Failed vetting, would you still buy?

[starmoonsun]

Looking to get a pony for my daughters as a general all rounder.
Found one we really like, the pony already had a vet certificate from the sales in Ireland. Limited background information and pony is only 5.
Decided to get him vetted again and its come back as slightly lame when lunged on a hard surface (3/10) and vet said its still there when ridden (1/10) but she was looking for it.

Don't know what to do as we really liked him, would you risk it or not ?

Depends on price, reason for lameness, age of pony, suitability of pony for what I wanted, level of horse ownership experience, my ability to cover vet bills (any lameness will be excluded now and in the future), how long I wanted it for and ability to sell on.

I wouldn't. Too much risk of having a completely lame pony once you get him home.

No I wouldn’t. You would be taking on problems

Only if you really like contributing to your vet's financial wellbeing. Mind you I bought a horse you failed vetting on one eye. Still have him 17 years later and it was 14 years before the eye caused a problem. We did negotiate the price down significantly though. My friend's advice at the time was don't pay more than you can afford to write off if it doesn't work out and he needs to be PTS.

No. Not with lameness. Some reasons for failed vetting can be overlooked, but not lameness

A 5 Yr old pony?
Firstly how old are your daughters because green + green = black. Why only "limited" info about background?
Sounds like a total recipe for disaster!

I did actually buy a 5 year old that had failed a vetting for being 1/10 lame, the testing vet had said to the prospective purchasers they thought it was a shoeing issue and easily resolved but they decided not to proceed.
Their loss was very much our gain, he was a wonderful pony - a very good all rounder and a true family pony who we all adored. We lost him 2 years ago.
When I had him vetted, he pulled off a front shoe trotting round in the exercise part and the 5 stage had to become a 2 stage!

Did he fail the flexion test? That is apparently controversial anyway.

Depends on the reason for the lameness. If it’s a small injury like a bruised sole or a slight pull of the shoulder/stifle then fine. Things happen in turnout. However unless you’re willing to investigate prior to purchase I’d walk away as management of a larger issue can be costly. My mare is now 17 and has an issue with her SI and hamstrings. Managed by physio, keeping her muscled correctly and advised supplements - all at a cost. But she was sound when I bought her. I wouldn’t have taken her on if these were an issue at purchase

As above. Depends on the reason.

What are the fields like? Are they muddy? Could the pony have tweaked a leg in the mud?
How much turnout is it getting? Could it be a bit stiff from standing in?
You said its come over from Ireland. What were the sales photos like? Was it perhaps overjumped from an early age?

Still, being lame when ridden is definitely a lot more worrying than lame after a flexion test. Especially in such a young pony.

Not in the situation you’ve described no.

Where I might consider it is lame on a hard small circle 1/10, maybe 2/10, in an veteran pony in their late teens+, that was being bought as a first pony for a very novice child who just wanted to bumble about hacking at a very low level, where perhaps I knew the pony through PC or similar, knew the history and that the pony was sane and sensible and could give the child the confidence they needed right now.

I wouldn’t entertain it in a 5 year old with unknown history.

I was bitten in a slightly similar situation- young horse, only 7. Had struggled in his current home with novice owner and was very underweight and extremely under muscled. He was 2/10 on a hard circle at a pre purchase vetting and the buyer pulled out. He was desperately overdue for shoeing. We took him on loan as a punt, knowing he’d be a project. Our physio was hopeful that the minor lameness on a circle was due to the above issues and as he put on muscle in a controlled way with lots of specific exercises he’d improve. He didn't. It involved extensive veterinary investigation and treatment and a huge amount of rehab work but ultimately he had an SI problem that didn’t resolve and had to go back to his owner as the vet said ultimately it was retire or PTS.

Why would you pay for a vetting and ignore what's it's telling you? A 5 year old pony should not be 3/10ths lame without obvious explanation and insurance will now exclude that leg so you'd be getting into a world of difficulties trying to find out why IME. Sorry!

Thanks for the advice. I knew the correct answer all along just wanted reassurance as my heart was saying otherwise.
Agree with posters, if it was older and knew full history it might have been a different opnion but not a 5 year old with unknown history.

Walk away. A young pony should not be lame. The right one will turn up. I walked away from a 6 yo that was lame on 2 legs. Was hard to walk away, because I was convinced I had found ‘the one.’ 3 months later, I found a much better horse, no lameness.

I would also be very suspicious of a pony with ‘limited background’ though. And also would only be buying a 5 yo if I had the skills to bring a young pony on, especially if main rider is a child themselves.