Vetting a young horse - advice needed

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sonjafoers

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My 3 year old is for sale and a potential buyer has arranged a vetting for her on Monday. Having spoken to the vet to confirm arrangements I am slightly concerned because they have booked in a 5 stage vetting, even though my horse has only been backed for about 6 weeks and is in limited work suitable for her age/experience. I have explained this to the vet & asked them to tailor the vetting accordingly but they do say that if she has been backed she is subject to the same 5 stage vetting as any horse of any age & fitness. My concern is that she will be lunged, cantered etc on hard ground for a considerable period of time with no allowance made for her young age. As far as I am aware my horse is 100% sound and I am not trying to hide anything by questioning the vetting but i do wonder if a full 5 stage vetting is suitable for such a baby. Am I being too protective? Any thoughts please
 
no i agree with you, why does a 5 stage need to be done to such a young horse. i would just have the 1 stage done that still shows up any lameness or problems. a full 5 stage they have to be ridden for 30 mins as they do all air way ect. the first stage they just lunge but it will still show up the same.
 
Remember, you can put a halt to any of the proceedings at the time of the vetting, if you feel it is to the detriment of the horse.....
 
There isnt a set time that they are ridden - they are just ridden until they start breathing harder, which depends on the fitness of the horse.

I think she will be perfectly fine with a 5 stage - if there is anything untoward then just stop them. But I doubt they will be lunging her for 30 mins on hard ground, more like trot up, followed by flexions followed a couple of circles on hard ground. Any 3 yr old should be able to cope with that. The ridden part will probably be about 30 mins once you have warmed her up in walk and trot, maybe a couple of canters if she is up to that (when I vetted my 4 yr old he was so green he couldnt canter he just ran about the school but then he didnt have any steering either so you could see he was a just backed baby).

Dont forget, you are riding her, so if you feel as though she has done enough then say so. She's your horse until they have paid for her.
 
The vet the purchaser has instructed has said it is standard practice for ALL backed horses to undergo a 5 stage vetting regardless of age. I would only ever consider a 2 stage vetting on such a young horse plus ask the vet to look at anything I had concerns about. I don't want to make too much fuss in case it looks like I am trying to cover up a problem, but i also have to consider what they are going to be putting my young horse through. It seems to me they might just be trying to get more money out of the purchaser as they say they cannot tailor a 5 stage vetting to take into account the age of the horse.
 
OK - I'm certainly not adverse to riding or lungeing her until she is breathing hard but I was just concerned that the vet seemed so inflexible about what would be done. Like you say I can put a stop to it at any time. Thank you, I do feel a bit better now!
 
a stage 5 will cost alot more so the vet will say thats wot it needs. as for it taking 30 mins mine was ridden for that once warmed up!
 
Dont worry i had exactly the same thing happen to me last year when i sold my just backed three yr old so know exactly how you feel!

What they did was basically lunge on surface to get him blowing a bit - nothing horrendous, just enough to get is breathing up a bit. That was it (apart from all the other bits, flexion tests, trot up etc etc) He wasn't lunged on a hard surface at all - turned on a small circle but that was it.

I personally thought it was a bit of a waste of money on the new owners part as it is certainly not like a 5 stage on an older horse!!

But hey - he passed no problems.
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Good luck x
 
I once had an unbroken horse vetted (there were a few things I wanted checked)! He was lunged for about 15mins all up and found it very exciting so was quite breathy after that. It is just so they can checked the heart rate at rest, work and recovery.
You'll be fine, as others have said you'll be there to keep an eye on things
 
I brought a just backed horse and had her 5 staged. She was cantered round for about 5mins to get her breathing up, and that was it. Its only to check airways etc, and I do think it is perfectly reasonable for a 3yr old to have a 5stage. My 7yr old eventer had a 5stage and only cantered around for a few minutes too, as it was hot and the vet didnt want to get him too warm unnecessarily! Just got the breathing up, and checked the recovery rate
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My 2 1/2 year old was 5 stage vetted last year to pass her grading. I hadn't taught her to lunge as I don't believe in lunging young horses.The vet basically took her in the outdoor school and loose schooled her (chased her around in other words) until she was breathing hard and a bit sweaty. She passed no probs and the experience didn't do her any harm. She was walked trotted in hand and turned on a concrete surface.
 
I've had a 3 y/o unbacked filly 5 stage vetted before - all they did was lunge to get heart rate and breathing up.

perhaps you could lunge her instead of riding her as she isn't that far along in her schooling? I'm sure you have nothing to worry about.
 
Thank you to everyone for their posts - I have spoken to the vet doing the vetting and he has said he will only do what is necessary to get her heart rate and breathing up. Fingers crossed for Monday!
 
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