Would you buy a horse with issues??

SatansLittleHelper

SatansLittleHelper

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I'm curious as to what health/ behaviour issues people who pay for in a horse if on a tight horsey budget...
I'm going to be looking again for another horse and it's obvious my budget isn't going to stretch to buying a wonderful, ready made horse so I've been looking at the less than perfect types.
What are your absolute no way deal breakers? And what could you live with if the price was right and the horse was fine in all other aspects??
I've seen one that seems lovely in every way but has mild Shivers in hand though not when ridden.
I've seen one that has mild kissing spines that has undergone steroid treatment.
One with sarcoids etc.
Thoughts please??
 
Peronally wouldn't touch any of the above with someone else's bargepole. If I was on a budget I would prefer unbroken/unhandled over physical issues/mishandling any day.
 
I also wouldn't buy any of the above (sarcoids aside, depending what type and where). Always, Always, Always buy 'health.'

You can buy something decent and healthy for not much money.
 
I wouldn't take on the ones described above as my priority would be soundness before anything else and none of them are technically sound are likely to get worse or at least cost as much to treat/ deal with for the purchase price to be irrelevant.

I have taken on many with ridden or behavioural issues and enjoyed the challenge that each one has given me, most have been fine once worked properly and in a good routine, other peoples problem horses can be the best way to find a horse at a lower price but not ones that have physical issues as you may never overcome them unless it is something that can be fixed fully and even then they would have to be at a rock bottom price.
 
I suppose, it depends on the problem is. I went to try out my current pony numerous times and thought he was wonderful. Did all the checks, but unfortunately it appears he's a bit of an expert at rearing. This was a question I had asked the seller when going to try said pony specifically as I wanted one that was "going to look after me" to get me through my confidence issues and was told that he was as "Bomb proof" as they come. He is not.

Had I known this, I would have NEVER bought him as this is an incredibly difficult problem to fix and as a self proclaimed "bit of an idiot", this is going to be a rather annoying hurdle for me to cross. My riding instructor advised me to do a bit of "Facebook digging" and upon looking at the woman's daughters profile, I found a photo of him from 2014 rearing up... Some people really don't have any morals when it comes to selling.

So I suppose my P.O.V is, if you're an idiot like me, you can end up with a horse with problems REGARDLESS. I thought I was being super clever, arriving early, checking if he had been washed after any lunging etc... We're eventually making some progress but I can't tell whether that's because I'm now actually pretty good at predicting his outbursts or if he's actually behaving more. As much as I love him, it's a headache I'd rather not have.

So I suppose that depends on your experience as a rider and your ability to fix any apparent behavioral problems they have.

EDIT: Health is not something I'd want to risk... can end up costing a lot more money in the long run. This is something I was adamant about when buying Alfie... just have other problems to tackle instead.
 
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amymay said:
You can buy something decent and healthy for not much money.
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Absolutely. Just add a couple more k to your budget to get something decent fro the off - you'd be gambling it on vet fee's anyway if you purchased any of the horses you've considered.
 
Not a chance would I take any of those! I did buy the last one lame and needing some schooling and work but he was dirt cheap and I was prepared to have him PTS if he didnt come right. I was also pretty sure I knew what was wrong with him and could fix him. I did but then he has broken again since then. I was lucky and got him right but if it happens again then its almost certainly not going to be fixable.
 
I bought a horse with a couple of melanomas, she is grey and the vet called them an acceptable risk on a grey as they all eventually have them, they haven't ever grown or caused a problem.
There was a horse I turned down despite it being utterly spectacular some years ago as it had hock arthritis at 4, I know the lady that bought it and she has stormed up the levels without issue so far and its been a while!
My sister bought a stunning connie, just backed, well bred and perfect confo who the vet raved about her, she was lame within months with significant arthritis, of course xrays would have helped but she had no reason to worry too much about a pony that had hardly done anything!
Likewise I know loads of people that buy horses that have no issue on vetting's and end up total nightmare.
I think some people are quick to discard horses for manageable issues and while I understand the risk I think I am much more open to things as I have learnt more and got older!
With regard to behaviour issues, my only real problem would be with a bolter, that would be a no way never for me!
 
I've got 2 with health issues and have paid a lot more in vets bills than their value! I knew one of them had problems and he came to me as a companion, so I'm at peace with that but the other was supposed to be my riding horse and I dread to think what she's cost me and will continue to cost me with the vets.

I would have needed a crystal ball to know an unbroken 5yo was going to have those health issues, but I wouldn't knowingly take on one now that wasn't fit and healthy. I'd rather pay a few £k more upfront and hopefully not see the vets as often as I do.

