Vetting a childs pony

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Stoxx

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A friend of mine has been to see a pony today primarily for her daughter, but potentially for her other younger children to enjoy also.
The pony was used in a riding school a few years ago and seems to be quiet, good to handle and do, quiet to ride (needs a bit of leg) and generally seems to be a confidence giver. Perfect for what my friend wants, as this will be their first pony although my friend has been 'around' horses for a few years and her daughter has had lessons and can walk, trot, canter and jump.

I have mentioned to them that they should have some kind of vetting done. The pony is only for sale for £1000 so there is absolutely no point in doing a 5 stage. So I was thinking of a 1 or 2 stage - just to have an expert look the pony over really.
I also did think of having a basic blood test just to make sure the pony really is what it says on the tin.

Am I being over cautious do you think? What would you do in the above scenario?
 
i would always get them vetted no matter how much you are paying although we bought a horse back and got it 5star vetted and ended up with kissing spines! so i would never be over catious with buying a pony espcially for children! you can never trust anyone nowa days with buying horses its a minefield so defo get it vetted!!
 
Yes a full vetting is a must IMO. Especially if it's for a child.

We also had a horse sail through a five stage vetting who has KS.
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Definately 5 stage - the children would be so upset if they bought the pony and then the pony got really ill or had problems that could have been avoided. Children fall in love with ponies really easily.

A cheap pony can soon be an expensive one if it is has health issues
 
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Yes a full vetting is a must IMO. Especially if it's for a child.

We also had a horse sail through a five stage vetting who has KS.
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Terrible isnt it! we bought her a green horse xracer so the vet just thought she was sensitive
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im not sure about blood tested tho .... but i probally would if i was buying the pony for a child
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I possibly wouldn't have a vetting done on a childs pony with a value of £1000, if I could see it was sound enough to do the job, and looked OK to me, I'd probably just buy it. But for an adult that possibly wanted "more" out of a pony, I would do a vetting for the same value pony.

If I had any hesitations myself about what I saw, I would either walk away and not buy, or if I thought it was really worth pursuing I would put it through a 5 stage vetting.
 
For ponies we only have had 2 stage. Just bought a new horse and had 5 stage. Also had bloods taken, incase any lameness happens in next few weeks and horse had been doped up etc.
The thing about any vettings is that it is only for that day. As we all know accidents do happen with horses (a friend's new pony went through a fence within a week of owning him, and he had to be put down).
Also, many vets don't like the flexion test, but do it as it's still part of the test.
How old is this pony, and what's it for? I assume it wont be doing any eventing etc so 2 stage is probably fine. If you look at a line up of PC schoolmasters, most will be slightly lame!

So, I say 2 stage!
 
Yes I would have the bloods tested and I would ask for the results asap.

I also had bloods done but they were kept "on file" so to speak so now we have no recourse, so I would make sure you make that specific request to the vet
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