Would you take a horse on that.......

Blizzard

Blizzard

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after a vetting was showing early signs of Navicular?

The horse itself is stunning and perfect temperment wise, it was one I enquired about a while ago but he was sold, however because of vetting they have retracted.

The horse was only lame when trotted on hard ground in a very tight circle and vet reckons it wil be at least 4 years before it eneds to be ridden on bute. But of course its impossible to predict.

I have now found a horse (comes home sat yey!), but this other horse fits what my aunt wants to a tee.

The owner now obviously wants very little for him.

He would only be used for light work, hacking really, such a shame because he is a beautiful and well schooled horse.
 
No, it would only end up being heart breaking.
I dont think the vet could guarentee the horse would be sound for 4 years, once it starts the degeneration can bve incredibly quick- we had one PTS about 8 months after initial diagnosis when he was intermitantly lame on a sharp turn on the hard. He had 5 months off but came back lame on soft and x-rays showed v bad degenration.
Basically, if you can accept that the horse may have a reduced life span and you will have to fork out a fair amount for pain control in the mean time and the horse is really worth it then maybe take a chance but I wouldnt advise it!!
 
Thats what I thought to be honest, aunt loves the sound of him though!

i have a friend whose 7yr old has navicular and she cant be ridden at all, but another friend has a 15yr old arab who is still going strong with it and enjoys being ridden.
Its just so unpredictable isnt it.

to me its one of those things where if your own horse gets it you deal with it, but not something to buy into if that makes sense!
 
I personally wouldnt touch it. You wouldnt buy a horse that you knew was going to injure itself and so couldnt be ridden, this is more or less the same thing. Why nominate yourself to pay vets bills.
 
Such a tough call when the horse seems ideal but Im with Boss and personally I wouldnt go there.

As she said, the vet cant make any guarentees on this and navicular is heartbreaking. With any horse you take on, theres always a risk of something going wrong, but I personally wouldn't seek to take on a horse where the problems were already evident. For me, its not the financial issue of later care or paying for a horse that's got issues (even though he's cheap), its the emotional side. It's impossible to not become attached
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Just my feelings on the subject but horses can cause enough problems when you buy seemingly healthy ones, without buying them with serious issues
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Definitely- we were given a 4 year old in the summer with bad x-rays but he was showing signs of lameness when pushed so after a few weeks he had to go back. He was seriously quality, was being vetted at around the 10k mark when it was picked up on. It is a horrid disease
 
So true Tierra, thats what I keep saying, you cant tell yourself oh I wont get too atached, you love them no matter what, and to me its just setting yourself up for heartache.
 
*Nod* I agree with you completly St_Bernard - theres so many lovely horses out there without problems that will suit her too. It's so easy to get caught up in the "aaaw, hes such a lovely person and we'd look after him and who knows where he'll end up if we dont take him" feelings.

Unfortunatly, for most of us, we dont have bottom less pockets and if you're paying to look after a horse, its better that its one you can have fun with and get full use out of. It's different if one you already have develops such a condition but I honestly think buying into it is just setting yourself up for heartache.

Find her something else
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Thanks guys I want to show her this thread you see, so she can see its not just me who is saying this!!

LOL Tierra, thats exactly what she said, well what will happen to him, at least we would love him!

I had a similar thing last year when a horse we loved failed his vetting, miserably! OH still wanted him, had to put my foot down, but he is a real softy, would buy a horse with 3 legs if he thought it would be happier!
 
I wouldnt. BUT if your aunt is prepared for it (could be less than 4 years) and is happy to fork out the vets bills to try and keep him comfy, plus the expense of keeping the horse til his end then maybe consider it. I wouldnt personally because it would be heartbraking!
 
Dont touch it! we have a 6 yr old with navicular. If you ride him at all he needs to be pumped full of bute and hes still not 100%.
We had another 6 yr old cob who was never sound. The horse may seem cheap but with vets bills etc it will be one very expensive horse!
 
I find this one really interesting. You mention that the horse was lame on hard ground when trotted on a small circle. From a completely different angle I would question a diagnosis of Navicular on the grounds of
1. This would not have been done by the horses regular Vet (or vettings should not be undertaken by regular vet)
2. Have further investigations like X rays taken place to prove that it actually is Navicular?
Without rads it really would be an impossible diagnosis. I know of lots of horses that would be unlevel under such circumstances, & they have not got Navicular. It might be worth the investigation at least by the present owner.
 
No, for all the reason above. There are plenty of good horses out there so just keep looking. It costs the same to keep a bad horse as a good one, & if your circumstances change you will find it extremely hard to re-home
 
There are several points that you have to realise when taking on a horse that has a problem, you won't be able to get insurance cover as this is a pre-existing condition, you might well be only able to ride on soft going. I have no experience in this context, only to add that I have a friend who makes lotions and potions using chinese herbs and she has said to me that she could do something with that horse as its all to do with the body's blood system that is not getting pumped around the body enough. I can always let you know her, she does send out jollop through the post. You should though, think long and hard about it.
 
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