Vetting an older horse (also in veterinary)

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JosieSmith

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Hi, I have a 20 year old arab on part-loan, you're probably all sick of hearing about it by now! But I'm taking her on full loan with a view to buy from Sept. My problem is, do I have her vetted or is it pointless at that age. She is not fit, but she loves her work and everyone reckons she's got another good few years in her (though they're not vets admittedly). I can't really afford big vet bills but my gut feeling says paying the money for a vetting now could save money in the long run. She's going to be a happy hack prety much, she's ex-endurance so we enjoy doing pleasure rides and she can definitely still handle it, and our yard holds about three shows during the year so we'd do a little bit of jumping there too. ould a vetting be a good idea? What if it throws up arthritis or something else serious that we didn't know about. I think I know what everyone's answer is going to be here but I thought I'd ask anyway
 
I would have a 2 star vetting done, as this will give you a general idea of the horses health and if there are any under lieing problems that your not aware of.
 
personally i would not bother with a full 5 stage vetting for a horse that age that will be mostly hacking. maybe a 2 stage vetting would suit? then you know her eye's heart and wind are in good order.. i would think most 20yo horses would struggle to make it through a full vetting without problems!!
plus you already know the horse, so that does help.
Good luck
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Thanks, I've had other replies in veterinary saying that as she doesn't cost much to buy, most verts recommend against it, I might think about the 2 star, it's peace of mind too, make sure I'm not missing anything if she doesn happen to be struggling. I said in veterinary she is still full of life, loves a good gallop in the field so I'm not too worried at the moment.
 
My horse would never pass the vet- he's 25 and I've owned him for 4 happy years. Our vet carried out some tests when he went lame just after I got him, and said she thought he was totally fit for use (2'9 RC stuff, lots of SJ and XC where we can) he would never pass the vet. He has been an absolute star, and although will never get good marks dressage (ex-racer, who only remembers this in the dressage!) he is worth his weight in gold.
 
We didnt have our cob vetted when we bought him at 19 and he is fine. But I have never had a horse vetted before even Mick as a 6 year old.

I don't really know if I would in the future. hopefully haven't got to buy a new one for a while.
 
"I can't really afford big vet bills"

Sorry to be gloomy but if you can't really afford big vets bills I think you should consider
1) insurance (and what would happen once you had an exclusion...)
2) would you have to have the horse PTS if it did require expensive vet treatment in future either due to an underlying condition (which a vetting *might* pick up) or new illness/injury? Would you be comfortable having to make that decision for financial rather than welfare reasons? It might be that you'd be fine with that but some people would find it difficult.

Could you not just keep the horse on loan and consider buying later when your finances might be more secure? (Sorry I haven't really been following your posts so there may be a good reason why not.)

Also, if you already know this horse would her failing a vetting prevent you from buying her/get a price reduction or would you go ahead anyway? In the later case not much point but in the former def a good idea!

I know I couldn't guarantee the best quality of (potentially very expensive) care if I owned so have a share Arab who I love to bits, they are fantastic horses - do continue having loads of fun with her whatever you decide!
 
Have to agree with Tickles.

Have to also point out that Insurance is extremly limited for older horses, (i should know as i have a retired lunatic 24yo who's a walking vets bill).


Really have a think about what your taking on & what you would do or be able to cope with financially if the worst happened as you would most likely not be covered by insurance even if you took it out.

My oldie is on a limited Veteran plan, so im only covered for £1,000 of vets fee's less excess. Which let's be honest goes no where for serious illness.
 
Hi, thanks for being honest, I appreciate it. I am probably going to keep her on full loan for a while (I'm getting a small pay rise in October, which should help us a bit) and during that time I'm going to keep saving in the hope that if something did happen I would have the finances to pay for vet bills (I have a dog with cushings so I'm well used to all my savings going out the window). Also, I know this might sound daft but we have a lot of relatives who wouldn't think twice about lending us the money if something serious came up, and if it was life or PTS for my horse I'd not think twice about borrowing it either, irresponsible as that might seem to my non-horsey friends
smile.gif
. And in response, no I wouldn't be happy to PTS for finance reasons, it's not fair if she's happy in herself. I also realise that as she's getting older she might develop arthritis or other age-related illnesses. Her current insurance doesn't cover vet fees
 
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