Viewing: love the horse but has lumps & bumps! WWYD?

I agree with the above. Old splint would not bother me, we bought a three year old with two huge splints below the knee never any issue. The nodule get checked out by the vet. If you like her and the vet is happy go for it! Your friend does not sound too knowledgeable to me!
 
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I'd go ahead and have it vetted. If a professional feels that it will do the job with the splint then go for it. You can't help it when you feel like you've found the one. In these circumstances I would be willing to lose the vetting fee and have done before. I did promise myself that I would walk away if the vet advised it and I did.
 
Like so many have already said, an old cold splint wouldn't bother me and I'd take the advice of my vet regarding the knee. Safe horses are like gold dust and command a premium and any horse you buy can go lame the very next day after you've bought them. TBH I'm always amazed at how little people pay for a horse, I always seem to pay a lot more but have never had a "problem" horse I couldn't sell.
 
See what the vet says and then decide...I bought my horse with windgalls and a small splint when he was 9 yrs old, he's now 18 and I've done loads on him from xc to pleasure rides, he's a darling and I'm so glad I found him....so wait see and decide...
 
I'm in Cornwall so not very far away from you and for this end of the country she is very over priced. I bought a 14 year old happy hacker with a splint last year for 2,500 but I thought what price safety, however there is no way I would have paid more. Get your vet to take a look by all means and see how you get on. I know you have been looking for a long time but try to keep a clear head. I wish you all the best.
 
3300 is not a lot of money for a safe competitive pony club pony - but if you are not looking for this sort of pony but only requiring a safe hacking horse then you may be able to get this for less money and with clean legs.

How long have her current owners had her and did she have the nodule on her leg when they bought her? If the nodule occurred whilst she was under their ownership have they had a vet look at it?

I think you need to get advice from the vet on this and if you intend to insure an insurance company - eg would they exclude the leg even if the vet says the horse is sound and the nodule will not cause an issue in the future.
 
Bertie_Boo said:
I'm in Cornwall so not very far away from you and for this end of the country she is very over priced. I bought a 14 year old happy hacker with a splint last year for 2,500 but I thought what price safety, however there is no way I would have paid more. Get your vet to take a look by all means and see how you get on. I know you have been looking for a long time but try to keep a clear head. I wish you all the best.
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I am in Somerset also not far from the OP and the price is reasonable for this area, they are very hard to find around here and very easy to sell, I sold a slightly quirky 14.2 earlier this year without needing to advertise, when he was purchased 3 years ago his owner struggled to find anything that was safe in traffic and would hack out alone her only real criteria so the slight quirks were overlooked and she was happy to pay over £3k.
Prices do vary from area to area but it is difficult to find a genuinely safe hack at any price the ads may describe them as being safe and sound but so often in reality they are far from accurately described.
 
I bought a 6 year old green horse last year for just a little less than you are gonna pay so i think it's a good deal really. Your choice if you are bothered by the splint or not really but as long as a vet says it's fine then I think you will be ok.
 
If you love her and feel that bond, then I'd say go for it - a horse that makes you feel safe and at one is worth whatever you can realistically pay for it, so if you have the £3.3k then buy and enjoy. You're not wanting to show, from what I can gather, so it it doesn't affect the performance you want and need why would you not? If a vetting makes you happier then go for it. I paid full asking price for my new lad. Could maybe have haggled, though I doubt she would have shifted and to me he was worth it.
 
For what she's done I think she's a very reasonable price good safe sane PC ponies that have done what she has at that age would easily fetch double that in this area!! Get a vetting if the leg is week will show up on flexions Trot on a small circle tbh if she's done all that and not had any problems I wouldn't be worried at all.
 
If vet says blemishes are cosmetic then I think the price sounds very fair for the type and age of the horse. Not surprised seller won't take off more than £50 for saddle - generally saddles sold with horse (unless particular issues with fit) tend to not have a massive separate resale value. If you like the horse and it gets clean I would pay the asking price and not risk losing it.
 
Interested to here what people think is expensive? Do any of you know how much it would cost to produce a nice all rounder which is safe and easy to do in all ways, with competition experience and then moan if its over a few hundred quid! Dont think the price is silly at all.

