Vetting results

HaplessHorse

HaplessHorse

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We vetted the full-loan supercob yesterday as the owner is happy for us to buy her! 😄

She’s 14, by the way so some issues are to be expected.

However, a slightly daunting number of issues came up.

First issue: CPL - She has just been de-feathered today and it doesn’t look too bad. A few small folds on the back of her pastern and some small nodules on the insides of her legs. I think she’s probably an A or B on the scale. She’s recently had her shoes taken off and is now on 24/7 turnout with us which should hopefully help. She’s also on a bit of a diet at the moment. Plus, dealing with mites will hopefully help too.

Second issue: mites - known issue, already started treatment for it before the vetting. Again, clipping the feathers will further help.

Third issue: fairly severe thrush - we’ve been using iodine spray but vet recommends getting farrier in to get the gunky thrushy stuff out, alongside current iodine regime.

Fourth issue: asthma - fairly minor but, again, 24/7 turnout will hopefully help. I’ve already noticed reduced coughing.

Fifth issue: (very, very mild) knee arthritis - had no issue with flexions and the vet thinks it’s at least 5 years before issues start popping up with it (and my vet is very pessimistic!). The only reason she thinks knee arthritis is that there’s a small bony lump. I’m also not very ambitious so she’s not going to be hammered around the countryside or doing any jumping, so hopefully that’s in her favour.

I think supercob’s price is in the right ballpark. Her (lovely) owner is happy for us to loan her for another month or so, while we get on top of treatments and find out more about full extent of issues.


Do you think there are any other considerations I need to make? Any good websites for CPL? (I don’t have fb and I’m a social media hermit). I’m quite inexperienced with CPL so are there any other treatments I should think about?

I’ve been reading up on CPL and the general consensus seems to be that once you’re on top of it, it isn’t massively problematic?

Also, I need recommendations for psyllium husk supplements I can get off Amazon (for the horses obviously).

I’ve noticed supercob’s poos have got increasingly sloppy in the past week while Saus has been fine. Supercob has been here for a month and a half, plus the issues have only cropped up recently. It’s got to a point today where I’m a bit worried.

Should I even be considering her or should we think about sending her back? The vet thinks she’s fine for what we want but the vet bills are getting a bit stressful. Plus the sloppy poos are really worrying me after last year (different horse, ended up losing him though).

Thank you for reading this veritable novel!

ETA: grammar and I think I’m overthinking and stressing too much.
 
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If you’ve had her on loan and are happy with her l wouldn’t be too worried. The vet has to note whatever is found and mites and thrush are easy to keep on top of. If she’s not currently lame and doesn’t have any history re arthritis that wouldn’t concern me either, you’d be surprised how many people /horses have it! Buying any horses is a risk but it sounds as if the owner is sensible and if she’ll do your job l’d go for it. It could be a long time before you find another and their vetting could throw up lots more serious issues. Good luck.
 
I’d go ahead. Nothing too bad there for a hacking horse who clearly suits you. I’d request a reduced price so you can spend that money giving her a good start. Understand that it’s difficult when friends are involved.
 
My draft had CPL & so long as he was clipped out after winter mud it was manageable. While he was sedated for clipping I'd give the legs a good wash with a flea shampoo and an ivermectin wash. The Facebook page is excellent but the bare bones are clipping, mite treatment, low sugar/ starch diet, plenty of movement and cleavers / marigolds to help with the lymphatic system.

I knew a jumping pony that went into his late 20s with a huge knee. Obviously no jumping and bute towards the end but so long as you don't hammer around on hard ground you'll be fine I think
 
You say you’re already getting a bit stressed with the vets bills so just a word of warning that anything noted on the vetting will be excluded from insurance. If you do go ahead with the purchase you have to be prepared to pay the ongoing vet bills for quite a few conditions there. You would be able to get catastrophe cover for her though. I wouldn’t be paying a lot for her either, I would definitely take the owner up on the offer of another months loan wvtb while you do your research each condition and ongoing costs etc. You have paid for a vetting and now you know what your dealing with but do have time to think long and hard about the commitment.
Good Luck with her, it’s always so exciting to have your own horse and so it should be! but I would be a bit daunted too, saying that, even a 5 stage vet pass can break the day you bring them home.
 
The mites and thrush are easy enough to solve, but the CPL, asthma and mild arthritis are the conditions that can easily cause a lot of heartache in a short space of time.

Baggs my lad is prone to the following issues of arthritis, gastric ulcers and asthma.

I had him vetted and none of the above conditions came up on his vetting - these were all things that developed as I started doing more with him (when I brought him, he'd done bugger all and was extremely green for his age. Despite me being extremely careful and managing him extremely well, these conditions still made an unwelcome appearance).