Shivers can deteriorate as can kissing spine.
 
my first horse had a string halt, he was a complete gentlemen and passed away last year at the grant age of 29, it never bothered him, it was only an issue you for the farrier but he was very good and just took his time.

but there are issues/ illness i wouldnt buy!
 
Ridden wise:

Anything with no brakes and that tanks off

Health wise:

None of the things you listed, also arthritis, even mild.

If you do not have a big budget would you consider an unbroken Horse? I would not compromise on health.
 
I bought a horse with sarcoids and tbh that is the absolute least of my worries. He's grey so comes with the territory.

I had been riding him for about a month before I bought him, lots of ridden issues that didn't faze me. He ended up needing surgery on hind suspensorys that only came to light when in full work. So if I was to buy cheap again it would have to be un-backed or in full work.

I would avoid one with handling issues again. Unless it was perfect ridden. It gets a little tiresome when you don't feel you are making progress ridden OR in hand. Plus it would be easier being on livery not having the horse that causes all the issues...
 
Wouldn't touch anything that had hind PSD - it's heartbreaking.
Wouldn't have a crib biter/windsucker again - my horse had been treated for ulcers and had a change of lifestyle to prevent them recurring but continued to crib. Possibly less of a problem if you have your own yard/land but very difficult if you are at livery.
 
It costs as much to look after a lame one as a sound one (probably more)

Kissing spine - having had mine PTS with if after treatment failed in less than a year - no way (in fact it has put me off all ROR types unfortunately)
Sarcoids - if in a total irrelevant place and photo sent to the expert guy in Liverpool who told me it wasn't the spreading kind - maybe

I was gifted a £6k+ horse that passed 5 stage vetting and was lame 5 months later - (money doesn't buy health) it's such a shame as he's lovely but even with lots of treatment/ support/ lifestyle changes etc. I don't think he will be around that long (some really good days some really bad!) putting time and effort into something you know you're going to have to PTS soon ish is very demotivating !

Having tried loads to buy recently with a reasonable (not mad) budget and seen so much S%*& I've bought a 15 month old .............................. and some lottery tickets
 
Merlod said:
Absolutely. Just add a couple more k to your budget to get something decent fro the off - you'd be gambling it on vet fee's anyway if you purchased any of the horses you've considered.
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:lol: :lol: :lol:
a couple more K? Not everyone can do that :p I haven't paid more than £1k for a horse, ever!

OP, I wouldn't buy the ones you've described personally, unless the sarcoid was likely to be not troublesome and the horse was very, very nice and very cheap. You wouldn't get insurance cover for any further treatment and if you needed to sell it would put lots of people off. I think diagnosed health issues like that would be the deal breaker for me, they are money pits and often heartbreakers. I would probably take on dodgy feet and general wonkiness if the horse was basically sound.

That said, I have taken on behavioural projects for little money and enjoyed the process of turning them round. My current competition horse was a gift and feral 4 years ago. The newbie was bought at the local sales as backed but "with a buck" and she's currently turning out to be quite nice.

I guess it comes down to your level of experience, appetite for risk and whether you could cope with having to accept defeat and have a horse put down or retire it if physical issues became too great.
 
Would completely depend on the quality of the horse and what my intentions for it were.

But nothing with a fundamental soundness issue if I ever intended to sell. That said I did pay a fair whack for a horse with mild coffin joint arthritis but only after a year of loaning.

My current horse I bought just backed, with a decent nodular sarcoid and iffy to shoe. I even bought him with the intention to sell as a hunter (and for that market, those that know a good horse would not have worried too much).

I’ve had the sarcoid banded, it’s fallen off with no sign of returning (yet!).
The shoeing issues are pretty much solved.

The horse is very very nice.
 
milliepops said:
:lol: :lol: :lol:
cope with having to accept defeat and have a horse put down or retire it if physical issues became too great.
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This is really good point, if you have the heart to PTS if they don't work out or space to retire them to then you can take much more of a gamble than if you have only one horse that you like to ride and you pay sensible livery for.
 
If you haven't already got a horse, calculate how much it will cost you per month to keep it, and then save that much each month for a year or two. Then spend it on a horse without these issues. :)
Meant kindly - any of these issues could mean your cheap horse could turn out v expensive to keep.
If you buy an unmade horse the training will be expensive too.
 
milliepops said:
:lol: :lol: :lol:
a couple more K? Not everyone can do that :p I haven't paid more than £1k for a horse, ever!
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Yes, would mean saving up so delaying horse purchase, or taking out a loan etc but can be done. If not willing to buy young I would prefer to do that than gamble the same money being spent on vet bills and huge insurance premiums (if you can even get the cover).
 
