five stage vetting

[Puppymouse]

I posted a while back about buying my first horse and had some very useful advice. I've since found a beautiful boy I want to buy and he's being vetted on Tuesday. I have been warned that many horses don't pass vetting and this is fairly common. The yard he's at are hopeful he will but he's 16...

My question is are there degrees of failing where you would still purchase? So if he fails on X you still go ahead but if he fails on Y you walk away? And will the vet advise whether to go ahead in these circumstances or do they have to just leave you to decide?

That sounds like a very sensible list of requirements.

Lots of greys have sacrcoids.

Have you joined all the Facebook groups nearby? They are becoming more and more useful.

Fwiw my dds pony started losing weight and puffing more than usual. Vet said heart murmur. We retired her (she was 22). The day after we took her shoess off she lay down in the stable and passed away, she knew her time was over. This was a year ago and dd still hasn't got over it. You did the right thing. I

There are worse things than a heart issue causing a horse to die. My brother in law is an abattoir and got called out some years ago to remove a carcass from the side of the road. When he arrived the police advised him the horse had dropped dead, it's rider who was a teenage girl had gone over his head and been killed instantly.

I hope that the riding school owner can live with herself if anything like that happens.

Yes vet said lucky we hadn't taken our Pony xc could have been a disaster

Sorry to hear about your pony parissont! I had my big lad put to sleep in the autumn because he was really suffering with arthritis and it was horrible (for us, not for him, for him it was painfree and fast).

Greys are more prone to melanomas not sarcoids. Melanomas are benign tumours but, may, over time, spread a lot and cause problems by putting pressure on other organs for example. A vet cannot predict whether a melanoma will proliferate or whether it will cause a problem or not. Any horse can get a sarcoid at any time but there are different types. In the best case sarcoids are non-invasive, self-contained tumours that may even fall off by themselves or respond well to banding. Liverpool cream can help a lot of sarcoids but it is an expensive treatment and some horses react to the pain. In the worst case sarcoids are invasive tumours that turn nasty very quickly, for what you see on the outside there could be a huge tumour behind. Either tumour may cause a problem if near the eye or under bridle or girth.

Years ago I started following cattybrook horses online - she is a dealer and I have no idea how reputable , but she doesn't seem to churn through horses (if all the horses she has she posts on her Facebook page) - and she's your way? Maybe worth a look and research her a bit?

Sorry yes melanomas not sacrcoids. Also they are a bugger to keep clean (greys not melanomas!)

I don't care about a horse's colour but I've had three greys in a row and if you can avoid a grey it's best. Shit stains on greys are awful.

Oh paris that's so sad

I am following Cattybrook. Helen who runs it has a good rep. A friend added me to her group. Her prices are quite high but am watching. I went to see a horse at Shane Walsh's place today. Anyone heard about him? H&H forums v positive but same friend who recommended Cattybrook has two friends that wouldn't recommend. For different reasons - one bought a horse that was too much for her and the other went for a job with him.

I've not heard great things tbh.

Honestly, all my best horses have either come from private sales from good families (ie knowledgeable, have treated the horses well, correctly trained). Dealers are good from the point of view that you can return/exchange if it doesn't work, but I have found they are always more expensive than private sales and you have to be really careful about how they will spin you a line. I went to a couple of dealers and tried some quality horses, but I felt they were £15k of quality, not the £25k they were being sold at! Plus dealers will show you a crappy horse that is "in your budget" and then, when you don't like it, they will say, "Oh. I have the perfect horse for you... But it is (£x over your budget)". And it will be your ideal /near ideal horse and then you start wondering where you can get the extra money from... Walk away!! It's hard but necessary.

I personally go to small scale event riders who are pro/high level amateur, but i think that's not quite right for you. I would recommend looking for riding club people who are selling and also A level students who are selling before uni. You want a horse that has been loved, cared for and had fun in his life so you can carry that on. Maybe also look for pony club event horses that are ready to scale back at 15/16 yrs old as they will go for the £4k mark (ie going down from pony club teams at 3'6" to jumping more like 2'9") but you may be able to get all the gear if the teenager is giving up.

Please stay away from dealers, as you aren't an experienced buyer so they will smell you a mile off.

