Would you buy a horse that had had a tie back/hobday?

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FrecklesMum

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It looks like my young eventer may have to have a tie back as he makes a noise when under pressure, ie fast work, etc. Now I am am not unduly worried by this - he is insured and he is a big horse (17.2 and rising!) and the need for a tie back is fairly common in the bigger horses.

However, I was just crusing round horsequest having a nose (as you do!) and was very suprised to see 2 good horses up for sale cheaply - 1 because it makes a noise and hence needs a tie back and 1 becuase it has had a tie back.

As I said above, a tie back does not bother me but seems to greatly affect the re-sale value - so would you buy a horse that had had a tie back?!
 
Laryngeal paralysis is actually a progressive problem which is probably why getting it sorted (hence admitting to the problem) would mightly effect the resale cost.
Also tying one side of the larynx back permanently opens the trachea (not fully, but sufficiently) which increases the risk of infection, aspiration pneumonia etc (although these are small risks, its the increased risk that often makes people drop the price/contemplate whether the horse is worth buying (esp if priced highly)

I personally wouldnt buy one, but that is just me, and it may also depend on what I wanted to do with the horse.
 
I think it depends if the operation works. If it works and the horse then sounds fine I would not worry at all. However, if a horse was known to have a wind operation & still made a noise like a steam train & I would steer clear.

It also depends entirely what career is planned, a Riding Club type wouldnt bother me but a horse hoped to go Intermediate or beyond eventing would put me off.

Our horse (Top Class Eventer) has had a wind operation & its isnt stopping him much although he is yet to do a 4* in testing conditions.
 
if the operation had been successful and myself and my vet could speak to the vet who operated then yes i would buy.

however i wouldn't buy a horse which needed a wind operation, only one where you can see if it has made a difference.
 
Before I went to uni I would have said no.

However I think I was just uneducated....one of the horses at uni had had this op and is marked loss of use. But he is more than suitable for the work he has to perform so if this was the case I would say yes and would expect it ot be reflected in the price.
 
I would not buy one that needed the op as you do not know how successfull it will be.

But if it had had the op, and there was now no noise and I could speak to the original vet - then it would not put me off at all. I look at it that its failry common in big horses.
 
in a horse wanted for eventing beyond novice level, or a SJ'er to jump 1.40m + -no i wouldnt.

but i have bought two horses with wind problems for dressage and for that it doesnt bother me.
one was a big (17.3hh) warmblood who made a slightly thick wind noise if cantered for a long time.he never struggled with his breathing and never appeared stressed.scoping revealed mild-medium larangeal paralysis (sp??), but we opted not have the op as it was mild and didnt affect him (horse was 5 and working at medium when we bought him so in decent work and had not been affected by it).

the other is my current TB who has been hobday'd(had been done when i bought him). he no longer makes a noise and again he is only doing dressage so no issue for me at all.

now the horse i DID turn down due to a wind issue made a really thick piggy grunty gaspy noise even in trot and had already had one op which had improved it(!), but vet was saying he may possibly need another in the future-that was too much of a risk even for dressage.
 
i dont think it can be cut and dried as it may seem! i think the op itself is as successful as the vet doin it, and that said its not successful in all horses ne way, but helps having the top vet.

I have a horse hoping to event and for that reason he had a tieback and hobday, very successfully and has no issues at all, thats unfortunatly not the case in all of them!! My vet concludes the op as performance enhancement, as 90% of horses needing wind ops but not having it can do some job ie slow hacking ect ect!! For them to perform to the fullest they need the wind op esp for fast work imho!!!

I wouldnt buy a horse needing one but i would buy one saying 'successful tie back and currently competing at suchnsuch level' Alot of horses over 16'2/3 may need this op at some point in the future and you would be surprised at how many people have horses with this condition in the wind and have no idea they have an issue!!!!
 
Ok also just re read the title.
A hobday is different to a tie back.

The tie back is where the arytenoid cartilage is basically "tied back" out of the way of the entrance to the trachea.

A hobday is where the laryngeal saccule and vocal cords are removed. this does not actually sort out or stop the wind problem, it just stops the noise that is made!

often a tie back is accompanied with a hobday so the noise does not reoccur.

don't know, still not sure, Id prob be ok for a fun allrounder horse not doing much strenuous stuff, but if I wanted an eventer/high standard dressage/high standard show horse, nope nope nope!
 
My tb had from what my vet can see - and I quote ' ooh Ive never seen one ike this before
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' My horse had his done in the states and basically removed and tied back anything and everything they could - poor chap. He is absolutely fine though - never suffers as a result of the op. He is best kept in hard regular work to keep his respiratory system as toned up as it can be,he can't neigh though he just kind of squeaks
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and I can't feed him anything like sugar beet,pencils,bailyes no 1,carrots/apples etc as they just go straight onto his lungs and cause a coughing fit or in worse case a lung infection. He has this excluded from his insurance but the rest of his respiratory system is still covered . It wouldn't stop me buying another that had an op but I personally wouldn't go for something that needed the op as youcan't be too sure how it willturn out
 
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