colours. 2 months down the line I have spent £800 on lameness issues.
 
This will be pony number 2 - hoping to end squabbles between kids about who rides when and also have a pony to plonk younger daughter on at shows so she doesn't get knackered!
 
Ibblebibble said:
i'll buck the trend and say no i wouldn't bother, but then i've never had anything vetted and haven't run into any problems. I've never felt it was worth it as it doesn't guarantee anything other than the health of the horse at that given moment, i've never paid over £1800 for a horse though so perhaps that's why i feel the way i do;)
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£1800 or £18000 if it has a heart attack and drops dead on top of you the end result would be the same that's what the vetting showed up on the horse I mentioned above he was literally a walking time bomb and no one knew.
 
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