Vettings

brighteyes

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Apart from a health check and overall suitability for purpose, does a 5 stage tell you the level of schooling an animal has?

Only asking as a friend said the vet at their vetting said the horse was relatively green for its age
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I wondered how they would know this to pronounce quite so specifically without (I assume!) riding it
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I suddenly feel a bit thick as any horses we have had vetted have had no other comments other than 'passed'.
 
I think the vet is meant to advise if the animal is 'suitable' for the job.....therefore the vetting for a competition horse would be more in depth than a light hack.....

I would think that the vet was covering his/her back by saying the horse was relatively green......
 
You are paying for the opinion of the vet at the time of vetting the horse -I dont find vets actually say the horse has passed exactly as to give you a picture as to the current health of the animal and if it if suitable for the job required. So, if a horse was say being sold as all round RC horse, but was say, 10 and only been out very low level, then the vet would point out that said horse was green for its age.
 
I agee Luci, a few years ago a friend of mine had a five stage vetting done on a HW vanner. The vet said she did not think the horse was capable of jumping, friend informed the vet that she had seen it jump. Yes, the horse could jump, but not more than 2'3", which was all my friend wanted. But, being only able to scrape over 2'3 hardly makes it a jumper, so the vet was right.
 
At my vetting, i found Hugo was 1.5 years younger than thought! I didnt want a young / green horse (made him rising 5 at purchase); id fell for him by then so couldnt say no!

The vet said 'he would be fine for RC level', which is what i had asked her to vet him as.
 
Some vets say a horse is still green but could be referring to their normal paces. My stallion as a 3yo was very weak through his body (understandably so) and my vet picked up this fact when he saw him trotting in hand after a flexion test. He was in good shape body wise but at that early stage he wouldn't quite move from behind. Now as a 4yo he is much better.
 
When I had my horse vetted she commented that she was very green and very big. The vet knows me, the yard I keep my horses on and my situation and she was making sure I was aware of what I was taking on
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I have also learnt that horses do not "pass or fail" the vet will comment on the suitability of the horse for the purpose of which it is being purchased for. If you wanted a 4* comp horse I would expect that they would "fail" a lot more horses than a RC allrounder.
 
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