|
|
Veteran
Posts: 116
| I was originally planning on having a vet check done on a mare I'm picking up next weekend. But now, I am thinking I will just take my chances. I trust the owner and she doesn't even want to sell the horse. She also has very fluid movement and appears 100% sound in person.
She doesn't have a huge price tag at 3000, but still a bit of a stretch for me.
Has everyone here always gotten vet checks or do you just go off of what you see?
| |
| | |
 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 340
| Got screwed not doing a vet check. If you can afford it, do it. | |
| | |
  Playing the Waiting Game
Posts: 2304
| I bought a horse once from some very good well respected people, no vet check, and my bad the coggins was almost a year old.. so leagally still good. Had him about 3 weeks was acting funny. The vet determined he had EIA (you know the disease a coggins is for). Put him down and had to quarantine the rest of the herd for 3 months. IF they all had negative tests in 3 months we were good to go.
Thankfully every one else tested negative. It ended up costing us quite a bit of money having to do a coggins test on 14 horses twice in 3 months, plus the cost to put that horse down and disposed of. NOT everyone will pick up a horse that has full blow EIA. | |
| | |
Playing the Waiting Game
Posts: 2304
| For the record I did tell the people I bought the horse from and I would still do business with them. It was my DUMB not theirs. | |
| | |
The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
 
| If your not going to vet check, then ask to view all the vet records on the horse.
A horse may be sound and never had any problems with the owner, that doesn't mean something will not show up later.
Early signs of navicular may show up on X-ray but not to the naked eye, especially if the horse has not been flexion tested.
Early signs of arthritis also may not show up to the naked eye, but a trained professional could pick it up.
People surprise me all the time, people I thought would be honest in selling a horse have turned out to be dishonest.
Myself, if the price tag is low, I have not gotten a vet check, I do take the gamble, but I also have the pasture and hay to feed so if they are going to be a hay burner I can afford it, I also mainly buy mares I look at it I can then breed them or sell them as a broodmare. I have bought horses sight unseen and without vet checks and thankfully I haven't been screwed over, mine have all been young, and not broke to ride.
Good luck with your decision | |
| | |
 Veteran
Posts: 151
| Good question! Here's my recent story...3 horses, 3 different sellers, 3 vet checks. All full pre-purchase exams with x-rays, bought all 3. Just put one down with EPM, one was unrideable for 6 months with feet problems that didn't show up in the vet check. And the most recent has ulcers, out everywhere according to chiro, needed injections immediately (vet missed this problem), very sore back, also weak positive for EPM, and I'm strongly suspecting PSSM.
PSSM for me personally is the worst problem. I cannot ride or work a horse daily. I work long hours and my horses are mostly on vacation during the school year :) They also have most of the winter off.
No seller in the world is going to let you do a muscle biopsy for PSSM.
So I think it's all a gamble. You're way ahead of the game knowing who you're buying from - this to me is the best idea.
I did have a vet check save me from a 30K horse that had ruined hocks. The owners were truly shocked and ended up giving the horse away. So it is possible to find an issue the sellers don't know about.
I'm getting ready to buy another one and not sure if I should just take a chance...$2000 worth of vet checks didn't save me! | |
| | |
 Veteran
Posts: 253
Location: SoCal | If you question enough to think about a vet check, then you should probably get one done. If money is the issue, wait on x-rays and extra things till after the basic exam is completed. When we sold a mare last summer the vet had me ride her during all of the check to see how she'd carry herself with weight on the back, perhaps see if the owner is open to this so you can see if having a rider changes anything.
If it's a mare with good bloodlines and was priced right, then I'd probably take a chance and if something happened use her as a broodmare. If they've been a performance horse, then they likely have something wrong. Even if it's a little thing, they probably have something. So if you are set on competing on the horse, than the basic lameness exam is probably you're best option. | |
| | |
The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Skeetersmom - 2014-09-07 3:39 PM
Good question! Here's my recent story...3 horses, 3 different sellers, 3 vet checks. All full pre-purchase exams with x-rays, bought all 3. Just put one down with EPM, one was unrideable for 6 months with feet problems that didn't show up in the vet check. And the most recent has ulcers, out everywhere according to chiro, needed injections immediately (vet missed this problem), very sore back, also weak positive for EPM, and I'm strongly suspecting PSSM.