Anyways, op I would get it vetted and have a good discussion with your vet to see if it would do the job you want.
If its safe and ready to go then it could work out cheaper than £1500 project you need to fight on with!
 
dominobrown said:
Interested to here what people think is expensive? Do any of you know how much it would cost to produce a nice all rounder which is safe and easy to do in all ways, with competition experience and then moan if its over a few hundred quid! Dont think the price is silly at all.

Anyways, op I would get it vetted and have a good discussion with your vet to see if it would do the job you want.
If its safe and ready to go then it could work out cheaper than £1500 project you need to fight on with!
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Yes, but generally if I'm looking to spend that kind of money I want a horse with clean legs! I bought exactly the same thing a few years ago and paid the same price - but the horse was totally clean. Splints may not be much of an issue but lumps on the knee would put me off.
 
Mince Pie said:
Yes, but generally if I'm looking to spend that kind of money I want a horse with clean legs! I bought exactly the same thing a few years ago and paid the same price - but the horse was totally clean. Splints may not be much of an issue but lumps on the knee would put me off.
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Tend to agree, it takes a £1000 off, and still needs to pass 5 stage vetting plus x ray of legs, you could deduct price of same and deduct from price, still purchase subject to vetting pass.
You can't show him for a start.
 
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gnubee said:
If vet says blemishes are cosmetic then I think the price sounds very fair for the type and age of the horse. Not surprised seller won't take off more than £50 for saddle - generally saddles sold with horse (unless particular issues with fit) tend to not have a massive separate resale value. If you like the horse and it gets clean I would pay the asking price and not risk losing it.
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I agree.

If you consider what it would cost to breed and produce such a horse, an asking price of £3,300 already takes account of the blemishes. I know horse prices don't work like that, but that's why it's so hard to find decent horses to buy...
 
If you love it, don't let a couple of blemishes stop you! I agree with those who point out how much time and effort is involved in producing a good horse. As long as the vet is confident re. soundness, and by that I mean the whole horse, than jump in, if it makes your heart sing. : )
 
If the horse was otherwise perfect for what I needed (I don't show so cosmetics aren't important to me) I would get the horse vetted, asking the vet to thoroughly check both the splint and the nodule. The horse is a tad overpriced but if you love her, you love her.
 
ozpoz said:
If you love it, don't let a couple of blemishes stop you! I agree with those who point out how much time and effort is involved in producing a good horse. As long as the vet is confident re. soundness, and by that I mean the whole horse, than jump in, if it makes your heart sing. : )
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It's nothing to do with the training of the horse, if it was blemish free I'd say it was well priced, even a tad cheap. But it's not and nodules on the knee could shorten the horse's working life, and simply by asking the vet to check the leg it will more than likely to be an insurance exclusion. £3.3k is a bit much for a 'punt' and how many times have you seen a post on here say "walk away, there are other horses without xyz issue, why buy trouble?"?
 
Any half decent vet would note the lump on the knee on the vetting notes whether you specifically ask them to check it out or not.

Any horse is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it so if you are really happy with this horse and the vet is not concerned about the knee then I would say pay the money and have many happy years.

I tend to think that if a horse has got to 12 with no lameness issues then there is a good chance that it will stay problem free whilst a young hirse that hasn't really done much but has clean legs could easily present with a problem when the work increases.
 
eggs said:
Any half decent vet would note the lump on the knee on the vetting notes whether you specifically ask them to check it out or not.
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Well, yes, but I mean a specific, in depth look rather than "lump on knee but horse looks sound" just from feel/look. Also, the horse has done "a helluva lot" so not only has a lumpy leg but sounds quite high mileage too.
 
I don't think that's a big price at all for what the mare is. You say she's a happy hacker, and maybe that's what she'll be to you but it sounds like she's a bit more from her experience team chasing etc.

A sane and sensible little horse like that who can hunt, hunter trial etc is worth every penny. My question would be, is she sane and sensible. Have you hacked her alone yourself, or closely questioned the loaner? Have you jumped her and given her a good try.

