Vettings and viewings

[SatansLittleHelper]

Ok couple of questions for you all.
We all know I'm sort of looking out for a horse, currently taking some time out which, after reading different threads on here, talking to various people etc has got me thinking.
1) Does everyone vet their purchase?
At what point do you decide that it's a fail?
2 or 5 stage and why?

2) Has anyone bought unseen from a reputable dealer/privately?
Why?
Would you do so again?

The reason I'm asking is that I've only ever had one horse vetted, it had a 5 stage and within a week it was lame and diagnosed with shock arthritis (this was years ago mind?).
And 2 of the best horses I've ever owned were bought unseen, because they were simply, at that time, too far to travel to. My friend's little cob was bought privately unseen and is fantastic...all the ones she looked at were rubbish

 

[ihatework]

I don’t vet the cheap ones, but then I buy them prepared to shoot them if they are dud.

In your case in no way, shape or form buy anything unvetted. Lots in the price bracket you are looking in and of the stamp you want could be duds and from what I have seen you don’t have the knowledge to spot them.

I’m not saying walk away from a vet failure, but you need to know what you are taking on, for example managing mild arthritis might be worth it for the right horse.

I’ve only bought unseen once and wouldn’t do it again. Had I sat on the horse beforehand I wouldn’t have purchased it. Again do not consider this option.

 

[AmyMay]

Always vet, and for me always 5 stage. The vet will stop a vetting if anything untoward shows up.

 

[emilylou]

I didnt vet my last two, however both were unbroken and relatively cheap. If I was paying good money for an established horse I would get it vetted. Its a lot of money to loose if you end up with a horse not fit for purpose, and better to know what you are dealing with if something shows up and you decide to go ahead

 

[Red-1]

Vetting if I would not be able to just retire or PTS if I had missed something. Also insure, at least for the first year.

 

[ElleSkywalker]

I've only ever had one vetted and that was a two stage as she wasn't fit at all so didn't think 5 stage would be worth it. Had anything shown up that needed x-rays or whatever I'd have had then done too.

Main reason for vetting was a that she's the first backed horse I've ever bought and I wanted her eyes/heart checking as well as soundness, she flew through it happily 😊

I'd buy a horse unseen from CnG cobs but other than that unless I trusted friend knew or had seen the horse am not sure I would buy unseen

 

[cobsandbassets]

Never had any vetted but none were above 2.5k. First was from a friend at the livery yard second was from YO at a different yard 15 years later. Third was from a so called reputable dealer but vet wouldn't have picked up her personality issues lol. Part exed her for my confidence restorer but a trusted friend was the dealer's rider. Would vet in all other circumstances. Wishing you well in your search.

 

[Ambers Echo]

I hardly ever vet. However I did vet two from dealers - both passed 5 stage vettings and both had major health problems. One was sent back as unfit for for purpose when my own vet said it should not have passed, and the other was PTS after 15 months of heartache. (I now avoid unknown dealers rather than relying on vettings!) I like the idea of vettings but have had very negative experiences both as buyer and seller with the actual process so I don't trust them really.

 

[splashgirl45]

in your position, wanting a horse to hack and do lower level comps who is a weightcarrier type i would 5 stage vet as you will be paying out quite a bit of money and would not be able to afford to just PTS or keep as a field ornament. . i have only ever had 1 horse vetted as i knew the ridden ones and the other was a yearling, and she failed when trotted in a circle on concrete and we stopped the vetting. my vet thought it was due to the state of her feet as they were overgrown and unbalanced and she needed shoeing. i bought her and had a good 10 years hacking but i was lucky.

 

[Goldenstar]

Yes I always vet (five stage ) and a cheap horse is as expensive at the vets as an expensive one how I keep them .
If a vets fails a horse I may still buy it depending on why it’s failed .
A young horse needs to get a clean slate for me but with an older horse where you are buying it’s training and experiance I will be prepared to manage some issues .
I might take a chance on certain things with younger horse depending on the vets advice .
I would never buy unseen no matter how much I liked the look of it on video you can beat seeing and feeling a horse .