PSSM for me personally is the worst problem. I cannot ride or work a horse daily. I work long hours and my horses are mostly on vacation during the school year :) They also have most of the winter off.
No seller in the world is going to let you do a muscle biopsy for PSSM.
So I think it's all a gamble. You're way ahead of the game knowing who you're buying from - this to me is the best idea.
I did have a vet check save me from a 30K horse that had ruined hocks. The owners were truly shocked and ended up giving the horse away. So it is possible to find an issue the sellers don't know about.
I'm getting ready to buy another one and not sure if I should just take a chance...$2000 worth of vet checks didn't save me!
Test the horse for cushings, the old way was to give a steroid iv then draw blood after a period of time I think 30-60 min and check cortisol levels, any vet should know the new drug they administer instead of the steroid.
If the horse comes back positive, the treatment is pergolide, my aunt has 3-4 horses all older on pergolide, they are on green grass, get alfalfa hay, she takes no precautions and hasn't had a problem with any since they started pergolide. The down side is it does suppress their immune system. But in your case this may be a solution to look into. | |
| | |
 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | If you feel like you have to ask this question, then do it, if you dont then you will be worring about the ifs.  | |
| | |
Elite Veteran
Posts: 926
| I'd do it, because as some folks have indicated, the horse may have things that the owners aren't aware of....don't forget back xrays in the check if there are ANY issues there on exam. Back issues are showing up more and more, the last 2 I've purchased have had them. First vet just flat missed, the second was young and cheap and I didn't do one.
If you can afford the $3K, having the risk/expense of a potential issue and then afford to feed/maintain until you can sell or give away the horse, then don't do one. I admit, $3K is borderline on spending the money, but there are soooo many things these days, you just never know....it's a miracle any of them are sound!
Good Luck. | |
| | |
Blessed 
Location: Here | Southtxponygirl - 2014-09-07 5:58 PM If you feel like you have to ask this question, then do it, if you dont then you will be worring about the ifs.
 | |
| | |
10D Crack Champion
| vet check...... there could be other general health issues besides obvious lameness | |
| | |
 Veteran
Posts: 215
Location: Oregon | Vets will find something with all horses especially when being flexed off on concrete. So you just have to figure out what you can live with...
In my experience both of my WPRA rodeo horses need injections. My one ran on the track and has two screws in his rear pastern from breaking it. He also runs 16.7's on a standard pattern. So I take vet checks with a grain of salt ;-)
| |
| | |
 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | If you were to search my responses on vet check questions even like, three weeks to a month ago, I would say she's cheap enough to not.
HOWEVER…
…I have learned the hard way, that even a cheap horse should get a vet check, especially a prospect.
I took my chances when I bought a mare off craigslist because she was a trained barrel horse and I felt the talent underneath me… I knew we would maintain her at whatever the cost. Lo and Behold she has a hock issue that requires maintenance. Had we radiographed it before purchase, she would probably have failed the vet check. I am glad I didn't vet her, but I know I have to baby her and she can't just go run EVERY weekend.
