Viewing A Horse

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Thornsett1

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OK everyone my daughter went to view a horse over the weekend it was a bit bigger than we had originally wanted but it was local so off we went . It went very nicely for her and was very rideable but possibly tad lazy although I thought it could be a bit more through from behind in canter !! Anyway it legs were fine slight windgalls but nothing major but it was sore behind it withers the owner said she did not bother with a physio . It competiton record is complete no gaps and YES before you ask if we go ahead we will have it vetted . MY friend said to me she has priced the horse just below the cut off point for xrays now this had not occurred to me as I tend to be quite believing of people am I missing something I am now thinking is it too good to be true .!!!! Is there a figure that kicks in for xrays I have asked about its vet history can I ask to see it before I get a vetting or is that a no no
 
Mmm - I have only ever had one buyer ask for x-rays (and that was an expensive horse.) Obviously you have to pay for them, but if the seller refuses, I'd run a mile. I don't see why you shouldn't be able to request a copy of the vets clinical notes - again, if the seller refuses to ask her vet for them, run a mile.
 
Is there a specific question you are asking?

Most insurers will want a full set of X-rays if you are purchasing at 10K + and want loss of use cover. Some insurers may ask for them without LOU cover.

X-rays are a complicated conversation! pros and cons.

Obtaining Vet history is always a wise move (although canny/dodgy sellers will have ways around this).
 
You can have any horse xrayed. Makes no difference to the vet, people dont usually discuss price of horse with the vet anyway.
But most people wouldnt bother unless it was an expensive horse.
 
You can ask for the vet history at any point, whether you will get it may be another matter but will save you the cost of vetting if it is not forthcoming, as for xrays it is down to the insurance value/ company policy some will want them after a certain value others will not ask for any, I have bought/ been involved with purchases over £10k and have been led by the vet as to whether they xrayed, in one case the horse did have xrays that were borderline yet the purchase went ahead and it was covered by insurance.

If you have doubts walk away, I would question any seller who has a competition horse yet does not use a physio as routine in this day and age it is as important as getting their teeth checked regularly for most of us.
 
The horse is priced just under 10k I think what my friend was meaning had it been priced at that knowing that x rays may not be asked for !!! gosh I hate buying horses . We have already walked away from one because although it gave a very nice ride it had conformation/ feet issues that would only cause issues in the future and at 4 not worth it . We couldn't live without our physio ( bells are ringing !!! ) my daughter hates me because she says I always find something wrong !!! but there is wrong and wrong !!!
 
Thornsett1 said:
The horse is priced just under 10k I think what my friend was meaning had it been priced at that knowing that x rays may not be asked for !!! gosh I hate buying horses . We have already walked away from one because although it gave a very nice ride it had conformation/ feet issues that would only cause issues in the future and at 4 not worth it . We couldn't live without our physio ( bells are ringing !!! ) my daughter hates me because she says I always find something wrong !!! but there is wrong and wrong !!!
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On the face of what you have written I kind of agree with your daughter!
You have viewed a horse you like but are trying to interpret why the seller has priced it accordingly ... well I will fairly confidently tell you people who want to X-ray generally do so irrespective of whether horse is 9K or 12k. I’d personally say seller is thinking a 4 figure price grabs attention more than a 5 figure price.

As for the Physio, I’ve known a few old school who don’t use them.

Pull the Vet records, if those are acceptable do a 5 stage and then be guided by the Vet if they think anything extra is warranted.
 
ihatework you are probably right but without boring you, of the last two horses we bought the ridden horse who passed a 5* vetting only to develop a problem a few months later that my vet said must have been there when we purchased her and a youngster that I didn't have xrayed but has since had to be operated on for an inheritable condition that when my daughter contacted the breeder refused to speak to her !!!! you will understand why I am being over cautious . If you put the money to one side it is the heartbreak and anguish you go through with them needless to say we still have both of them !!!! I realise nothing is problem free but I really can't have another field ornament .
We have decided to wait to see what comes back about the vet history and then get a 5 * vetting with provisio's along the way to what we do and don't have done .
 
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Thornsett1 said:
ihatework you are probably right but without boring you, of the last two horses we bought the ridden horse who passed a 5* vetting only to develop a problem a few months later that my vet said must have been there when we purchased her and a youngster that I didn't have xrayed but has since had to be operated on for an inheritable condition that when my daughter contacted the breeder refused to speak to her !!!! you will understand why I am being over cautious . If you put the money to one side it is the heartbreak and anguish you go through with them needless to say we still have both of them !!!! I realise nothing is problem free but I really can't have another field ornament .
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I do get that, honestly. Been there, done that.
But I think over interpreting what a sellers motives might be is a bit daft.
If you are an over cautious buyer and risk averse then just X-ray routinely irrespective of purchase price and/or insure LOU if under threshold.

I have just been on an infuriating 10 month buying process, with 6 failures of which 4 were clear cut and 2 were boarderline that we withdrew from for different reasons so I do understand. But to not even Vet because a seller ‘might’ have priced to avoid X-rays and hasn’t used a physio are a bit extreme in my view. But equally it’s your money and you aren’t obliged to! It might be just a strong gut feel that the horse is wrong that you can’t put a finger in, in which case the gut is best listened to
 
The way I see it. Go with your gut instinct. If I liked it but something making you think get the x rays I would get them done. Better to know now than have that niggle in the back of your head and go ahead with the sale.
 