My exact worry. Saw one on Fri and loved the horse and wonderful to ride but he was older and so poor and I felt totally hustled in a very "pleasant" way. I decided to go for it but he was saying he would arrange the vetting. I was worried but didn't say anything at the time as was a bit bamboozled. Have since asked a couple of things and said I want my vet to see him. I got a call back but no vmail or response to text and when I rang back no answer. I don't like the idea of feeling this uneasy even though the horse was fab.

Saw one this morning which I loved but owner blatantly can't afford him and he has a back issue I want to know more about. Price is very cheap to reflect that but really liked the horse to ride particularly. Another tomorrow that is a family one with owner going to uni...

Where abouts are you?

Puppymouse, stop falling in love with every horse!!

Back issues and cheap to get rid of is NOT good. Please don't take it on yourself to rescue any and every horse unless you have very deep pockets. Is there anyone you could take with you? I almost want to come with you! (Expect I'm in east berks so not great for getting to you).

Owner going to uni sounds a better prospect 😀

Until you own the horse you have to be rigorously cold hearted and pragmatic. Is it fit and healthy? Is it well cared for and up to date on teeth/worm/jabs/feet? Am I comfortable in the stable with it? Can I run hands down legs, pick up feet, do straps up round its back end for rugs?
I also suggest that you take a tesco plastic bag or an umbrella and when the owner is schooling it, ask their permission to take it out and hang it on the fence. Does the horse ignore it, look at it and have a little acceptable spook, or does it go mental? If the owner tells you no way, consider why. You aren't looking for a blood horse, you are looking for bomb proof and safe, so this test is reasonable (if you did it to my German dressage mare, she'd kill the bag or the person holding it, but then she would never ever be advertised as bomb proof - more like advertised as sensitive!)

My best test for horse buying is hanging a coat over a small fence and seeing the horse jump it. Tells you so much about the horse.

Remember, you are the one with the cash, you are the one in control/power. They should be doing what you want and if not, question why. Do they not trust the horse? Do they not know it very well?

Beware of dealers who provide vetting certs for horses. I know of a dealer near to me who buys from the meat man, drugs the horse and provides fake vetting certs.

I used to keep my horse on a livery yard where the owners did a bit of dealing. It wasn't their main source of income but they did buy and sell fairly regularly. On the whole, they were reasonably honest people who looked after their horses well.

So the day before a horse was due to have a prospective buyer look at it, it would be ridden hard. It would be turned out overnight when it wasn't used to prolonged turnout. It would be ridden hard again in the morning and then bathed. They would anticipate the buyer turning up early and would make sure the horse would be dry well before the buyer got there. And these were relatively honest people who just dealt a bit.

I don't doubt that there are good dealers out there but having seen their tricks, I would be very wary. None of the above would show up in a blood test but the horse would be pretty dopey.

My current horse has his quirks. But stick a coat on a fence and he'd look at it and say "you want me to jump that? Sure. Whatever you little squeaky weirdo "

grey mare

Sooooomuch better than (I'm sorry) the old nag that failed the vet (sorry, he looked very uninspiring)

I love that pic of her hunting, she looks v relaxed and happy. Got a engine without being silly by looks of things....
Also, whilst a bit above what you need right now, it's nice to know you can grow into her.
Do check th ROR status though. Get her racing name and find out how much/if/when/where she ran. A couple of maidens, no worries, 2 or three seasons of proper racing, not so much (unlikely if she's been a lady's fun competition horse howevever!)

An engine

She does look lovely OP. I like the way in the one of her hunting her rider is trusting her - nice relaxed contact and the mare's finding her own way through. I think, if she lives up to her description, she'd look after you whilst being fun.

I'd ditch the Albion saddle but I just don't like the things

Gavilán, I feel you may be a kindred spirit! I felt the same about the hunting pic. Ditto on albions, old ones from 8+ years ago are ok, but the new ones are full of nuts and bolts that can be rather unpleasant for the horse. however, op, albions really hold their value as the rest of the world love them, so you could easily swap it and get a decent whack for it. But first things first... Hope she goes well in trial and then that she is ok'd by the vet! We'll worry about tack later...

Sympathies op, horse buying and selling is the hardest thing. But looking at adverts and window shopping is amazing, so do post any other ads you find!