My lesson-learned purchase was a 2 year old filly I got from HP for $2000. She had a larger pastern but was sound. I thought, ehh $2000 it's not a big deal if something happens. I trained her all her 3 YO year and listed her for sale as a futurity prospect.. she was coming along nice. I had an appt for someone to try her and just wanted to know what was going on with that leg so I took her in. She has ringbone, and the vet told me she won't make a barrel horse. I had to call the potential buyer and cancel the appt and now I am stuck with a 3 year old who will be a trail horse at best. Ever since we had it checked, she has not been sound. Maybe it's because I look for it now. Soooo now I say, vet check.. LOL | |
| | |
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
| Always.
| |
| | |
 Elite Veteran
Posts: 974
Location: USA | I picked up a horse for $3k knowing she was sore - I could see it in the videos they sent me. I asked if they had any problems with soreness and they said the mare never showed signs of it. I truly believe they just didn't see it. I vet checked on a $3000 horse because I wanted to make sure I could deal with whatever issues she had. I knew this mare needed maintenance, I just wanted to know how much and what exactly was causing it (bone chip, spur, arthritis). I know vets miss stuff all the time, unfortunately, they're human and make mistakes. I had this mares hocks xrayed bc she flex tested sore. I opted not to have her stifles xrayed even though when they flex for the hock it flexes the stifle, and it all ended up working out. She needed some maintenance, but it was all from general wear and tear. A farrier once told me, it's better to spend a few hundred in xrays than thousands down the road. $3ooo may not be a lot to some people, but to others, that's a few months worth of savings, and to me it was a lot =) Hope it all works out for ya with whatever you decide  | |
| | |
 Veteran
Posts: 113
Location: Tx | I bought an 8 year old that was not started on the pattern but had all the bells and whistles for 3k. He was an awesome roper, sorter, and cow horse and worked awesome off your legs. He rode like a dream and was calm and quiet enough for my kids and husband to ride. My thought was pattern him for 2 years and my kids could run him... WRONG! My vet found multiple things wrong with him and stated he would be lame to the point of no return in 2 to 4 years. I should have known something was wrong when he was priced so cheap. But old owner was awesome and stood by her word to take him back when he didn't pass.
I DID NOT vet a palomino that I "stole" from a local man that his daughter was not interested in anymore... I can put anyone on that horse, including my almost 3 year old daughter.
I DID flex out a prospect that I will be starting on the pattern soon. He flexed sound so I did not do x-rays. I have not had any problems with him thus far.
ETA- depending on what their use will be and their age and how much they have been used depends on weather I vet or not. And sometimes I only have them flexed out and other times full x-rays.
Edited by Next to Heaven 2014-09-08 9:04 AM
| |
| | |
 Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | If you're having to ask....then get a vet check.
It's going to be a different answer from everyone, but if you're not comfortable evaluating one and living with the consequences if you overlook something, then just have a check done. It doesn't mean anything about the honesty of the seller at this point.
| |
| | |
Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | Yes. My parents never did one when buying me horses in the past, but since I was spending my own hard earned money I decided to vet. I'm so glad I did. I feel in love with a gelding when I tried him and probably would have bought him on the spot if I'd had the money with me. Vetted him a few days later and he had an "issue" that couldn't be maintained. I might get three runs or three years out of him before he was lame... or maybe it never would be an issue for him, but I remembered him having one small hiccup on the pattern... and I'm pretty sure it was due to his issue. I didn't want to take the risk, so I passed.
The owner literally had no clue because when she vetted him at the time her purchasing him he flexed without a bad step, so she opeted out of the x-rays. He flexed really nicely for me, but I went ahead and asked for x-rays and lo and behold was heartbroken. Some horses might push thru the pain better than others, so I will never not x-ray. | |
| | |
 Keep those crap slapping tails away!
