Would a horse that breathes heavy pass a vetting ...

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opinionuk

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I've been to see a horse I would like to buy, reduced due to the fact it breathes heavy in trot and canter. The lady who owns it has spoken to a vet who said there was no reason he wouldn't pass it as it doesn't bother the horse, also a professional event rider who rode it said the same thing.

Has anybody had an experience where a horse with heavy breathing has passed the vetting ..

The horse is a competition horse who has BD points and novice eventer, hunted, team chased SJ etc etc I only want it for BE 90 but not convinced it would be classed as sound ...

Anybody had a similar experience?
 
It might. Just not be competition fit , if the horse is for you , get it vetted my horse sighs relief when he knows he going home from a hack , and at times hums , it seems never bothers him or me you can allways ring the vet for general advice on this , but if he's the one get him vetted good luck
 
It depends what you mean by "breathes heavy". If you mean RAO/COPD with raised breaths per minute and crackling lung sounds, possibly a heaves line, then walk away. If you mean a roarer, then you could be facing bills for surgery in the future and if you bought the horse like it you'd never get insurance. If you mean just a quirk then I'd start by counting his breaths per minute at complete rest in the stable. A healthy horse should be between 8 and 12 (one in breath and one out breath = 1 breath). If the horse you're interested in is outside those limits then you need more information. I'd be interested in asking the owner if you can speak to her vet who apparently told her the horse was sound and would pass any vetting. If you still intend to proceed, please please get the horse vetted. There will be a reason why the horse is reduced!
 
Vet is coming out tomorrow to vet it so we shall see, if the vet advises its really bad I will walk away, if he says it doesn't affect her then I'll continue with the purchase :-) the lady has had her from age 6 she's now 13, she only put her through a 2 point vetting though when she brought her so she went through fine, she has given me permission to see all the horses medical records none were related to her breathing so fingers crossed!
 
I would agree with finding out exactly what the definition of 'breathing heavy' is! We have a horse who 'high blows' in trot and canter, particularly when excited, and I suppose it could be described as 'breathing heavy' as it is quite loud. But he passed a vetting and hunts and events with no problems at all. But it does sound ominous that the horse's price has been reduced because of it, so I does sound like something more dubious than just 'high blowing'.
 
the fact the horse passed a vetting 7yrs ago has nothing to do with now.

unless the owner had called the vet out about the horses breathing the vet would never have seen the horse in walk and trot so would not have seen the problem

also be aware more and more people are using one vet for routine stuff like vaccs and teeth and another for anything that may be of concern, this is done so nothing gets excluded from the insurance uneccersarily and so that when you tell a prospective purchaser that they can see all the veterinary history no alarms bells are rung

hopefully it will all be fine and horse will pass vetting
 
It probably would pass if it's whistling in canter - you will have to tell vet at what level you want to compete and they can advise.

I had a horse with this issue once so I paid for a scope and the laryngx was fine when stimulated and no paralysis - the vet's view was that it was not an issue. The horse passed no issues.
 
Shivvy said:
It probably would pass if it's whistling in canter - you will have to tell vet at what level you want to compete and they can advise.

I had a horse with this issue once so I paid for a scope and the laryngx was fine when stimulated and no paralysis - the vet's view was that it was not an issue. The horse passed no issues.
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Vet is coming tomorrow at 12 so will know, you'd think if its been completing at prenovice / novice for the last 6 years with the noise surely something would have gone wrong by now..
 
The WB I have on loan is a 'high blower' too, for what the information is worth to you.

Fingers crossed for you, as it sounds like you really like the horse.
 
I have just had a horse 5 stage vetted for potential purchasers, turns out he has what vet described as a mild whistle, I can hear what could be described as heavy breathing when cantering, it dosent affect the horse in the slightest and the vet advised purchasers he would be fine, they only wanted him for hacking/allrounder. They then spoke to their own vet about it who advised not to buy as it could get worse as the horse gets older, hes only 5, but their is no way of telling so they decided they wernt going to take the risk and didnt buy.
 
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