Really unsure what to do..... HELP PLEASE!!!!!

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Holloa

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I was getting so excited, i put some pics of my potential new horse on PG the other day....but he had his vetting today. stats are: cleveland bay X tb, 16.2hh 7 rising 8yrs , mainly done hacking, been owned since a 2 year old, very low mileage, lovely lovely personality and looks and temp everything ticked my boxes!
I would be buying him as a 2nd hunter and general rc fun, x/c/ sj
nothing toooo competitive.

anyway, got a call earlier from the vet, he says he passed all flexion tests etc, but a few things have come up:

He has bog spavin in both hocks
both front coffin joints are distended ( fluid in them)
he was seen to be 1/10ths lame in his left hind when ridden and in his left fore in hand.
he's got a cleveland bay body on TB feet, and is carrying a bit of excess weight.

what would you do.....???? he was advertised as £4995 ono but i negociated £4950 for him inc ideal saddle worth £230.

i'm still really keen, he's such a lovely chap, i'm such in a muddle- help and advise please!!!!

I'd like to re-negociate. but to what sort of money???


Help!!
Thanks so much!

have posted in new lounge/ veterinary for extra help, sorry if you read it twice.!
 
I'm sorry but I would be very wary, did the vet say why he was apparently lame on 2 legs. Not sure about price reduction, but quite a significant one would seem to be the order of the day.
 
No, he just said he picked it up when he was shown in hand and ridden and that it was slight. it was mainly with the left hind and left fore- 1/10ths lame, thats the minimal isn't it?

he certainly didn't feel lame to me when i was trying him!
 
I'd be wary because this horse is only in hacking work at the moment, but is already showing mild lameness and you want it for more demanding stuff like hunting, jumping etc. The likelihood is that the lameness will only deteriorate if you are going to work it harder.

Also the description of CB body on TB feet fills me with foreboding - have known a lot of horses with big bodies and weak feet who could never stay sound.
crazy.gif


At the end of the day it is a gamble, you might be lucky and have no problems, but I don't think the odds are stacked in your favour.

ETA: The fact that he is 'very low mileage' worries me as well - perhaps that is because he hasn't always been sound enough to be worked much!
 
I wouldnt buy a horse that was 1/100ths lame if I wanted to hunt it etc... but thats just me, im quite over cautious!
 
well i spoke to my vet to get her advice (she had just got off the phone from the vet that vetted him) my vet said that she didn't have a crystal ball.... and it was difficult to predict the future but it would be a risk, who knows if he was to have lameness problems 6 weeks, 6 months 6 years down the line.
The seller has had him since a 2 year old and has never had a problem with him being lame.

The thing i have to think about is if he was to become lame enough to stop him hunting, what his resale value would be as a happy hacker. i'm not sure about that one.


the vet said he would be able to fulfill my job of being a 2nd hunter. just not be able to do high level dressage, but i'm not interested in that.


arrrrggggggh!
 
If he's passed the vetting and is fit for purpose and you like him, I'd go for it.

I think with regards to negotiating on the price you need to tell the sellers that he's going to have massive exclusions on his insurance - which is true and that you need that to be reflected in the price. I'd be asking for between £500 and £1k off the asking price.
 
Seems a lot of money for a horse lame in two legs, however slight. Also as they are both on the same side I would be thinking about future back issues as well. I'd be asking at least £1K to be knocked off...
 
How can a vet pass a horse on a vetting when it is lame??
Sorry, but I wouldn't buy it. I know you say the owner has never had a problem with lameness but she isnt going to admit that one is she.
If you were looking for a light hack then maybe but not for hunting surely?
confused.gif
 
Well the history with him is that he was bought as a 2 year old by this small 5'0 lady. (she went to look at a 15.2 but didn't like him so was shown this one, loved his temperament and looks and cheekiness and bought him) had him professionally broken and she's been doing local unaffiliated dressage and hacking because she hasn;t got the time for more as she works full time. As she felt he was being wasted with her and he's quite a chunky 16.2 and she's only 5'0 she decided to sell. He was taken to this friend of hers with a menage etc, that's where i viewed him. He's been there 9 weeks and has been schooled everyday, introduced to showjumps, fillers etc, done 1/2 day hunting, and general fitness work. He has gone down a rug size from 7'0 to 6'9 in 9 weeks! He's a good doer that's for sure. I wouldn't say he was super fit, but i can't imagine what he looked like 9 weeks ago! porker!
she;s saying " he's never had a lame day in his life"......

maybe its the vets job to be ultra critical.... a £1k reduction sounds good, but i need to convince the seller.... and she was so adamant that he was worth every penny!!!!!
 
he is lame, on more than one leg! joint swelling is never a good sign, bog spavin i quite a young horse is also not good and a big body on TB feet is a recipe for disaster. walk away quickly. a lame horse is worth nothing.
 
