pony with mild carpal valgus .....NEED ADVICE.....

[tommi123]

Hi everyone....Ive got a 3yr 13hh highland X cob ive got him on a 2month loan with a view to buy ive had him a month now and on thurs had a health check done by the vet ive been told he has got mild carpal valgus in his fore legs and narrow based stance in hind legs at rest ,his right eye has small spherical lense defect but this dosnt affect his sight.hes being sold for £1600 ive been told that its a lot of money with the problems he has need advise can anyone help.Thank You....

 

[EffyCorsten]

Has your vet recommended you walk away or have they said if It is bad enough to affect the horse in the future?

I would not pay £1600 for a 3 year old highland x cob with perfect conformation personally. plus do you have the experience to bring on a 3 year old? I would have thought someone with enough experience wouldn't need this sort of advice so perhaps look for something better suited?

 

[Shay]

It does rather depend on what you want to do with him. £1600 is a fairly high price in the current market so he would have to be something pretty special. Vets do always find every minor point - they have to. But you need to know how to read the reports in line with the discipline you want to do. That said.... You have a 3 year old who may well have a bit more growing to do. Both highlands and cobs are broad, wide based breeds but you have one with knock knees and a narrow stance. That doesn't sound too great.

I would also echo the previous poster. You do need a lot of experience to bring on a horse this young. From your origional post it does rather suggest you might not have that. Unless you have regular easy access to someone with that experience, proabably a professional, you could well be setting yourself up for some serious heartbreak later - as well as landing yourself with something which could well become unsaleable either through the health problems which tend to follow these types of conformational problems or through inexperienced handling.

Sitting here thinking about it I am struggling to think of a discipline where these conformation issues won't result in problems later. Even if you just want a happy hacker he could be more prone to tripping, over reach and brushing his hind legs. There is going to be a lot of strain on the structures at knee and hock as these breeds have broad shoulders and hips which should ideally balence on an equally broad 4 sqaure set of legs - which this lad doesn't have. He may not be fully up to weight once he is grown and will be more prone to stresses, strains and age related problems later.

On balence - I think you might be being taken advantage of here. If any of what I have written finds resonance with you I would say walk away now.