I think it's funny how people get hung up like this on prices. She is not a big price, if she's your dream horse then I wouldn't be missing out on her over £500. You're only going to have one horse, what's right for you won't be the same as your experienced horsey friend. The splint isn't an issue if it's a normal splint and away from a joint. The vet will quickly tell if the lump on the knee is just cosmetic.

By all means haggle with the seller but prepare to pay full price if you want her. I sell horses for others as an agent and I usually tell buyers there is no negotiation because I've already made the price as low as possible. And I find, the nice decent people take that on board and happily pay the full price. The prices are fair for the quality horses they're getting. And I sometimes wonder what is up with the hagglers - you wouldn't go into a supermarket and demand an item at a lower price and it's the same with horses.

If you want her tell the seller you'll take her subject to the vetting. Ask would she take £2,800. When she says no, tell her you'll give £3,000 cash. Personally I wouldn't bother with the haggling though, she's liable to refuse and you may then feel silly having to pay the full amount. It's not a big amount for a horse of a lifetime after all.
 
Splint wouldn't bother me. Bill had one on inside of front cannon bone as a 4 year old and it disappeared a few years ago. He's clean legged now - apart from a windgall type thing just behind knee on outside. No idea what it is, never caused any issues so it's not a concern.

Tbh you'd probably pay 3.5 for an alrounder without tack, if it does what it says. They are very much in demand, especially as a 14h perfect for pony club!
 
I paid 3250 for my lad and he is worth every penny..despite some people giving me 'the look' as though I paid too much, everything else I was looking at was above that price and they all had issues , his was the splint and the windgalls so it was a happy compromise...imo..good luck, you'll know in your gut if it's right..
 
It really annoys me when people wont pay for decent horses- do they ever think what they cost to breed? I think the cost of a well bred well kept 4 yr old woiuld be pushing 4k unbroken. Then theres the breaking and schooling, itd be £10- £20 an hour.........getting miles on the clock costs money.... and people expect the finished product for 2k. Get real, people.
 
If she's sound and working I'd be inclined to pay the asking price, my last mare was priceless to me and I wouldn't have sold her for a million pounds.
Check with the vet, but don't lose out on your perfect horse because of a blemish.
 
stormox said:
It really annoys me when people wont pay for decent horses- do they ever think what they cost to breed? I think the cost of a well bred well kept 4 yr old woiuld be pushing 4k unbroken. Then theres the breaking and schooling, itd be £10- £20 an hour.........getting miles on the clock costs money.... and people expect the finished product for 2k. Get real, people.
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It's nothing to do with the upbringing and schooling, but the fact the horse has what sounds like 2 splints on the same leg. That is what is ringing alarm bells for me. Hell I paid £2.5k for a 5 year old ride and drive cob! Yes the dealer was a proper Gypsy rather than a traveller so the horse had some level of care, but still...
 
I wouldn't buy the horse personally, but I can see why you're torn.

As lots of others have said, the splint isn't necessarily the problem, but the knee should be checked out.

The asking price is what it is. If you're willing to potentially write that amount off and move on to the next one should the horse not be fit for purpose, that's fine. If you can't afford to lose the money should it come to that, then maybe the risk isn't worth taking.

That's something only you will know, OP. Good luck!
 
I had a pony who was everything I wanted vetted a 8 years ago which turned out to have damage to one eye, slight unsoundness, 3 sarcoids, one sarcoid surgery scar (very thorough vet!). He failed on these points obviously and I didn't buy him.
I saw him advertised last week for sale by coincidence - according to the ad never been lame a day, still going strong and in perfect health apparently.
I don't regret not buying him for a second - I found another horse who was also everything I wanted, has also never been lame a day in 8 years, no lumps and bumps and cost the same amount, and I still have him.
There's thousands of horses out there, if you're unsure I'd always walk away.
 
I think it's a fair price. Splint wouldn't worry me and I'd just get vet to check out nodule on knee....make sure it's an experienced horse vet not someone who will panic at the slightest bump!! You've only got to look at some of the horses competing in the Olympics to see some interesting leg conformation....hasn't stopped them!!
 
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