Thornsett1
Active Member
I have seen a nice youngster that ticks most of my boxes but his sire has a postive index for passing on OCD would you walk away or what measures can you take to check he is clean ?
Youngster whose Sire has a positive OCD Index
- Thread starter Thornsett1
- Start date
ihatework
Well-Known Member
It’s such a tricky one.
It is generally the 1/2 horse amateur that gets hung up by this, understandably. I would be reasonably cautious too.
But the thing is OCD can be passed but not always. If it is then it isn’t necessarily an issue. If it’s becoming an issue there is often things you can do.
In my mind you either don’t look for it, and if you pass a vetting then just insure (depending on purchase price, if high then you might need to submit X-rays)
Or if you are particularly risk averse you X-ray prior to purchase.
There is no one answer I’m afraid. We were buying last year and went to view a Kannan (known OCD index) 5yo which was well into 5 figures and even then was half the price it had just been sold when vetting X-rays flagged a large stifle chip. We would have been prepared to operate for 2K had we liked the horse enough. As it was we wouldn’t have bought the horse irrespective of the chip.
In your case it is just one more risk to factor in. If the horse is otherwise what you want then I’d be inclined to not look too hard if the vetting is good
It is generally the 1/2 horse amateur that gets hung up by this, understandably. I would be reasonably cautious too.
But the thing is OCD can be passed but not always. If it is then it isn’t necessarily an issue. If it’s becoming an issue there is often things you can do.
In my mind you either don’t look for it, and if you pass a vetting then just insure (depending on purchase price, if high then you might need to submit X-rays)
Or if you are particularly risk averse you X-ray prior to purchase.
There is no one answer I’m afraid. We were buying last year and went to view a Kannan (known OCD index) 5yo which was well into 5 figures and even then was half the price it had just been sold when vetting X-rays flagged a large stifle chip. We would have been prepared to operate for 2K had we liked the horse enough. As it was we wouldn’t have bought the horse irrespective of the chip.
In your case it is just one more risk to factor in. If the horse is otherwise what you want then I’d be inclined to not look too hard if the vetting is good
wkiwi
Well-Known Member
OCD is not a simple condition. It is a combination of genetics plus feeding plus environment (amount of exercise/work).
If you don't go for fast growth and too much exercise when they are young then it reduces/removes the risk. Unfortunately people sometimes tend to feed big young horses too much and work them too soon for their growth stage.
As said above, if the horse is what you really want then it is up to you as to whether you take the risk based on the price. Go for slow growth and an appropriate work load for its age (remembering that all of the growth plates aren't closed until 7 yo REGARDLESS of breed) and it probably has minimal extra risk than any other youngster.
If you don't go for fast growth and too much exercise when they are young then it reduces/removes the risk. Unfortunately people sometimes tend to feed big young horses too much and work them too soon for their growth stage.
As said above, if the horse is what you really want then it is up to you as to whether you take the risk based on the price. Go for slow growth and an appropriate work load for its age (remembering that all of the growth plates aren't closed until 7 yo REGARDLESS of breed) and it probably has minimal extra risk than any other youngster.