Posts: 8871
Location: Around here somewhere... | VET CHECK!!!!!! | |
| | |
 Lady Di
Posts: 21556
Location: Oklahoma | I buy a lot of horses w/o a vet check, but I have done it so long, that I can pretty well see if they're not traveling sound by watching a video....however....I met with a girl to trade here recently....she was a college girl and her mother was with her. We rode each other's horses and I knew there was something going on in the back end with her horse. I told her this. She insisted he'd never been lame, and I told her that he was lame right now. I could see it AND feel it. She was determined to have my horse, which was a finished barrel horse. Hers was a 6 yr old, but much more my size and I really liked his breeding and the way he was trained, but he was definitely off. She kept telling me that I could vet check him; that she was sure there was nothing wrong with him. I asked her (with her mother present) what she would do if he DIDN'T check sound....would she meet me again and trade back? She said yes. I got her to give me $500 boot and figured that would cover the vet bill. Well, sure enough, he has a fractured pelvis. We met on Sunday and I took him on Monday. She said he didn't have it when I took him (which the vet said it had been that way awhile because the muscle was slightly atrophied) and that she wasn't trading back. I told her everything the vet said, and gave her his phone number to call to talk to him. She told me there was nothing wrong with the horse and not to contact her again.....so MY advice would be to make sure IF you do a vet check, that you do it prior to purchase! The good news is that the horse I have will be 100% again; he just has to stay in a stall with limited movement for 90 days. :( | |
| | |
The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| dianeguinn - 2014-09-08 11:30 AM
I buy a lot of horses w/o a vet check, but I have done it so long, that I can pretty well see if they're not traveling sound by watching a video....however....I met with a girl to trade here recently....she was a college girl and her mother was with her. We rode each other's horses and I knew there was something going on in the back end with her horse. I told her this. She insisted he'd never been lame, and I told her that he was lame right now. I could see it AND feel it. She was determined to have my horse, which was a finished barrel horse. Hers was a 6 yr old, but much more my size and I really liked his breeding and the way he was trained, but he was definitely off. She kept telling me that I could vet check him; that she was sure there was nothing wrong with him. I asked her (with her mother present) what she would do if he DIDN'T check sound....would she meet me again and trade back? She said yes. I got her to give me $500 boot and figured that would cover the vet bill. Well, sure enough, he has a fractured pelvis. We met on Sunday and I took him on Monday. She said he didn't have it when I took him (which the vet said it had been that way awhile because the muscle was slightly atrophied) and that she wasn't trading back. I told her everything the vet said, and gave her his phone number to call to talk to him. She told me there was nothing wrong with the horse and not to contact her again.....so MY advice would be to make sure IF you do a vet check, that you do it prior to purchase! The good news is that the horse I have will be 100% again; he just has to stay in a stall with limited movement for 90 days. :(
I cant get people that go back on their word. I am glad it is going to work out for you, but still how stupid do people have to be to not realize a vet can tell if any fractured bone is recent, healing or not.
| |
| | |
Pig-Bear Dog Lover
| dianeguinn - 2014-09-08 10:30 AM
I buy a lot of horses w/o a vet check, but I have done it so long, that I can pretty well see if they're not traveling sound by watching a video....however....I met with a girl to trade here recently....she was a college girl and her mother was with her. We rode each other's horses and I knew there was something going on in the back end with her horse. I told her this. She insisted he'd never been lame, and I told her that he was lame right now. I could see it AND feel it. She was determined to have my horse, which was a finished barrel horse. Hers was a 6 yr old, but much more my size and I really liked his breeding and the way he was trained, but he was definitely off. She kept telling me that I could vet check him; that she was sure there was nothing wrong with him. I asked her (with her mother present) what she would do if he DIDN'T check sound....would she meet me again and trade back? She said yes. I got her to give me $500 boot and figured that would cover the vet bill. Well, sure enough, he has a fractured pelvis. We met on Sunday and I took him on Monday. She said he didn't have it when I took him (which the vet said it had been that way awhile because the muscle was slightly atrophied) and that she wasn't trading back. I told her everything the vet said, and gave her his phone number to call to talk to him. She told me there was nothing wrong with the horse and not to contact her again.....so MY advice would be to make sure IF you do a vet check, that you do it prior to purchase! The good news is that the horse I have will be 100% again; he just has to stay in a stall with limited movement for 90 days. :(
I cant believe people go back on their word like that!!! That's why I ALWAYS record conversations, comes in VERY handy. ETA just do a flexion at least, and id at a minimum get a nice shot of their front feet.
Edited by SwishMiss 2014-09-08 12:05 PM
| |
| |
|
Vet check or no vet check?