Agree that not everyone can just ' add another couple of k to their budget but I definitely would not buy a horse with health issues. I would buy unbroken if I had a limited budget.
 
Merlod said:
Yes, would mean saving up so delaying horse purchase, or taking out a loan etc but can be done. If not willing to buy young I would prefer to do that than gamble the same money being spent on vet bills and huge insurance premiums (if you can even get the cover).
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Honestly it doesn’t matter what you pay. Very few perfect horses out there.
What you need to be able to do is work out what you can/can’t live with and how much you are prepared to risk.
 
I wouldn't buy anything with kissing spine, arthritis, joint problems, back problems etc. I would buy with sarcoids if they weren't too much of an issue, but the price would have to come down.

I would and have bought horses with behaviour issues and headshy horses. I wouldn't be put off by a windsucker or a cribber. I can deal with behaviour problems, but even on a tight budget overall health and soundness has to come first.

Edited to add: I have never spent more than £600 on a horse. The horses I've had were cheap due to being young and unbacked, in a poor state or failed backing with behaviour issues that were sorted over 6 months :)
It is possible to find nice horses cheap, as long as you're willing to put the time in
 
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Merlod said:
Yes, would mean saving up so delaying horse purchase, or taking out a loan etc but can be done. If not willing to buy young I would prefer to do that than gamble the same money being spent on vet bills and huge insurance premiums (if you can even get the cover).
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each to their own. I wouldn't ever take a loan out to pay for a horse that could drop dead the next day, that would be an even greater gamble in my eyes :wink3:
I'll stick to my cheapo horses for now :D
 
My second pony I bought backed but needing schooling, a bit of a risk in that it was up to me to make or break her, but she was very well priced and this was many, many years ago when horses were more expensive than they are now!
But I knew the woman who broke her and trusted her implicity when she said she had had no problems whatsoever with her and she did turn out to be lovely pony.
In fact I actually tripled my money when I decided to sell her as I wanted something to compete on more seriously and this was done through word of mouth!

So if I trusted the seller a newly broken horse could be a good buy, but I would have to trust the seller I wouldn't want to end up with something moved on due to problems breaking.
 
ihatework said:
Honestly it doesn’t matter what you pay. Very few perfect horses out there.
What you need to be able to do is work out what you can/can’t live with and how much you are prepared to risk.
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I agree with this.

I bought my first horse for ride and drive from a Film Yard. He had starred in many films but was a handful in winter, when stabled, he lost weight when turned out. I was told he was 'not right'. He was 15 years old when I bought him(unvetted) and 36 when pts. Ridden into his 36th year and never gave me a vet bill. One of my two best brood mares was purchased for 20% of her original price, because she had a deformed hind hoof, caused by juvenille arthiritis. We had her x-rayed, the vet said this is not a congenital problem. She was a bargain and has given us two smart sport horses, who have given us no soundness issues whatsoever in 3 years of SJ and endurance.
 
Not a chance for kissing spines, a lot of the time the steroid injections are short lasting and get less effective each time! I don't know enough about shivers to comment on that, and sarcoids would depend on the location!

I would rather buy something that was green than something with issues as there are plenty of cheap healthy horses out there that just need education :)
 
I certainly wouldn't buy something that already had an identified health issue, you can find yourself dealing with those easily enough without knowingly buying trouble.

If you want something cheap, have a look on Dragon Driving/Preloved. Make sure your rose-tinted glasses are firmly put away, read between the lines of the ads, avoid the obviously dodgy dealers and you can find some fabulous horses for reasonable budgets. Otherwise you might be able tofind something that just doesn't gel with its owner, or needs a firm hand when its owner wants to hug and kiss it.

Don't just buy a horse, look for something that you really like.
 
How about going down the ex-racer route? Spring is just round the corner and the end of NH season means quite a lot will be retiring and now is the time to ask around.
 
I have in the past, usually ex racers to turn around. However, going in with eyes fully open, if they were totally unsuitable once at home then I would pts. Otherwise I'd pretty much get on anything and take anything.
Out of all I've had I'd not touch a sarcoid horse, nor a fence runner nor a true bolter (shot one that was a proper bolter).

These days am all about comfort as am older and part broken, so my list of behaviours is quite extended, though the odd yard/groundwork issue doesn't faze me like cribbers, weavers, leading & loading issues, tying up etc, but under saddle the ride has to be able to hack on its own, not whip round, not rear (leaping frowned on but cope-able) and def not bronk as my core strength has given up.
 
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