Pricing a horse with a heart murmur??? What would you pay for...

Z

zoon

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 November 2008
Messages
2,342
Visit site
My gelding has a grade 4 murmur; he is seen every year by a leading equine cardiologist to check his heart over and in the 4 years I've had him it hasn't changed and I have about 8 or 9 years of reports from myself and previous owner to show that it doesn't affect his performance.

But now I want to sell him. He is a 14 year old, 16.2, very well bred. Evented at Novice level and then bought by me for showjumping and general riding club activities. Has won money BSJA - currently jumping disc/newc. BSJA Act £187, Not £72. Competes at novice/elementary dressage - scores always over 60%. Superb to load/shoe/vet/catch/clip etc etc so great infact that he is used by BEVA each year as a demo horse for vets to prod and poke all day to learn about equine cardiology and he stand perfectly and lets them all get on with it. Complete gent - always snaffle mouth. Has hunted with previous owner regularly each winter and never put a foot wrong. In short he is a complete schoolmaster, suitable for a novice or more experienced rider - easy to ride and a joy to own.

I've been looking at schoolmaster prices on the net and obviously people will pay a lot - but how much will the murmur affect the price. I didn't have him vetted when I got him so not sure if he'll pass a vetting because of it. Should be no other problems in vetting him other than the murmur.

What would you pay if you were looking to buy a schoolmaster?
 
Not sure how much it helps but my horse was £3500 and he has a grade 1 murmur. He was 10, an IDXTB that was an ex-eventer and had spent the last two/ three years doing next to nothing but hacking and the odd school/ jump. So he doesnt have the same experiance/qualities etc really as your boy.

He's only done prelims and is good in most aspects
smile.gif


Hope this helps a liiiittle! He came with a bridle/ martingale and two LW rugs also. x
 
I think you would be shocked at the amount of horses with murmurs!!

Lots of racehorses have heart murmurs and successfully race, and that is hard work!!
grin.gif
grin.gif


I think if he has achieved all that and is still fit and well, then the murmur, whilst probably not going to pass on a vetting, will not reduce the price too much
smile.gif
 
Hiya - my horse also has a grade 4 heart murmur and it never affects him either. Vets are always quite surprised when they hear it because its apparently quite loud - but i had it investigated and it was proved to be innocent before i purchased him. That said he was tricky to insure even though its innocent because its a grade 4.

What kind of murmur does your boy have? I think that would influence things in terms of price.

If its innocent, then i would knock a few hundred on the price as it should never affect his performance.
 
His is a grade 4 aortic murmur, so one of the more serious types but it has never affected him. Still not sure on price though - need some figures guys!
 
I'd be tempted to say nearer to £3000 if im being really honest
blush.gif
Just due to the climate at the moment and perhaps his age..I know 14 isn't old but yes
crazy.gif


I could be wrong though!
 
I'm sorry, but with the market as it is at the moment I wouldn't even pick up the phone to ask about a horse with a heart murmur. Your best chance is to sell him to someone who knows him.

Ref the racers with heart murmurs, referred to by several people above, I think you will find that the vast majority of those actually have a "missing" heart beat, not a "murmur" as such. When they go faster, they fill in the missing beats. This doesn't fail a vetting, because it's so common it's considered normal. It's extra noises to the normal "lub-dup" heartbeat that causes vet failure.

The issue with yours is not that it has never bothered him, it's the possibility that tomorrow it will. Too much risk in market conditions where 5* vettted horses are selling for half what they went for two years ago.
 
im assuming your horse has Mitral Regurgitation? - the most common aortic murmur - youre right in that it may never affect him, but there are a lot of horses out there not selling without heart murmurs. When i found out my boy had one, i was pretty much offered him for peanuts - but i wouldnt have taken him on for a riding horse if his heart murmur wasnt innocent - i would have probably taken him to be a pasture pet though because by that time i had totally fallen for him!

I guess the main problem with MR is that they can do downhill so quickly and thats a big risk for the potential purchaser to take..
 
Just in case anyone is put off buying an ex-racer, I've bought loads of ex-racers but none of them have had heart murmurs. Nearly all of them have had missing heart beats and they all passed 5* vettings.
 
No - the mitral and aortic valves are completely separate valve systems. His mitral valves are healthy, but the aortic valve has a fibrous band which causes it to be leaky. It is a rare type of murmur and is the reason why it is so loud (hence grade 4)
 
generally anything below a grade 2 is insurable and is considered innocent in a vetting and will not fail - so i wouldnt be put off buying an ex-racer with a heart murmur either!!

Sorry zoon - its been a while since ive read up on it - whats the prognosis on an aorctic murmur?
 
It is unlikely to affect his performance before his age does and we've been told to treat him the same as any other horse of his age, but have yearly monitoring to see if it alters. I have about 8 years of reports and it hasn't altered in that time. He also gets this for free in return for them using him in the BEVA cardiology course for 2 days.

He is fully insured, but the heart murmur is excluded. Any other heart issue is covered.
 
i think 3k would be a fair price to advertise him at.
smile.gif
I think he will sell, but i think it will take far longer to find the right home for him.

Good luck - he sounds lovely!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top