Failed vetting

[nightsoutasap]

I havent been bought up with horses, but I am loving learning alongside my daughter, aged nine, been riding for two years and has had her own pony since Oct. We have a lot of support.
We have tried and tried and tried, but ultimately, we were miss-sold her first pony. She has four lessons a week, but due to him being so spooky, she is not reliably off the lead rein. It came to a head a couple of weeks ago, when she attempted a cross pole course, on the lead and he reared out of frustration. We have had vet checks done, they were unable to determine a physical reason for his behaviour.
With heavy hearts, we are going to be selling him, and we are looking for something more suitable. She rides friends ponies really nicely and is able to do far more on them than she ever was on her own pony.
We have been looking for another pony for a few weeks, and have viewed a few. I totally understand that this can’t be rushed and I am determined to not make another mistake. Our instructor comes to view the ponies with us, and we view a few times.
We found what we thought was the perfect one, viewed and ridden several times, no problems. Her instructor agreed that this older pony (18) would be a confidence giver.
We arranged a 5 point vet check, not expecting him to necessarily pass, but it would give us a clear idea of any potential issues. The pony sadly failed even a 2 point check. The vet said he was lame, the owners agreed that he was at the point of the examination. Owners did disclose historical laminitus, but he had not had it recently (2 years) and suggested he might have had access to grass which had been rained on recently? Or twinged something in the field. Apparently he is much improved today.
The owners were so genuine (offering to bring him quite a distance to a show local to me, so that my daughter could try him in this context). They are not asking an unfair price for him.
The pony just seemed so perfect for my daughter and we have been looking far and wide. I am considering a second vet opinion (first vet, is my own, and is notoriously over cautious) and getting blood work and x rays done….but would this be throwing good money after bad?
We need a pony who is not in pain, but does not need to be perfect. Its for a child to love, gain confidence with, go to pony club (old pony expelled), hack etc. Not looking to do big jumps (probably nothing over 40cm).

I would steer clear of a known laminitic, if they've had it once, it is an ongoing battle to keep them sound.

I wouldn't be throwing anymore money at this pony.

would this be throwing good money after bad?

Yes. Don't do it.

Buying a pony is a nightmare.. we weren't looking for anything special and had to view 14 before we found the one..we had 2 failed settings along the way. One was early arthritis so everyone said don't touch it with a bargepole. The other one just lame on the day.. left to rest and had the vet out again 4 weeks later and passed.
It's hell but you need to be patient and persevere..

Do not waste your money any further on this pony. Existing laminitis means it will always ne prone to it and can be a nightmare to manage correctly.
Walk away from this one and keep looking, the perfect pony will be out there just be patient.
If it is any consolation my friend has just bought a horse after 4 horses she wanted to buy all failed the vetting for various reasons. It took her 6 months but she finally found the perfect one.

Going very slightly against the grain here, if it really was a bout of laminitis caused by inadvertent access to too much rich grass, and you believe the sellers that it is much better today and hasn't been a major issue in the past, then it would be worth potentially the small investment of getting a second vet out to verify that - laminitis while certainly a PITA to manage is pretty common amongst small ponies and not at all the same thing as structural or muscular lameness and you wouldn't need xrays to diagnose (a tendon or ligament or bone damage wouldn't have cleared up this quickly so to me if he was hopping lame on the day of the vetting and then sound a few days later that pretty strongly suggests laminitis to me unless it was something like a foot abscess or stone bruise which vet on the day should have been able to spot). Probably worth getting bloods done though in case they aren't all they seem and have buted up to the max to get him to appear sound! Then if confirmed it really was laminitis and he's now sound (and vet confirms so) then consider whether it's something you can cope with - how do current sellers manage it - will he wear a grazing muzzle happily as this is a useful tool, or is he an escape artist? How is your yard on managing different grazing needs, at my current yard it would be difficult as there's a limited selection of grazing and no starvation paddock or track system and they have to come in overnight in winter which can be difficult to manage for fattys, but other places are better set up. You'd certainly want a substantial discount for a known laminitic compared to same pony without as it is obviously something that requires constant monitoring but for me it wouldn't be a total no in all circumstances esp given your particular needs. But ofc you need your eyes open and the support of your yard manager etc. as you're not super-experienced yourself...

I am also of the opinion that historical laminitis is not necessarily the be all and end all. It depends on how often he has had it (you said not for 2 years - how frequently before that) and whether he has been on limited grazing, or no grazing. Some ponies become lame from it after just a tiny bit of grass, others are actually easy to manage (I have one - had it one 9 years ago. Never since and I do nothing more than strip graze and keep him off cereals).

Worth asking a few more questions about his previous lami, at least.

You may have to wait but there will be other perfect ponies. In buying an aged horse you're already opening yourself up to a world of vets bills and heartbreak. Worth it sometimes. But a horse who is liable to go lame like this is going to continue doing that and you can't afford to have your hearts broken again. It's terribly hard to let this kind of pony go by, I know. But there will be others.