 

[fidleyspromise]

Never vetted.
5 yr old when bought but had her on loan for a year first.
3 yr old unhandled so unsuitable for a vetting plus vetting would have cost more than she was.

friend just bought a horse privately and chose not to vet and too far to go see as we decided to take a punt on him. He was cheap and there are 2 experienced people to help with any possible issues. So far, he has been lovely. He's been lunged, taken for walks and ridden in school and in part of field by 3 of us and not put a foot wrong. He's had a month to settle mainly due to our workloads but we're going to start doing more with him. It wasn't something we did easily but we decided it was worth a gamble.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I have never had a horse vetted and have never paid a lot for a horse. I have had to have 3 pts before what you would consider to be the end of their natural life but none from anything that a vetting would have picked up and I had owned them all for at least a year.
I can't really imagine a scenario where I would buy unseen.

 

[Meredith]

I always have a 5 stage vetting. I have had one fail because it had unevel hindquarters, another because the vet couldn’t get near it to check it’s teeth or pick it’s feet up and it became unsafe to be with in the stable. Some one might have bought that horse to reschool but it was not suitable for my situation. The second vetting was stopped after 2 stage and I was only charged for that.
Horses that have passed vettings have had things go wrong with them but fortunately for me and them they were all many years later and could not have been foreseen by a vetting.
I have bought from both supposedly reputable dealers and private sellers and think the same approach should be applied to both. All the things you need to do have been outlined by previous posters.
Good luck.

 

[be positive]

Not vetting youngsters, unbacked , bought from friends, bought for a token or after a loan period are not good examples of whether or not the OP should vet as she is highly unlikely to buy in any of those scenarios, this horse is going to take all/ most of her savings, be at the lower end of the market for it's type and may well be coming from a dealer so to me it would have to be vetted, have bloods taken to be stored and be insured so she has minimised her risks as much as possible.
Buying a riding horse unseen would be something completely alien to me, I know someone that did this and had to send the first back as it was far greener and smaller than described, the second was also unsuitable for the same reasons and ended up on loan with view to buy to get it moved on, her final purchase was also unsuitable for purpose and I am unsure what happened with that.
I used this example as she was looking for much the same as the OP, an up to weight sensible hack that was not a total plod, her very first purchase came to me on sales livery as it was also too small but had been bought privately, that is how I got to know her, luckily I was not involved in her next ventures although if I had been maybe I would have done better.

I often go with clients to view potential purchases, I can usually pick up issues that are obvious fails and then we walk away without making an offer but I cannot look in their eyes, check the heart, take blood or sign a piece of paper to say they are sound so if something appears suitable and has been sound during the viewing I advise vetting, it covers my back, their back and the sellers if they pass. The most recent a 17 year old pony flew through a 2 stage with no issues.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I had a horse on trial that had passed a 5 stage the week before. My vet was on his weekly visit and watched me in the school, promptly diagnosed with an old check ligament injury! The YO was fuming and took it straight back to the dealer.

 

[oldie48]

With the exception of the old tb, I've had everything vetted, all but one a five stage. I knew the history of the old tb. The one I had 2 staged, who was an ex intermediate eventer, was sound but the ver referred him on the eye test. I bought him anyway at a much reduced cost and found out much later when he broke after my daughter hunted him that he had a dropped pedal bone. The rest of our horses and ponies (8 over the years) had 5 stage. I've never had a horse vetted and not bought it but I think I have been very lucky, Rose had whatmay be an occult sarcoid on her inner thigh, vet discussed it with me and I renegotiated the price down. Would now never not 5 stage and would never ever buy unseen.

 

[Goldenstar]

The two horses that really made me always vet where Fatty and his heart he had passed a vetting not long before done by a prestigious vet I nearly did not bother .
And a friend who bred a horse who was very unpredictable that turned out to have an eye issue that meant it suddenly lost its sight for short periods of time .
These sort of things can kill you and they are easily picked up on vetting .

 

[Bellaboo18]

For me it's not how much I am paying to purchase the horse it's how much I can afford to risk.
A cheap horse that turns out to have health problems can be very expensive indeed.
Ive always bought from dealers, there's normally a warranty, now you can find the dodgy ones out and I find they can be more realistic with what they're selling.
I used to always 5 stage vet either because I needed to, to insure or for 'peace of mind'. Now I can afford to take more risks. I actually purchased my latest unseen BUT I was willing to have her as a companion if it didn't go as planned and buy another. I'd also have pts if there was anything pain related. It's a big risk to take.

If I was ever looking for something to regain confidence I'd try them as many times in as many situations as possible.

Obviously even with a vetting *anything* can happen a day after purchase but that's horses!