His asthma makes things harder in the warmer months as he often gets bouts where he is bothered by the heat and it isn't fair to work him. On occasion I end up having to call the vet out and the average bill with medication comes to circa £450.00. I then possibly look at adding another £250.00 ish if I need them to come back out (my vets are wonderful and charge a discounted rate for follow up appointments and prescriptions) if the first lot of medication hasn't cleared up the flare up of asthma. He is also extremely sensitive to pollen/dust levels and has been known to throw his head around as a result of them irritating his lungs. With him being an average doer but going up to good doer in the warmer months, it's vital that I keep his weight down to avoid other health issues, but if he's having an asthma flare up, this complicates things even further and puts him at risk for other issues such as laminitis. Luckily where I'm stabled to he has a lovely outdoor type stable with little to no dust and not near any risk areas for pollen etc. I can also control how much grazing he gets access to so can avoid the risk of laminitis as much as possible if he were to have an asthma flare up.

His arthritis plays havoc in the winter/colder months which means that I usually end up giving him the odd sachet of bute here and there to help ease his stiffness, as I find conventional off the shelf supplements are more of a prevention rather than a cure type scenario. My last vet bill for an arthritis flare up was circa £300.00 which included the call out fee, examination, prescription and medication. I'm lucky in the sense that I know his triggers and what could cause his arthritis to flare up, so 9/10 times I can get ahead of the game. I make sure he's constantly warm in the colder months/winter, he has stable boots on to keep his legs warm and a fancy infra-red rug to help keep him warm in general.

I'm not trying to be all doom and gloom as she sounds like a wonderful mare who fits what you want to do perfectly (plus you've had the bonus of having her on loan so you already have a bond and know her well!), so theoretically the issues that are present shouldn't really throw a stone in any plans that you have, but it's also worth noting that treating the issues that have been noted can get expensive fast as I've mentioned above. I'd certainly be asking for a reduced price to reflect the money that you'll need to spend getting her sorted, and you certainly would benefit from taking the extra month loan with view to buy that has been offered, so that you can research more on the conditions.

Having read your post and seeing that you are stressing about the vets bills, it's also worth noting that anything picked up on the vetting will be excluded so therefore insurance might cost a fair bit more due to the various exclusions - so you might only be able to get something like catastrophe cover for her. No horse is perfect and the majority of horses will have some sort of issue by the time they get to 14 years old - it's the nature of horses! - but this decision is something that you need to think about with your head and not your heart xx
 
With the thrush, get all the loose bits trimmed back and get some red horse products to pack in. They do a slightly cheaper version on amazon that I actually like more. Get her on a good mineral and vitamin supplement. Forage plus or progressive earth are the best ones. It will help the CPL and the thrush. Cleavers are the other thing that helps CPL. The thrush will go, and CPL is just clipping and mite treating. I did what SEL did and also had frontline pippettes I treated each leg with and diactemous earth. DE does nothing on its own, but seems spectacularly good for drying out the crevices and killing off mites that day, while everything else keeps them away longer term. I would honestly expect to deal with thrush in any horse I bought and CPL/mites in any cobby type. Its just something that gets overlooked by a lot of people.

Then that leaves a bit of stiffness which is par for the course really and the breathing issue. Those wont be covered by insurance and will probably worsen. Have a thiink about whether you want to deal with those longer term. The rest is just short term teething issues you would get with any similar type. It may well balance out by knowing her and knowing she does the job you want her for, and that she will be kept in a way thats beneficial for her issues.
 
I personally wouldn’t touch anything with CPL, arthritis is less of a worry in my opinion and can be managed relatively easily but it can also be a costly condition depending on where it is and how the horse is ridden etc.
 
Thank you! Lots of food for thought.

The thrush and mites appear to be on the mend. Obviously finishing the ivermectin, and I’ve got a management plan for mites and CPL. I can make a lot of accommodations for her CPL thanks to having my own land. Vet and farrier are booked for next week for de-thrushing.

I suspect the asthma is triggered by dust generally as I haven’t noticed her cough since it’s rained, plus the out 24/7 with access to a non-bedded stable seems to have helped significantly.

From the way our vet was talking, and how Supercob was looking on flexion, I strongly suspect that there won’t be massive worries about the arthritis for 5-10 years.

She really is super, and genuinely amazing hacking. She’s priced correctly, all things considered, and her owner is being really lovely. I think that even if it only ends up being 3-5 years of work then I think she’s worth it. I do have my own land and experience with having field ornaments (Saus), so if she does need to be retired, she can be.

I will still be doing a month of lwvtb and plenty more research on asthma and I’ll start looking at CPL supplements (cleavers, marigolds) and see what works for her. She seems to respond well to CPL management, and her asthma has improved since being here.

Thanks again for all the help! So far I’m leaning towards her being a good match, so I’ll see where I’m at at the end of the month. 😄
 
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