He has got a chunk out of the wall of his left front hoof which was due to a ding dong in the field apparently. maybe that's causing the slight lameness??
 
i think i'm going to sleep on it and try and speak to the vet again about him. he passed the vetting otherwise, no probs with flexion test...etc good heart lungs etc.
vet thought him a nice horse overall.
just these niggly things became apparent.
he wasn't hopping lame or anything.
 
Do you actually know the lady selling him and therefore know that the story is entirely true? If not, then I'm afraid that you have to realise that people are often very untruthful when selling a horse.
crazy.gif
Also, I presume that, apart from the half day's hunting, most of his jumping over the last few weeks has been on a school surface, which is quite forgiving. Can you be sure he will be sound enough to jump during the summer on grass?
 
sorry but he's not worth £4950 no way jose - I'd be inclined to offer about £3000 tops.

but then you could get a sound horse for that much??
 
well everything i've been looking at on these horse website has been over £5k ++++!! good breeding, youngish age, etc
i feel the price of horses has really sky rocketed.
 
honestly, he's worth nothing as a lame horse. yes, 1/10 is minimal, that's all my horse was when he did his suspensory, but it cost my insurance £3000 and he needed 6mths off and took yrs to come back to the level he was at. he is lame and has swollen joints - you'd be a complete mug to buy him at any price especially as the insurance company will exclude all 4 legs from the sounds of it - you'll never be able to investigate a lameness or claim for one. sorry for being blunt, but there are plenty of sound horses out there.
 
So, please correct me if Im wrong, he has been in light work all his life, and now after 9 weeks of fittening he is lame in two legs and has swollen joints..??
I really wouldnt risk it expecially if you want him as a hunter
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It sounds to me like you've already made up your mind. I would walk away, hes got too much going on. As for the chunk missing out of his foot, the farrier may have cut it out due to infection.
 
good god I wouldnt pay more than £1k max if he has those issues, he is a fairly young chap hasnt done much at all, so if you want to do low level RC you could find these things do become to affect him........minimal lameness maybe, anything to do with hocks can really be a pain in the long run...walk away however much you like him, you WILL find something else you love as much if not more!

For the money you are talking your horse should fly through the vetting!
 
Well the vet is only picking up on what he found with the horse today at the vetting.
i did ask my vet whether she thought these points could have been due to over or under use or an accident of some kind, but she said it was unlikely as its not like he's been heavily evented or anything, he's not done much in the way of events, shows etc. she said it could easily be a genetic fault.
 
Personally? I would ask for a 2 month trial. With a re-vet in two months during this time you can get your farrier to llok at feet and ride him and push him a bit. If he improves with second vetting then great- if not then he's got to go. When i had shadow he fractured his hock as a 3 y/o and was 1/10 lame in one leg..... that says it all (he did recover completelty but it was not cheap approx £2000) and your insurance company wont insure with a vetting like that.....
 
why not just keep looking for a horse in that price range that will pass the vet without any ifs or buts,, i would be very wary of this horse..sorry!
 
i thought £4950 was more the reasonable end of the market, thats why i made the 21/2 hour journey to see him.


it is a gamble..... i haven't made up my mind.... i'm still in a turmoil- i'm going to ring another horsey friend and ask her advice... thanks to all who replied. i'm so torn because my other horse my main hunter ( the one as my avatar) i've had him a year and 6 months and i had him 5 stage vetted, i was looking at his certificate and he had headshaking as a big issue, he also had mounting problems (wouldn't stand still) and he had some splints and flat feet etc he's wb x tb, i still went through with the sale at £3800, and he's really turned out to be a star...have to get the vet to sedate to clip him, and the headshaking is annoying in summer due to flies/midges but i wouldn't sell him now.

the question is..... do i give this boy a chance.....i haven't seen anything else i like within my budget...
 
Personally i think your crazy to even consider buying a horse that has failed a vetting on these things. You are compairing your current horse to the potential one and they are two different things completely, problems like head shaking can be worked with, but certain lameness can be the end of a horses career. What if it IS only six months and the horse becomes lame and you cant hunt it, or use it for RC?

In the end, i'd be asking if you can afford the risk?

I dont want to sound harsh, but try to think through this with your head and not your heart. Good luck.
 
Fully agree, and with Stars point that you'll have all four legs excluded from any insurance claims for any lameness and quite probably even external accidental injury.

This horse is basically unsound so shouldn't be over £1k -£1.5k if you want to gamble. He'd never pass a vet for you to sell him on.
 
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