worth having a horse vetted?

[randlbennett]

Do you think its worth having a horse vetted? or just a waste of money?

 

[MerryMaker]

DEFINATELY worth it if you are buying the horse to "do a job". If it's just going to be a companion, or a light hack, no point. But some insurance companys won't insure for the full amount if the horse has not been vetted.

 

[HenryandPeta]

I would never buy without a vetting! ALWAYS worth it.

 

[Lou23]

I got caught out on a pony who was sold for £1200 and i didn't get vetted, turned out she was intermittantly lame and was diagnosed with sidebones after and i ended up giving her away.
I would always get a horse vetted, we looked at a pony who was £3000 and he failed the vetting twice.

On the good side if who have them vetted and something shows up you can sometimes haggle on the price too, if its not too bad.

 

[Cruiseonamiro]

Absolutely! Unless you know of a problem the horse has and know it won't pass a vetting. For competition i'd even pay outfor a five stage. MUCH cheaper than if the horse brakes down with navicular or something similar three weeks down the line. Broken horse. Most insures wont insure without a vets certificate, empty pocket, and nothing new to ride.

 

[pinktiger]

another one for DEFFO YES, esp if you have a competitive career in mind for your horse!!!!

 

[Fiorano]

I agree with MerryMaker, if your looking for a horse to do something in particular then have a vetting. However, I had my warmblood X vetted and he passed with flying colours only to have kissing spine so even a 5 stage vetting can't spot everything.

 

[HenryandPeta]

Just as an FYI though - Henry had a 5 star done when I bought him, but I've recently changed my insurance company and they wanted a recent 5 star certificate before they would ensure him for the price I wanted - understandable as the one I had originally is now 4 years old and despite having never claimed through my previous insurance, the new insurance didn't deem it valid. It IS expensive, but worth it in the long run for peace of mind and financial security!

 

[Kate260881]

I'm very dubious as I know so many vettings miss things. I did not vet my girl when I got her and can still insure her. I am planning on getting a full vetting down the line before she starts competing.

I can totally understand those on both sides of the fence and I think its personal preference, just if you decide not to you have to accept that if something may appear at a later date that you could have had warning about.

 

[lochpearl]

[ QUOTE ]
Absolutely! Unless you know of a problem the horse has and know it won't pass a vetting. For competition i'd even pay outfor a five stage. MUCH cheaper than if the horse brakes down with navicular or something similar three weeks down the line. Broken horse. Most insures wont insure without a vets certificate, empty pocket, and nothing new to ride.

[/ QUOTE ]

I see where you are coming from however I had a horse that passed a 5 stage vetting and it was then found out a week later that it did have navicular as it had gone lame - it was not buted and the bloods were clear but the symptoms weren't there in the vetting, plus 5 stage doesn't include x-rays so you would never know anything that is wrong that isn't visible to the eye.

 

[fjudge]

Have never bought a horse that hasnt been vetted. Just personal choice though!

 

[hellspells]

YES YES YES, everytime. And to be honest I generally want x-rays aswell. Found horse for a friend flew through vetting no probs at all, x-rays showed a Bl@@dy great bone chip in hos chofffin joint.

I worked as a vet nurse long enough to pick up the pieces of people who didn't have them done. Having said that the vet can only comment on what the see on that day.

 

[Kenzo]

Yes I also would also recommend that you have your local EDT to take a look in the horses mouth too.

Many insurance companies will not cover a horse for more than £2500.00 without a recent vetinary certificate anyway, so you may need to have it done anyway, plus at least you might save yourself some heartache and vast expense!

Some people don't bother to having untouched youngsters vetted, but then it is a good idea to do so when they reach maturity to make sure they are equipped with all the right bits and peices for their future career.

Don't be fooled by oh he's just not fit....which sometimes is cheeky cover up for a horse with wind problems, also a good vet will talk to you about the horses confirmation let alone all the other checks they do to determine if they horse will be up to scratch when the time comes.

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you think its worth having a horse vetted? or just a waste of money?

[/ QUOTE ]
Worth every single penny.