The fact that the competition record shows no gaps is a positive sign. I assume these are affiliated records that you can verify and not just something that you have been told.

There is nothing stopping you asking for x-rays at a vetting irrespective of the value of the horse. I think it is becoming more common to ask to see vet history.
 
I do get that, honestly. Been there, done that.
But I think over interpreting what a sellers motives might be is a bit daft.
If you are an over cautious buyer and risk averse then just X-ray routinely irrespective of purchase price and/or insure LOU if under threshold.

I have just been on an infuriating 10 month buying process, with 6 failures of which 4 were clear cut and 2 were boarderline that we withdrew from for different reasons so I do understand. But to not even Vet because a seller ‘might’ have priced to avoid X-rays and hasn’t used a physio are a bit extreme in my view. But equally it’s your money and you aren’t obliged to! It might be just a strong gut feel that the horse is wrong that you can’t put a finger in, in which case the gut is best listened to

No you are right I would not have thought about it had my friend not mentioned the price ( and xrays) but the niggle is it coming through in canter which is what prompted the vet history request . If it is clear as she said we will go and try it again which is what our trainer has suggested to see if it any better as her comment was the same as mine . I hope you don't mind me asking but did you vet all of those 6 failures and were the sellers abit iffy about you withdrawing I have had that in the past .
 
Thornsett1 said:
I do get that, honestly. Been there, done that.
But I think over interpreting what a sellers motives might be is a bit daft.
If you are an over cautious buyer and risk averse then just X-ray routinely irrespective of purchase price and/or insure LOU if under threshold.

I have just been on an infuriating 10 month buying process, with 6 failures of which 4 were clear cut and 2 were boarderline that we withdrew from for different reasons so I do understand. But to not even Vet because a seller ‘might’ have priced to avoid X-rays and hasn’t used a physio are a bit extreme in my view. But equally it’s your money and you aren’t obliged to! It might be just a strong gut feel that the horse is wrong that you can’t put a finger in, in which case the gut is best listened to

No you are right I would not have thought about it had my friend not mentioned the price ( and xrays) but the niggle is it coming through in canter which is what prompted the vet history request . If it is clear as she said we will go and try it again which is what our trainer has suggested to see if it any better as her comment was the same as mine . I hope you don't mind me asking but did you vet all of those 6 failures and were the sellers abit iffy about you withdrawing I have had that in the past .
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Yes we vetted all 6.
2 were flexion fails and the owners were fine.
1 passed the 5 stage but had horrific X-rays. Owners were fine.

1 was 1/10th on a circle behind and sore over back. Vet said suspected hind suspensory. Owners thought it just needed Physio. We stopped vetting at 2 stage. Owners had Physio done and agreed to pay for revetting. Vet called us said horse much better but advised scanning suspensories before xraying. Suspensories shot to bits. The sellers were a bit miffed, but I think genuinely hadn’t seen it coming

1 passed clinical vetting but our vet had a bad gut feel. We pulled it’s history and it had a lameness investigation 6 months earlier with suspected tendon issue, that was undeclared by seller when we asked. We walked.

1 flew through clinical vetting. The Irish Vet declared the X-rays fine. Our vets had a question mark on the hocks, which could have just been normal variation but they advised it could be an insurance issue. Insurers had a look and wanted to exclude hocks and stifles. It was an extremely expensive (we had stretched the budget) unproven 5yo. If it hadn’t worked out it would only devalue in UK and the USA wouldn’t have liked the X-rays. So we regretfully walked. The agent was very peed off.
 
Thats interesting if we go ahead it will the suspensories that will be what I will asking the vet to pay particular attention to my own experience is that sore backs and only very slightly lame is often how PSD presents and to be fair to the owner they may not be aware . I am honed it on it as I have had one and it passed a vetting and there is no way back from it to be honest particularly if it is chronic and not acute .
 
Thornsett1 said:
Thats interesting if we go ahead it will the suspensories that will be what I will asking the vet to pay particular attention to my own experience is that sore backs and only very slightly lame is often how PSD presents and to be fair to the owner they may not be aware . I am honed it on it as I have had one and it passed a vetting and there is no way back from it to be honest particularly if it is chronic and not acute .
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I’m with you on that and if buying dressage orientated (which looking at your posts seems to be the case), I’d routinely scan for PSD and xray hocks. I did for the last dressage one I bought.
 
Why would you buy something that is already sore? What was the sellers response to knowing that the horse was sore -i.e were they going to rest it or ignore the problem? That might indicate how well they're looked after the horse up to now.
I certainly wouldn't spend any money I couldn't afford to lose inbuying a horse who already had physical issues evident on trial
 
Thornsett1 said:
Yes we are !!! Ihatework you got one then eventually gives me hope !!!!
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We bought one this weekend! Was a quick sale and we were head to head with another buyer, took a punt and didn’t Vet to get the horse, but it had a clean set of X-rays (viewed by a Vet we know), and it was half our budget
 
Ihatework Haha that would be me caution to the wind !!!! glad you got it and I'm sure it will be fine . xx
SusieT We didn't comment I just asked the owner if she used a physio it is not for me tell her there is something wrong with her horse I hear what you are saying but past experience tells me to steer clear I am not a vet .
 
Update !!! went back and tried said horse whilst waiting for vet history owner was delayed but said to crack on if we were ok with that , well had a lucky escape horse did not like you putting your legs on and went into rodeo mode good job the jockey has very good stickability nedless to say we will not be purchasing said horse .
 
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