Would you a buy a horse that weaves?

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LMR

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As title pretty much.. have seen a horse advertised that looks exactly what im looking for, however it does say she occassionally weaves and the price is very low for a horse that looks this talented. what do u think?
 
depends when they weave and why? some horses will only do it at times of stress, e.g: feeding time, friends being taken out to grazing etc. My horse box walks when stressed but doesnt do it when she is calm e.g in day to day routine it is rarely seen but when she is kept in to go to a competition in morning she can box walk or if all other horses are out and shes in early. If you find out when they do these things you can sometimes manage them. If i keep my horse busy or move her around e.g take her to another part of yard to get ready for a show she wont do it so much, seems more just in her stable.

in answer to your post i would do my homework before buying the horse and get a full 5 stage vetting, it wouldnt necessarily put me off but some yards dont let you keep horses with vices near other horses as people sometimes complain.

hope that was some use :)
 
Weaving can put extra strain on the forelegs with the transfer of weight from side to side and so I would take that into account. Much might depend on how often the horse does it and for how long so factor these in and a careful look at the forelegs if you are having a vetting done. Good luck.
 
I think much would depend upon the facilities you have available to keep it. As mentioned above, some livery yards don't like taking on horses with stable vices such as weaving, cribbing etc. Weavers are usually better when turned out as much as possible and with access to ad lib forage - so if you are able to provide this then it could be a good bet, subject to vetting as mentioned by the other posters.
 
depends on the severity of the habit.

I bought a very undernourished but potentially lovely horse from a dealer, got him home, put him in the box, and watched with horror as he weaved like crazy! Tried a weave bar but he just rubbed his face raw on it, so moved him into the small internal block we have on the yard, 4 stables with half walls, the freedom and being able to see the other horses really chilled him out and he stopped all together. I sold him on to a family with a similar set up and he's been fine ever since :)

It could be a way to buy a very lovely horse for a less lovely price so I would consider all pitfalls and pros if you really like it to ride/handle etc
 
Mine weaves and in nearly 5 years has had no soundness issues whatsoever and he's 15 now, he has no weight problems either. I wouldn't discount a horse just because it weaves unless you intend to sell it on because as you can see some people wont touch a weaver. I would try the horse, if you like it get it vetted and go from there, ask as many questions about the weaving as you want, if the people selling are honest enough to declare it then they wont mind you asking about it. Mine only weaves when he's stressed and only when he thinks people are looking
 
depends how much and how often she weaves really.

one of my horses weaves when stressed/excited i.e. at feeding time, when my other horses get turned out/taken away from him and also on mornings of competing when he knows he is going somewhere and is excited!

but he has never had any problems with it, and i wouldnt have a problem buying another weaver to be honest - we also have a cribber!! vices don't bother me really :) only thing i would check is if you are planning on keeping her at a livery yard, check with the YO it is ok - some don't like weavers on they're yards x
 
wouldn't overly bother me unless it did it for literally 24 hours a day. grey in my siggy was bought as 'weaved occasionally' and thats exactly what he did. he did it a fair bit when i first bought him (in the first couple of weeks) and then would only do it if REALLY stressed and at feed times. he never did it at camp or when staying away for competitions. one thing with him though was that he was quite clingy wih other horses- he would weave badly on the box if you took another horse away from him which was a pain in the butt. however, if you went out alone he was fine and didn't do anything- so maybe just check what new horse is like with other horses... :)
 
Wouldn't put me off if I tried her and everything else was right. Like others have said, would definitely have a vetting and pay attention to front legs.

Only problem could be, as some people have alluded to, that if you are on a shared yard some other owners don't like it near their horses. If you've got your own setup then it won't be a problem but I know lots of people who don't want their horses stabled with weavers/cribbers.

Also, as people have said, it depends how much she does it etc. I'd say definitely worth a look, see how you feel, find out the extent of the problem, get the vet and see what happens. I'd never write a horse off just because the ad said it weaved.
 
2/4 of mine weave.

We knew before we bought them and didnt consider it a factor on which we shouldn't buy them.

We did try to stop mini pony by shoving a pole of wood in the middle of her stable door which did reduce the amount she did it she now only does it when its dinner time!
 
Thanks for the response! I think i will go down and see the horse and find out as much information as I can! Then go from there.. think i might start weaving with the stress of finding a new horse!
 
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