I wouldn't touch a known laminitis with a very long bargepole. At eighteen I'd suspect it would be cushings related, meaning medication, blood tests etc on an ongoing basis. That's besides the restrictive management needed, some ponies can't tolerate grass at all and being locked in a box/muzzled or on a tiny turnout area with soaked hay isn't much fun for anyone.
Then you've got the issue that the pony may well be lame and unrideable for extended periods and could well end up being euthanise. I'd steer clear in your shoes.

I don't think it's fair to expect an 18 year old pony with feet trouble to be cantering and jumping a whole lot. A horse has a certain amount of miles in him, even more so children's ponies. Failing a vetting is a bad sign that perhaps he's had a hard life and needs to slow down.

What were you expecting to do with the pony after dd has finished with it? Realistically you'll be it's last working home. If he goes irreparably lame in a few months, you'll have to look after it for another 10-15 years till it dies.

As an aside, if your dd needs to be on a lead rein to jump, then imo she's not ready to jump.

I'm not sure I agree Thatsenoughnow. Two of my children's ponies had occasional lami episodes and both stayed sound with careful management well past their teen years, one lived to the age of 28 (we think, could possibly have been even older as passporting and records weren't as good in those days) and both were perfectly well enough to have a potter about with a light weight child right till the end. That's not the case for all laminitic/older ponies, of course not, but I think writing everything older than 15 off as a total liability is misguided, it all depends on the individual, how they'll be managed and what you want them for. Doing low level PC and 40cm jumps is hardly hard work, even a small pony can pop that height barely having to break stride, it would be totally different if this was an eventer or a BSJA pony. I'm not saying OP should buy the pony, more just if it is at the easier to manage/sounder end of the lami spectrum and if she has the right set up at home and if she can negotiate enough off the price to compensate for the extra management then why not? I'd take a proven rock steady older teen pony that was sound in light work with sensible management but that might not stand up to heavier work over a younger but unsteadier one any day, particularly given OP's previous experience. There's never a guarantee with animals at the end of the day and at least with an older horse you have your eyes open to the any particular problems. I assume OP's considered the issues of buying an 18 year old and the difficulty reselling already and planned accordingly so the lami doesn't necessarily change that...

And I get your point about jumping on the lead rein but that's surely a matter for the child's instructor, our old PC DC was of a similar mindset to you but since she retired the embargo on lead rein jumping has been lifted and the littlies are allowed as a treat to do tiny 'jumps' with a leader running alongside for confidence and holding on if they want, TBH very little actual 'jumping' happens, all they are really doing is steering around a course of barely lifted poles but both DC and ponies absolutely love it and enjoy themselves way more than doing circles or round the worlds or whatever else they'd be doing to practice the same skills, it makes them feel like 'proper' riders and does their enthusiasm no end of good (if the pony cooperates of course, if you have a rearer as OP seems to it's a different matter but in that case I'd be extremely glad of having someone at the head!), I wish it had been allowed for mine is all I can say, whether it's 'proper' or not!

Having 2 ponies, one with cushings and one that is insulin resistant I would walk away. I've had mine for 11 years and it is very hard work constantly soaking hay and absolutely no grass. Save yourself the heartache

As an aside, if your dd needs to be on a lead rein to jump, then imo she's not ready to jump.

Totally disagree with this.

I have owned and managed laminitics / CS / metabolic syndrome in the past and, while it is doable, it is VERY hard work and requires constant vigilance - I really, really wouldn't recommend it as a path for novice owners.

I'm sorry, I know that buying and selling can be heart-breaking, but you will find another pony who is much more suitable for your needs and level of experience and that doesn't come with complicated, life-limiting health conditions.

All the best to you and your daughter.

Also, as PPs have mentioned, given that the pony is 18, yours would theoretically be their last home (I have known ponies which have gone on for seemingly centuries, but given this chap's issues, it would highly unethical, IMO, to sell or loan him on when your daughter outgrows him).

Even assuming you could keep him sound for as long as required, would you then be prepared to keep and look after an expensive 'field ornament' and all the extremely high maintenance that goes in to keeping a horse or pony with lami for anything between 5-15 years, or would you euthanise humanely and deal with the inevitable upset that brings?

Thank you for all your responses.
We had very carefully considered the fact that we would be the pony’s last home. We live in an equestrian property with 14 acres of paddocked land, with stables, currently unused. We fully intended to bring the pony home to retire.
We have continued our search and we have found a 12 year old pony with a very sweet temperament and she sailed through her vetting. We will be going ahead with this pony.
However, I will always think of the 18 year old as the one who got away!
With regards to jumping, my daughter can jump her friend’s ponies, and both ponies that we went to view. She cannot reliably jump her existing pony, especially when away from home as he has a tendency to either bolt, dramatically spook or rear.

best of luck all I would add is that jumping on lead rein is the right way to teach. My daughter jumped her own pony and others on lead reign from 3-6 and has only just come off lead reign. At first she held a grab strap, then mane and finally reins. At 6 she is a lovely jumper and today at camp jumped a log on her own

Also I think you are doing the right thing to change ponies

After months finally found a pony. Vetting showed Ring Bone. Would need further xrays to determine if articular or not.
Is this just....No?

It would be a no from me