 

[Ceifer]

My WB passed a five stage. Vet raved about how marvellous he was. When I moved him my vet came out for an unrelated issue and diagnosed neurological issues and although I can’t prove anything he thought the WB had probably had them when vetted.
My current mare failed a five stage. My own vet vetted her. I took a gamble. Got the price down and made the decision to PTS if she didn’t work out. She’s been a brilliant buy and my vet saw her 6 months after I got her and said she’s improved 100%.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Not vetting youngsters, unbacked , bought from friends, bought for a token or after a loan period are not good examples of whether or not the OP should vet as she is highly unlikely to buy in any of those scenarios, .

I agree but OP did not ask what we thought she should do but rather what we had done. I answered accordingly. I should have also said that i have viewed horses that I have refused to try/buy because I have considered that they were not sound.

 

[Goldenstar]

I have also dismissed horses who where in my opinion lame within minutes of arrriving for a viewing

 

[rara007]

For myself I’ve not had that many vetted but I had a 5 stage plus pretty comprehensive xrays on my most recent as that’s what insurance require and as much as insurance is eye watering I can’t afford not to.

For your circumstances I wouldn’t risk not vetting.

 

[Leo Walker]

I dont but I buy cheap and take a risk. In your shoes and spending 3k I would vet.

 

[Cortez]

I rarely have anything vetted, BUT I'm old, experienced, and prepared to put down any mistakes. The most catastrophically lame horse I've ever bought was fully vetted and passed with flying colours. I've also bought very lame horses and got them 100% sound. I've both bought and sold many horses unseen, and not been disappointed on either end.

 

[Gloi]

I've never had anything vetted but then again everything I have bought has been an unbroken youngster and mostly not very expensive. I don't usually buy unseen because I love viewing baby ponies but my current ride I bought as a foal from a video and he is now rising 5 and a darling I knew the person I got him off had a good reputation.

 

[irishdraft]

I would not buy unseen ever .I have bought unvetted and vetted the unvetted route has only gone wrong once out of about 6 horses I had a 5 stage for the last horse I bought but the vet missed deep sulcus thrush in 2 feet but I still would have bought the horse.

 

[ycbm]

Ok couple of questions for you all.
We all know I'm sort of looking out for a horse, currently taking some time out which, after reading different threads on here, talking to various people etc has got me thinking.
1) Does everyone vet their purchase?
At what point do you decide that it's a fail?
2 or 5 stage and why?

2) Has anyone bought unseen from a reputable dealer/privately?
Why?
Would you do so again?

The reason I'm asking is that I've only ever had one horse vetted, it had a 5 stage and within a week it was lame and diagnosed with shock arthritis (this was years ago mind?).
And 2 of the best horses I've ever owned were bought unseen, because they were simply, at that time, too far to travel to. My friend's little cob was bought privately unseen and is fantastic...all the ones she looked at were rubbish

I haven't vetted for the last thirty years. I have never lost a horse to anything which would have shown up on a vetting or had one fail the vet when I sold it. (Strictly speaking, one failed on a tweaked shoulder muscle but the buyer bought him anyway and he was fine after a couple of weeks rest.)

I've bought unseen twice privately and both were exactly what I thought I was getting, so yes I would do so again, but only if I can afford to lose the purchase cost entirely. I've also bought many backed horses untried, like my current TB, but I do like to see them ridden these days, now I don't bounce as well

I do think GS has a VERY good point about heart and eyes.

 

[Lammy]

I bought my last horse unseen and didn’t vet purely because he was 10 months old and totally not worth it. He cost me £400. What I did instead was get the vet to check him over after he’d arrived to make sure he was 100% ok. Luckily he was.

Anything under 2k I wouldn’t vet as at that price it’s either very young or there will be something to make me not buy it or any health issues be disclosed that I think I could handle. In your shoes I would vet every time not to say not to buy something that fails but at least you’d know what to consider and what you’d rule out.

 

[Summit]

Never vetted and never had a problem. Yes I have bought from dealers too but have always done my homework

 

[Pc2003]

I had a 5 stage done on my current ridden horse, tried him 3 times, did all the right things! 11 months later aged 7 he basically broke down and is now only hacking sound.
I bought a yearling unseen from a breeder late last year. Did my research on the breeder, still got a basic vetting done. It’s swings and roundabouts I’m sure