To vet or not to vet on potential new horse

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zoesophie

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Thats it really.....
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Just curious on opinions coz a friend of mine has helped her friend buy a horse and she says they haven't bothered vetting it coz it's not much money and "looks OK".

I think I'd always get a vetting of some kind but wondered what everyone else thought.....

Think it depends on your horsey background too but just thought I'd throw the question out there to see what kind of replies Id get...
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Thanks
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I always would, mainly because I keep horses on livery so is an expensive way to keep a dudd!
If I had my own land, the horse was cheap enough and I was prepared to take a gamble then I may consider not vetting, but to be honest for the sake of £200 I think I would probably vet.
 
I would always vet. I don't understand when people say its not worth much so won''t bother vetting - surely vets fees are the same regrdless of if its an expensive or a cheap horse!
 
Well if you buy a bad one it could cost you a lot of money in vets fees. Don't forget all the heartache and aggrovation as well.

A 5 star vetting may not be a 100% guarantee but if you have got a good equine vet and you tell him what you want it for then in most cases they will be able to warn you of any inherent problems in the horse.

Even if i was given a horse I would have it vetted.

A cheap horse can cost as much as an expensive horse to keep.

Well good luck................
 
I always think it depends on what sort of home you have for it once purchased. If you have your own land and so cant turn it away or retire it cheeply should any problems arise then risks can be taken. If howver you pay full livery it's another matter.
Hence mine are vetted for what it's worth as they still go wrong
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god get it vetted, a girl on my yard is advertising a horse which she knows the back leg collapses on frequently and she isnt going to tell the viewers and is hoping they wont have a vetting!
 
Thats what I was trying to say to her but she wasn't having any of it.

O and by the way it would be on livery......they don't do only grass liveries where they are so if anything major was wrong with it they would be stuck!

Thanks for your opinions!!
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Might try to convince her to vet b4 she parts with her money at the weekend
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magic you dont have to have any vetting to get insurance as ive had mine for over 6 years and only just started to insure it for anything other then 3rd party. Ive never once been asked for a vetting cert.

I only got one of my 4 vetted, that was because he cost an awful lot of money (well for me) the other 3 well 2 were from beeston horse market so no chance of getting it vetted anyway and the other has turned out alright. We do however have our own land so a horse going lame isnt a mjor thing as we have the space to retire it
 
It must just be ED then, because I know someone who let the insurance laps for a few months & they would not insure him without stage 2, though it was to include vets bills.
 
No, you can get insurance without a vetting. I didn't get my lad vetted and I have insurance....and before you all call me mad, I rescued him, he was never going to pass a vetting as he was in such a state , took him home made him better and after a few months TLC had him checked over and he was declaired healthy. It was a big risk but he was worth it and I had luck on my side with him. Would never advise anyone to do the same.
 
Depends if you know the horse and have done for a few years, and its never suffered any problems, and its not too much money, i wouldnt bother vetting anything under say £2000 its a risk yes,
 
Have only ever had one of mine vetted! Never bothered with any the others - and guess which one developed the health problems?
Seriously though, think it all depends on what you want to do with the horse. In my case, I am just a happy hacker and keep my horses at home. One was given to me, one was born here and I handreared her, one was the expensive one we had vetted, and one I bought last year from someone trustworthy. Am not planning to buy anymore (getting to geriatric now
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I've never had a horse vetted - I do my own vettings at the viewing. Not bought a bum-deal so far and have been buying and selling for years.
 
I'd always vet...

I bought a fab TB mare once who def 'looked okay' & had done a lot of hunting, etc. Had her vetted & she had atrial fibrillation which meant that her heart wasn't beating in any sort of a rhythm. The vet got me to listen to it & it was REALLY weird - odd beats all over the place, then a flurry of beats, etc.

This horse looked totally fine, & the dealer showed me pictures of her leaping scarey jumps out hunting...but the vet said she could collapse and die half way round an xc course, which prob wouldn't be much fun. I returned her.

I'd say that £200 is worth it for peace of mind. Even if something shows up, at least your friend can make an informed decision & will know what she might be letting herself in for.
 
on the last 5 i have bought i have not had any vetted.
sirocco was 6 months old
fizz i knew her entire history & had been kept by her breeder so 1 owner.
tally was a yearling.
roo, i knew all his problems before i got him
jay was vetted by the person i got him from & i knew him since she got him & he had done nothing for the whole year they had him
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Chloe i should of gotten vetted but i didn't which was a big mistake on my part
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soxy was vetted
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not sure if my ponies had vetting's or not
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I have only ever had one horse vetted & that turned out to be a waste of money. She had muscle damage which did not show up in the vetting, & it was 17yrs ago when blood testing was not used much.
 
Bought a cheap horse recently without a vetting, keep having doubts but so far seems so good. depends on what your looking.
 
I would ALWAYS get a horse vetted even if it was free. There is a lady on my yard who recently got given a horse from a stud she has worked at for 6 years she was there when the horse was born 5 years ago and pretty much knows its history. But she has had no end of problems with this horse and its been lame since the day she got it (18 months now) and it doesnt look like she will ever be able to do more than walk round the school with it. If she had had it vetted its problems would have shown up and she could have made a better choice. It may have cost her nothing to buy but has cost thousands in livery and vets fees since.
 
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