 

[Cruiseonamiro]

Basically it depends on horse's value re. insurers asking for certificates. Many horse owners will now have x-rays done too.

 

[saskia295]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you think its worth having a horse vetted? or just a waste of money?

[/ QUOTE ]

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

It's never worth not having a hrose vetted. EVER.

 

[Jingleballs]

I would always get a horse vetted unless I knew the horse really well and saw that it had no issues.

My insurance company won't insure a horse without a vetting certificate.

 

[Dressagebabe]

Its really important to insist on x-rays as these show the more severe problems that can either lame your horse for life or what could go wrong if for example the feet are not re-shaped! 5 stage Vettings only cost between £170- £250 depending on amount of x-ray plates used. When the seller advertises their horse they are usually prepared to drop by around £500 on their asking price so if this is the case then you have nothing to loose!

 

[Booboos]

I think you need to be clear on what the vetting is:
the vetting is not a guarrantee that the horse is or will be fine. It's a check on the day, for specific things and with a specific use in mind. Most likely than not you will need to take a view on certain things uncovered by the vettingas almost no horse has a completely clear vetting. Having said that, unless you are spending very little money on the horse AND have the facilities to retire him if he has major problems, I would always get a horse vetted.

 

[pennyh]

even if its a cheap horse i would have it vetted , may well save you paying out more than the purchase fee in vets bills when things go wrong

 

[KatB]

Vettings can miss alot. I would recommend getting a vetting done and then Xrays on feet/hocks and fetlocks all round if you were buying a comprtition horse. If just a pleasure horse, a 5 stage should be fine. Alot depends on value, and what you want it for. I insured mine as an evented without a problem without a vetting cert, as I had owned the horse for over a year before he was insured.

 

[SO1]

Also suggest you get the farrier to have a look at the hooves as they say no foot no horse!

 

[eriskaypony]

We have eevrything vetted, and use only 1 of 2 specialist horse vets who we know and trust and pay their travel. Both of whom vet the horse and are experienced riders so ride it as well.

 

[Gooby]

YES YES YES definatly get one! I found a horse and fell in love with him! He used to hunt and was always raring to go and didn't seem to get tired. During his vetting the vet found a grade 3 heart murmour, we had it scanned which showed that it was progressive and he was only 8. Future vet bills would have been through the roof (I know I have a dog with the same

) and as Im a student I just couldn't afford to take on the risk

 

[ladyt25]

I think would depend on the value for me now as I think i trust myself to be able to see any obvious confomational defects or lumps and bumps that shouldn't be there and also am able to verify the age by the teeth pretty well. BUT I am talking here if a young or v old horse under say £1000. Anything more than that then yes I would have it vetted. as I don't have money to throw around. I would rather be £200 odd quid out of pocket than a few thousand when the horse turns out to be knackered (and me being me it'd just end up as an expensive field ornament)!

Having said that, we all know any horse can have underlying problems that are not necessarily visible at a vetting but that's the risk you take being involved with buying any animal. I think we've always had bloods taken at recent vettings too just incase the horse's behaviour did happen to radically change within the first week or so so we can get the bloods tested against the ones taken at the vetting - not had to use this yet though!

 

[LankyDoodle]

I think it's ALWAYS worth it. Don't forget you can get different levels of vetting so if you're using a horse for a specific job then you might go for the 5 stage, for example. Even if I was buying a horse as a companion or light hack I would still have it vetted because firstly I'd like to know what position the horse is in medically, and secondly, particularly if it's going to be a light hack, I'd like issues flagged up to me, especially if they are going to cost me significant amounts of money and have implications for my insurance policy.

 

[1275gta]

Have never had a horse vetted and never had a problem.

 

[Apalacia01]

Mine was vetted. No x-rays, which may have shown up her hock spavin. But...because she was insured at least the surgery (more than 5k) got pai d for.

I didn't think that you could get insurance (or at least good watertight insurance) without a vetting? I just never really thought about it!

 

[tigger30]

Yes
but saying that have bought two and had neither vetted, but as the last was a pony that had been on the yard for the last 7 ish years without an issue ( and was a very nice price) it seemed worth the risk.