Vetting for new pony

[lavieenrose20]

Seeking advice ....
I am about to buy a pony for my daughter, 16 year old allrounder, she'll take to jumping comps and cross country.
My question is ... would I go for stage 2 or 5 vetting?
Thanks in advance 😊

Personally I’d go stage two. At 16 if they start doing x rays and thing you can bet your bottom dollar there will be some kind of bony changes (arthritis) on joints which won’t necessarily cause issues but would be a pre existing for any future insurance.

I would always go for a 5 star vetting if the horse is going to be ridden. It offers you the extra checks for soundness. The last thing you want is to spend money on a horse and then the disappointment of lameness when you get it home. The price difference isn't really that much in the grand scheme of buying a horse and it is worth the extra checks. Unfortunately there are some untrustworthy sellers out there and a 5 star will reveal much more about the health of the horse. Good luck with your new horse

Depends on the purchase price too I'd say. Two step for low-ish price (£3000 at the moment!) or 5 step for something more expensive. I guess you have to question what you would do with the findings of the vetting. At 16 it's likely to have something crop up so personally I'd do 2 step.

Thank you for the advice. He is £3000.
Insurance wise would I need 5 stage ?

I would have a 5 stage but wouldn’t bother with xrays or bloods. Even if you take bloods it is expensive to get them tested and unlikely to be able to get anything back even if they show anything up.
They are ridden as part of the 5 stage and the heart is checked after a fast canter/gallop. I wouldn’t want to put my child on a horse with a dodgy ticker.
I will say though, at this age don’t expect them to pass without any comments. Just use the vets comments to decide whether you can handle any potential issues and whether the pony is worth the asking price (which actually sounds very reasonable).
Good luck!

Check with your insurers, some will insist on stage 5 after a certain price bracket anyway.
I had a two stage vetting on a six year old pony just wanted for hacking, schooling and small jumps. He failed. Bought my current pony without a vetting, but I did have his full vet history.
I think I’d go five star if you want to compete.

I don't think you need any vetting for insurance, but they'll ask about whether you have or not. We bought a £2000 13yo pony locally last year, pony club word of mouth and references from mutual acquaintances. I didn't get him vetted and it wasn't a problem with getting insurance. Owner disclosed laminitis control needed.

In my experience, once a problem is known about the insurance will no longer cover any claim that is to do with it. For example, my previous horse had sarcoids and I told the insurers and no claims could be made in relation to them, which was a bit annoying! Good luck whatever you decide

Oh yes do ask the owner to give you permission to speak to their vet and allow them to disclose all history to you. If they don’t want to do this there is probably a history of issues they are not owning up to.

Thank you greatly for all of your comments , much appreciated 🙏🏼
The seller is a very honest and genuine person, she has him insured so I maybe should have thought about asking her about the vetting but I didn't want her thinking we thought badly of her as she has said he's sound health wise. I suppose buying a 16 year old there is risk but he's perfect for my 13 year old daughter at the moment and once retired he'll be my happy hacker 🥰

I bought one on Saturday,£3.5k and had a 5* vetting. I've never had a horse vetted before,but got bitten badly by a dishonest seller last year on a much cheaper horse. Luckily in that case,I got the horse returned and my money back.
The vets I used last week, said that there was about £100 difference between the 2 and 5* so if I was going to bother at all,I might as well do it properly. I did and no regrets,the vet was completely happy with her health wise,ridden and handling. It has given me as much peace of mind as you can possibly have with horses.

Check what insurance is available for a 16 year old, sometimes they are classed as veterans post 15. And check what vetting they require for the level of cover you need. If having a vetting I always think 5 is a good idea, if he's competing at the min a 2 isn't going to tell you much anyway other than no issues right now whereas a 5* will pick up potential issues.

I think I'd go for 5 stage to be honest, a 2 stage is not exactly cursory (they should look at eyes, teeth, listen to the heart at rest and see them trot up to check for lameness) but it's all done with the horse under low exertion - as you'll be wanting to do more with the horse than trot in a straight line in brief bursts in hand, I think it usually is worth doing the extra stages, it's when the horse is ridden and working that a lot of low-level/early sign problems can be detected - a 'normal' 5 stage doesn't include xrays or anything super in depth so I would expect a healthy 16 year old to 'pass', although it's not really a pass/fail situation, like with a survey on a house, problems may be noted which aren't deal breakers but which may warrant further investigation. E.g. personally if you don't want to show, some old scarring or splints wouldn't bother me so long as the horse is sound and they aren't hurting them. A lot of horses turn up very slightly lame e.g. 1/16th on flexion after hard surface/tight circle lunging and if it doesn't affect performance it's not necessarily a huge concern but I'd want to know so as to keep an eye on it - the only issue is that your insurance may then not cover any issues with that leg as a 'pre-existing condition', so worth checking that out before going ahead with the purchase. The 5 stage really shouldn't be a lot more expensive than the 2 either (certainly not in the scheme of things when you consider how £££ vets bills are, even for minor things), maybe £100-£150 more, so worthwhile IMO. I'm sure the seller won't be offended, it's just good sense to have a full vetting IMO...

I bought a 17yr old for my DD where we knew his full history and previous owners. I did the 5 stage as I just wanted peace of mind for myself in case of any future problems due to his age. He passed no problem - only issue was he may need some treatment on one of his teeth but I've since had dentist out and he feels it is ok at the moment. So it is very thorough. For insurance they just ask for the vetting to be sent over so I think you can send either 2 or 5 stage and they will accept either depending what it shows.