Weaving

[suecross]

Hi bought a Event pony that weaves and has been lame on and off for the two months that we have had it!!!Now after thinking been treating for a abscess have got the sad news that has Navicular the people we bought from are adament it has never weaved but have tried him different stable yards and still does it!!!He even weaves in horse box!!!Feel robbed as paid a fortune for this pony for my daughter to Event...When I got him vetted they told me the pony had no vices!!!Have we got a case?As this pony will never Event again

 

[martlin]

Weaving shouldn't stop the pony eventing, navicular, however, might.

 

[nativetyponies]

Weaving shouldn't stop the pony eventing, navicular, however, might.

I concur

 

[Starbucks]

Weaving probably has nothing to do with it. If he does it excessively it would add to wear and tair on his legs, but you should have had him vetted.

 

[suecross]

The changes in his front feet are bad he is only 8 years!The weaving has coarsed the Navicular!!!Had MRI Xrays the works he is not Insured!!!Feel gutted as they did not tell me he weaved feel so stupid as he was vetted but they were holding in stable when we got there also should of sust something when saw a mirrow in the horse box

 

[martlin]

One of my horses has weaved for the whole of her 17 years - never had a lame day caused by it...

But, anyway, maybe a mirror is an answer to his weaving?

 

[nativetyponies]

The changes in his front feet are bad he is only 8 years!The weaving has coarsed the Navicular!!!Had MRI Xrays the works he is not Insured!!!Feel gutted as they did not tell me he weaved feel so stupid as he was vetted but they were holding in stable when we got there also should of sust something when saw a mirrow in the horse box

Technically, a horse/pony doesn't actually FAIL a vetting...

A Vet can only ADVISE if it's not fit for purpose...Buyer Beware

 

[suecross]

I thought you had to declare vices when you sell!He has five weeks box rest ahead of him then back to hospital,they have medicated both front feet.He is in a open plan yard so can see the other horses who dont weave have fot a grill but stans behind it weaving away!!!Not going to rest them feet at all by dancing in the stable not looking good...

 

[nativetyponies]

I thought you had to declare vices when you sell!.

yes you do....try small claims

 

[martlin]

I reckon you will have a tough case proving that the navicular has been caused by weaving.
You might try small claims court, though for the undeclared vice.
As to the health issues, you might have some chance claiming against the vet who vetted the pony, but that might be tricky, too.

 

[suecross]

Well will have to take it on the chin as old owners said sorry bad luck thank god we can replace this pony as looking that way!!!Will not get caught out again!!! laugh about it bought the pony off two doctors never again...

 

[Trinity Fox]

I dont think the weaving will be the cause of navicular you dont say if you are on your own yard, we have a chronic weaver however they usually start with activity on the yard. Turnout as much as possibe we let ours wander on the yard when we are there or mucking out doesnt bother other horses.

Even if they are doing it when you arrive it is usually beacuse they heard you coming you can tell by how sweaty they are.

They should have declared any vice before selling although stress of moving can be an issue how long have you had the horse.
If you had the horse vetted there could be an argument as to if the vet didnt detect anything how can you expect the owners to know.

 

[MrsMozart]

As advised, try the small claims court (depends on price paid for horse).

Dizzy can weave like a mad thing, hates being cooped up, so she lives out as much as possible. Doesn't weave in the field.

Weaving is a coping mechanism for a horse that has an issue with the situation it finds him/herself in. Therefore we have to figure out what the issue is and how to rectify it.

 

[EstherYoung]

I think you'll have a job on proving the weaving caused his navicular. At best you'll find an indirect effect.

One of ours (the grey in my sig) weaves like a booger. After weaning he spent the first seven years of his life stabled virtually 24/7 as a 'top show prospect' and weaved himself into a stupor. He now lives out 24/7 and only weaves when he wants attention. Now what I would say about the soundness of his front feet is that he does tend to collapse in his feet on the inside heel because he weaves. However, get his foot care right and he doesn't. If he has ended up with any minor foot problems (ie cracks), it's been down to him tending to have poorly balanced feet. OK those feet might have a tendency to go poorly balanced because of the weaving, but that does not mean the weaving directly caused any lameness - any connection is only indirect. It's taken a while to work out how to manage his feet but he currently has brilliant feet. And no lameness (touch wood). And yet he still weaves. So it was fixing the foot balance that solved the issue, not stopping the weaving.

My other arab also weaves (he had a similar 24/7 stabling experience aged 3-5). He's never had any weaving related soundness issues. He's been an advanced endurance horse with me, and although a little bit of arthritis is setting in now aged 24, it's on his hind legs. His weavy front legs are still fine.

Navicular symptoms are almost always caused by conformational factors (ie poor foot balance/conformation). It may be that any weaving has compounded the issue, but it won't be the direct cause of the issue. The horse could stop weaving tomorrow and yet still have the physical issue that is making it lame.

Also, navicular symptoms don't come on overnight. If it is navicular, it will have been brewing for a while. Have you x-rayed? Can you do a bit of stalking in the area the horse used to live and find out if it ever had soundness problems before?

You say the horse has weaved wherever you've put him. Did the horse weave when you went to see him? If not, you need to find out what you've changed in the management that has turned what may have been an occasional hobby weaver into a full blown neurotic Too much stabling, too much hard feed, fieldmates they don't get on with or not enough hay are all enough to send our weavers over the edge.

My gut feeling here is that the weaving is a bit of a red herring, although clearly you need to sort his head out and work out how best to manage him. The real issue is an underlying lameness problem which may or may not have been present before you bought him.

 

[millitiger]

How odd, Pilfer weaves and at 16yrs old has just finished his 10th season BE eventing and is totally sound...

weaving does not cause navicular but i would be going after the vendors for a refund for the lameness- did you have bloods done at the vetting?

 

[Spyda]

I'd be more worried about the navicular issue.

If you had him vetted and he's been lame for most of the two months you've owned him I'd be going down the pre-existing condition route. Navicular doesn't appear out of nowhere.

I'd look in his passport and try and contact the vet's who vaccinated him. Maybe they could shed some light on the horses past? If they'll give you that information, that is. Previous owners? Former yards he'd been kept at. I'd be trying to establish whether the horse was known to have lameness issues formerly.

 

[AmyMay]

weaving does not cause navicular but i would be going after the vendors for a refund for the lameness- did you have bloods done at the vetting?

This.

Get the bloods tested - I'm confident that you must have had a 5* vetting. Then go from there.

I struggle to understand why people don't insure. However, those fortunate enough not to worry financially perhaps don't need to.....

 

[L&M]

If you asked a direct question re vices eg 'does this horse weave' and they have answered 'no' then I think you do have a case, even if a private sale. If you are a gold BHS member you have access to a free legal helpline who will be able to advise furthet, or try your local CAB.....
Good luck