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Nut Case Expert
Posts: 9305
  
Location: Tulsa, Ok | Been there, done that and absolutely no regrets. When my daughter was five we bought a her a horse that had been foundered. There was some maintenance involved but never any excessive expenses. We did have an awesome farrier with the experience and expertise to assist in keeping him sound. I will say that the horse had ever attribute you could ask for in a kids horse and an exceptional show record. We could not have afforded a horse of his calibur at the time if he had not been foundered, She rode and competed on him in 4H and QH shows for 11 years, so we undoubtedly got our value out of the investment.
It is all about recognizing the degree of founder and having the tools and committment to manage the issues.
Edited by SC Wrangler 2014-07-27 3:33 PM
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| The reason my answer was such a resounding NO is this: My vet's brother is a farrier specializing in foundered horses. He works on foundered horses only and per so much experience at seeing the ones that come through his own practice but also the ones his brother works on he's convinced to not ever buy one that's foundered. Those rare happy experiences don't help much when you have to have one put down, or spend a fortune on them just to keep them pasture sound thus not being able to afford to buy/feed one that you can actually use. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1430
Location: Montana | No!
I still can't talk about my one and only experience with it except to say I lost.
Remember, they lost Secretariat to laminitis. You think your vet and farrier are better? And they weren't trying to keep him riding sound/safe to ride.
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 Dancing in my Mind
Posts: 3062
Location: Eastern OH but my heart is in WV | Southtxponygirl - 2014-07-27 12:01 PM
Rolling J - 2014-07-27 9:05 AM Southtxponygirl - 2014-07-26 11:58 PM Rolling J - 2014-07-26 7:32 PM We are looking for a "grandma" horse for my mother. Went to look at a nice little Welsh mare today that matched all the requirements but the mare did founder last year. She rode well in the grass at all the gaits but was very "ouchy" on the gravel (she was barefoot). She did not appear sore in any manner that I noticed. The mare is 17 and would be a "plod-a-long" trail horse. The only experience I have ever had with founder was with a Shetland and she is fully retired now. The mare would be pastured on a dry lot and her food portion controlled. I have done some searches and read up a little more on the subject but I would like to hear about personal experiences. We are having our farrier go look at her before we make a final decision. What do her feet look like? If she is bare foot now and no special shoes then she must not have founder real bad, if you like her I would have her x-rayed to see what the coffin bone is doing. Did she founder just on the front? Just so hard to say without more details on her founder. When we arrived, I immediately noticed how flat footed and chipped up the feet were. Both horses were liked that. I immediately asked how she was for the farrier and they responded "good." Asked some more questions about if she had on shoes before.... When she came out, I picked up her feet and could tell they were not properly maintained but nothing that jumped out horrible at me immediately. She rode fine in the grass at all the gaits but was VERY ouchy on small gravel. I chalked that up to the poor shape her feet were in. After we all rode her, I took a much better look at her feet and that is when I noticed the ring on both front feet and asked if she had been foundered. Now, this is just a mom and dad selling their kid's old 4-H pony, so they did not hesitate to answer "yes, I did it last winter by overfeeding some really green hay." I expressed my concern with this but also realized I needed to become better informed on the topic before making a complete decision. The only experience I ever had with founder is our family's Shetland (that lives at my mom's ) and she is completely retired and closely monitored. In my observation, the back feet did not appear to have been affective however, I am far from a foot expert. I know enough to be careful and get better information.
Yes the horse has been seen by their vet. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Rolling J - 2014-07-27 4:38 PM Southtxponygirl - 2014-07-27 12:01 PM Rolling J - 2014-07-27 9:05 AM Southtxponygirl - 2014-07-26 11:58 PM Rolling J - 2014-07-26 7:32 PM We are looking for a "grandma" horse for my mother. Went to look at a nice little Welsh mare today that matched all the requirements but the mare did founder last year. She rode well in the grass at all the gaits but was very "ouchy" on the gravel (she was barefoot). She did not appear sore in any manner that I noticed. The mare is 17 and would be a "plod-a-long" trail horse. The only experience I have ever had with founder was with a Shetland and she is fully retired now. The mare would be pastured on a dry lot and her food portion controlled. I have done some searches and read up a little more on the subject but I would like to hear about personal experiences. We are having our farrier go look at her before we make a final decision. What do her feet look like? If she is bare foot now and no special shoes then she must not have founder real bad, if you like her I would have her x-rayed to see what the coffin bone is doing. Did she founder just on the front? Just so hard to say without more details on her founder. When we arrived, I immediately noticed how flat footed and chipped up the feet were. Both horses were liked that. I immediately asked how she was for the farrier and they responded "good." Asked some more questions about if she had on shoes before.... When she came out, I picked up her feet and could tell they were not properly maintained but nothing that jumped out horrible at me immediately. She rode fine in the grass at all the gaits but was VERY ouchy on small gravel. I chalked that up to the poor shape her feet were in. After we all rode her, I took a much better look at her feet and that is when I noticed the ring on both front feet and asked if she had been foundered. Now, this is just a mom and dad selling their kid's old 4-H pony, so they did not hesitate to answer "yes, I did it last winter by overfeeding some really green hay." I expressed my concern with this but also realized I needed to become better informed on the topic before making a complete decision. The only experience I ever had with founder is our family's Shetland (that lives at my mom's ) and she is completely retired and closely monitored. In my observation, the back feet did not appear to have been affective however, I am far from a foot expert. I know enough to be careful and get better information. Yes the horse has been seen by their vet.
Ahhh Ok then.  |
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Dancing in my Mind
Posts: 3062
Location: Eastern OH but my heart is in WV | Just want to say thanks to everyone for your input. My mom is passing on the pony and the search continues. The little mare would of been perfect for my mom in all the other aspects but she does not need the stress and expense. I might be bald by the time this process is over but keep your fingers crossed we find a good "grandma horse." |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | No. Heart break down the road. The question is only when. |
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