Would you buy a horse with arthritus?

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Jayde

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Ive found a horse that sounds ideal, I just want it mainly for hacking and a bit of schooling. The lady selling her has been honest and told me she has arthritus in her hind hocks, her vet has seen her and said its not causing her any problems and she's ok to be ridden but she cant be used to jump big jumps, ok to do little crosses for fun etc.
Obvioulsly I would get her vetted but just want your opinions.
Oh shes 14 years old.
 
Personally no as arthuritis is dejenerative and could get worse
but if you are vetting I would ask vets opinion and if vet thinks will suit then why not
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No. My horse has spavin (arthritis in the hocks) and, although he is still out and about, it is always on my mind. He can get a bit stiff and because of the changed to his hocks he puts more strain on his front hooves which causes trouble and it can all get a bit heart-breaking.
There are so many horses that you could buy that don't that I just wouldnt do it to yourself!
 
No, my last horse had arthritis in his coffin joint and although I had 2 great years with him I struggled to keep him sound and his behaviour worsened. He started to look uncomfortable so I retired him at the age of 13
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4 months later he was diagnosed with arthritic changes in his hocks and spine so I had to make the decision to put him to sleep
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The hardest decision I have ever had to make
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Why put yourself through all that when there are lots of horses out there without the problems
 
My horse has got arthritis and i would never but one knowing it has it as each year you will find you can do less and less with it
 
No, seriously don't go there. Ty is now really stiff on his back legs if he's not ridden everyday and schooling is one of the worse things if they've got bad back legs.

You could end up having to have her PTS in a few years time which is not really something I would want to knowingly go into.
 
Afraid i have to agree with everyone else.

My companion horse was bought knowing he has spavins. His job is obviously no.1 buddy, but i do want to be able to do light hacking to help keep his weight in order. Even on a danilon a day, that is the limit of the work he can do without becoming sour. He is bliss to handle and happy to be left home alone when i am out with the other one so this made him worth purchasing for me.

Unless you (and the horse) are happy to go for a weekly gentle potter, I would hesitate.
 
I would also add that a horse of 14 having hock spavins has been hammered. Ty is now showing navicular changes on his fronts, plus collapsing heels - all due to him being ragged around in Ireland.....so you can bet there will be other problems to follow.....back issues due to them not using their back end properly to over compensate pain in their back legs etc etc.
 
No. I would worry that it was only a matter of time before it got worse, being degenerative. Fair enough if you have a horse that develops it, you get on and do the best you can to make it comfortable but before you even start you would be buying worry and potentially an expensive horse in the long run.

If you were able to loan then perhaps that would be a compromise but I would not pay for a problem which is likely to get worse.

My friend bought hers knowing he had problems which, at the time, were of no great worry approximately 4 years ago or thereabouts. He is 10. After extensive tests at Equine Hospital recently it is unlikely he will ever return to being ridden. If he is he will be buted up to his eyeballs.
 
So it's an all-round no then! lol
She's up for £1300 so was going to offer £1000 but guess Im best staying away.

Just a thought, if I could talk the lady into letting me have her on loan would you still stay clear?
 
thing is Jayde, you won't be able to insure her hocks and believe me they're expensive!

There are loads of ex racers ect out there that you could get for the same price that would be happy for a quieter life - seriously, I know we all 'fall in love' with horses quickly, but think head not heart!
 
I have a lovely mare on loan who has major arthritic changes in her knees. She had no problems when she arrived, three months into the loan she went lame. We x-rayed and discovered the arthritis. She has had a month's rest in the field and LOTS of super-strength joint supplement, as well as a Danilon a day, and so far, touch wood, has managed a couple of light hacks.

I absolutely would NOT knowingly take on a horse with arthritis. Some horses are fine as long as they have their medication and can keep on going quite well on a bute a day or whatever. Some, however, go downhill tremendously fast, whatever supplements you pour into them, and its just heart-breaking.
 
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I would also add that a horse of 14 having hock spavins has been hammered. Ty is now showing navicular changes on his fronts, plus collapsing heels - all due to him being ragged around in Ireland.....so you can bet there will be other problems to follow.....back issues due to them not using their back end properly to over compensate pain in their back legs etc etc.

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That's not necessarily the case.

My mare is 11 and I know her history for the last 8 years. She has absolutely not been hammered by any stretch of the imagination.

She was diagnosed with Spavin 3 years ago, it hasn't affected her ridden work in the slightest, but I do understand she probably won't be a horse being ridden into their twenties.

Spavin is incredibly common in horses such as mine due to their conformation and size of their joints. It has nothing to do with being hammered at all. 14 isn't exactly young for anything like that to start. Most arthritic changes begin to happen between 8 - 10 (so my vet told me at the time)
 
OK, I knew someone who had a 5/6 year old with major spavins - he'd been overjumped as a baby. I don't want to argue with you but you don't know her full history - seems that alot of horses get this later in life through starting too early etc.

Sorry to hear about your girl though and hope she continues ok
 
my 1st pony got spavin 6 months after we bought him at the very young age of 6. he had cortisone injections into the joint and although shortly after this he was also diagnosed with arthritis, we put him on a joint supplement (which he is still on now) and he did all pny club stuff etc up until 15 when he went lame. we now can't get him sound enough to ride properly but he is happily living his retirement in the field. personally i think don't go there as there will come a point when you hav to decide to retire them which could be sooner rather than later if he is already 14. x
 
A NO from me too I'm afraid
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My 17yo pony was diagnosed last year with Bone Spavin - despite injections etc he is now just a light hack on one Bute per day but enjoying the easy life and very happy. I don't know the history of mine but believe he may have been SJ.

You can't predict the future so I can't say how bad it will get but unless you want just a light hack (no way could I school mine, far worse on a circle) I would look elsewhere.
 
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