Would you buy a horse that swaps leads behind?

There's a really good video on the internet somewhere about how to tell if your horse has SI issues and I seem to remember constantly changing legs behind was one of the signs. It would be a no from me unless you can afford to take a risk with time and money.
 
If the person you are buying from doesn't know his history (and they can't if they are a dealer and only had him a month) then I would run for the hills.

Sorry OP but keep looking

I wouldn't rely on a physio who had a connection to the seller either - you want a proper third party independent view of what's going on. Or offer to extend the trial to 4 weeks and see if the 'weakness' really resolves itself
 
Absolutely not at that money. If he was cheap enough that I could afford to trial a couple of veterinary interventions and potentially have a nice horse to enjoy then I might take a chance on him, but we're talking hundreds, not thousands
 
I will bet money that this horse has PSSM type 2. Its rife in warmbloods and thats one of the symptoms. Its a progressive and life limiting disease and I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy.

If it is PSSM it is very likely it has caused other muscular-skeletal problems. I wouldnt walk away, I would run as fast as I could!
 
No I wouldn't buy this horse with the info supplied . One of my horses was off for 6 months obviously lost fitness and muscle but he didn't start changing behind when brought back into work so I don't buy the weakness theory in an older horse that sounds like it's been there and done it .
 
alishaarrr said:
I have a lovely horse on a 7-day trial to purchase. 16.3 11yo AES gelding, really lovely chap with a mostly low-level SJ background. He has only been brought back into work for about a month, so is very lean at the moment ... not completely under-muscled everywhere, but has no topline and his hind end is skinny. He's also built a bit long.

He consistently swaps leads behind in canter, on both reins. My trainer is attributing this to weakness, which is a fair assumption but it's still putting me off a bit -- especially as he's not exactly priced for his current lack of condition.

If you were considering a horse in this situation, would you go ahead with the sale if it passed a five-stage vetting? Or are there too many unknowns here that it's better to just pass in favor of something else that was in better shape and gave you less concern?
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That is indicative of hock issues. This is what my horse kept doing in canter especially on the short sides of the arena.They find it uncomfortable in canter on a certain rein and will keep swapping behind. I got it investigated and it turned out to be spavin.

These horses will often resent having to work from behind (noticeable reaction if you use a pessoa or other training aid around the quarters) and they will chip the toes of their back feet often causing sparks on concrete or drag the surface if being ridden in an arena. It may be obvious from looking at them from the side that they are more built up in front, i.e. they have little muscle on their quarters. This is because they will pull rather than push themselves along.
 
Littlewills said:
I will bet money that this horse has PSSM type 2. Its rife in warmbloods and thats one of the symptoms. Its a progressive and life limiting disease and I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy.

If it is PSSM it is very likely it has caused other muscular-skeletal problems. I wouldnt walk away, I would run as fast as I could!
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PSSM was my first thought too. My friend has a horse with it and they have had canter issues, she shared a video about it that showed all sorts of different canter problems relating to PSSM.
 
I think that switching leads behind and becoming disunited is a forgivable fault for a young unbalanced horse, but for an older horse which has had schooling and should know the basics, I think it’s a worrying symptom. My horse, who’s also an 11 yo AES, started to become disunited in canter and lacked impulsion (he felt like a flat tyre to ride) after getting osteopath and vets involved he has been diagnosed with kissing spines and I also suspect he has sacroiliac issues. For that price, I wouldn’t buy the horse you have on trial - it’s setting you up for heartache and constant careful management. You’ll also be constantly paranoid that something underlying is wrong with him. I personally don’t think it’s worth starting out on the back foot.
 
No, I'd never buy a horse that swapped behind. A long time ago, looking at a herd of young unbroken horses with an extremely experienced (and famous) horseman, he told me that he would never buy any horse that ever went disunited or swapped, even once.

I have had two of my horses start to do this in their very late teens; both were eventually diagnosed: one had hock arthritis (spavin), the other SI problem, and immediately retired.
 
PictusSweetDreams said:
Not at that price. Plenty of other horses available in that price region who won’t have the same issues.
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Actually I’m looking at the moment and there aren’t that many 4-12 year old, 16-16.2hh uncomplicated, with decent basic schooling, sound, quality types under £10k. Most have an if / a quirk / or a weakness or a visible issue when see stood up or on video [or are over 200 miles away].
 
bouncing_ball said:
Actually I’m looking at the moment and there aren’t that many 4-12 year old, 16-16.2hh uncomplicated, with decent basic schooling, sound, quality types under £10k. Most have an if / a quirk / or a weakness or a visible issue when see stood up or on video [or are over 200 miles away].
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It's definitely possible! I managed to get a six year old with decent schooling and jumping 1m with scope for less than that not that long ago. Keep looking and something decent will come up soon!
 
I'd be very suspicious of an 11 yo which is with a dealer having been out of work and which is appearing weak already. I would also not focus on the jumping 1.40 when you say he has a low level SJ background. Focus on what he has verifiably done. Why was he out of work? How consistent is his previous record? Unless there is a good and completely verifiable reason which is nothing to do with soundness or temperament, I would keep looking.
 
bouncing_ball said:
Actually I’m looking at the moment and there aren’t that many 4-12 year old, 16-16.2hh uncomplicated, with decent basic schooling, sound, quality types under £10k. Most have an if / a quirk / or a weakness or a visible issue when see stood up or on video [or are over 200 miles away].
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But this one does not sound completely sound (if that makes sense). It sounds like one of ours who had PSD and went on to develop SI issues. I think it could be heartbreak. The price doesn't make any sense - too cheap for a good jumper, too expensive for an out of work potential field ornament.
 
Only if you can afford to loose all the purchase price, vet fees and willing to retire or pts. All horses can go wrong of course but it sounds like a very expensive big risk. If the horse was fit and well they would put in a couple of months bringing back into work and potentially selling for more money. The question would be why have they not done that.
 
Nope! I ride one at work that takes lots of medication into the hock and sacroiliac to keep him right along with being ridden properly each and every stride of every day. I put in a hell of a lot of work with him when he first came back after his hols. It's fine for me just now because he isn't my horse, I am not paying for the jags and I am being paid to work him. But if I were offered him to take home from racing, as much as I love him and he is a total and utter dude I would decline because he would be too high maintenance. He is only 9yo. He was actually fine as a 3-6yo then I got jocked off him for a season, the other person let him slob along with his nose poked out not working an inch ever and that's when the proper sacroiliac problems started.
 
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