Buying horse: two questions (hooves and quarantine)

[GaiaTX]

Hi,

I am new here and while I have owned horses before, it’s been 20 years since I have bought a horse. I have two questions:

1. The horse we are very interested in has a crack in each front hoof (he is barefoot). The crack is about 1/2". How would this impact your purchase decisions? Would it be a deal-breaker, would you negotiate the price down to cover the cost of the farrier working on the crack?

2. Quarantine: I see some posts about quarantining new horses, but that was in a kill-rescue thread. We will be getting 2-3 horses and have none right now although we ride at a nearby stable. If the horses are coming with vet exams, negative coggins, etc, would you still quarantine each new horse for a month? We are doing natural boarding and so our set up is a run-in shed in our pasture with the double fence around the perimeter to encourage movement around the whole pasture. We have a second pasture cross fenced, and a shelter in that - there is a common narrow fence separating the two pastures but we could add a strip of electric fence to keep them apart. Even if not quarantining, would you start the second horse in the other pasture so they’d have that separation for introduction or if they are all relatively new to the property would you add them into the same pasture?

Thanks,
Shannon

[GaiaTX]

Here is a photo of the crack

[Sansena]

Its’ really hard to see that crack because the photo is kinda small. Looks like it’s in the center of the toe, coming from the ground up?

Asking for a break in the price of the horse because of a few toe cracks is like asking for money off the purchase price of a car because the tires are 1/4 used. You take the advice of the professionals you hire to evaluate the horse (you know, a full pre-purchase exam, including radiographs of the feet so you can see if there’s something going on)… and you either buy the horse based upon that advice or walk. Yes, you can negotiate down for things like previous laminitis episode made evident by coffin bone rotation, or navicular changes, or sesamoid injuries, or arthritic hocks. But you don’t ask for $ off because of something that may very well be only cosmetic… like hoof cracks. Again, a good farrier can advise you as to the long term impact of ‘cracks’. this horse may have had his shoes pulled recently. He may never get a crack again or he may need shoes. We don’t know him, you don’t know him and that’s why you pay professionals to give you their best educated guess on what he future holds. And even in so doing… there are no guarantees.

As for quarantine… you mention details of how your home farm is set up but then also that you ride at a nearby stable. In any event, it’s always smart to keep new horses away from eachtoehr (i.e.: NOT nose to nose, ever and separate tools) until least 2 weeks have passed if from another barn, or longer if from a sale barn or dubious history. No, a PPE and Coggins doesn’t cover communicable diseases per se.

ETA: Coggins of course is the sign of EEE, a mosquito born communicable disease that usually ends up with euthanasia or lifetime quarantine (far enough away from other horses so the bugs don’t travel between!)

Frankly, from the questions you ask, I think it might be prudent to find a mentor IRL and do some half leasing before you bring horses home, to be yours.

I’ll say this the kindest way possible… your perspective on things is a bit unusual and you’ll serve yourself well by hanging around some honest, weathered horse folks before pulling the trigger on purchasing your own – especially to bring home and care for yourselves FT.

[2tempe]

If the crack is at the center and only 1/2 inch, it shouldn’t be much of an issue. My horses have had them occasionally (and my old TB more often than that). Farrier would cut a little triangle to turn crack into upside down V. Then treat w/ some type of anti fungal/antibiotic type solution for a short time. No biggie, but dont let it go.
Agree w/ above re price negotiation. Really, you will have a farrier come regularly to do horse when you own it. You will not be charged extra for this type of thing unless it requires something major.

[Guilherme]

Do you have or know a farrier? Let them look at it. Depending on when and how the foot was last trimmed it may or may not be Big Deal. A bigger question is horn quality and overall hoof conformation.

Regarding quarantine, more properly called “separation” unless you’ve got a sterile facility, do you know the place where the horses are coming from? This is more than a “paperwork drill.” If the originating barn is clean, professional, and well managed then a period of separation might not be required. If it’s a “rawhide” outfit then probably you should separate for at least a week or so. Are all the horses coming from the same place? This would be an advantage if they were pastured together as you’d have a group and that would may everything easier, at least at the start. Integration with a current herd is another subject for another thread!

Good luck in your program!

And Happy New Year!

G.

[Laurierace]

@Sansena

Its’ really hard to see that crack because the photo is kinda small. Looks like it’s in the center of the toe, coming from the ground up?

Asking for a break in the price of the horse because of a few toe cracks is like asking for money off the purchase price of a car because the tires are 1/4 used. You take the advice of the professionals you hire to evaluate the horse (you know, a full pre-purchase exam, including radiographs of the feet so you can see if there’s something going on)… and you either buy the horse based upon that advice or walk. Yes, you can negotiate down for things like previous laminitis episode made evident by coffin bone rotation, or navicular changes, or sesamoid injuries, or arthritic hocks. But you don’t ask for $ off because of something that may very well be only cosmetic… like hoof cracks. Again, a good farrier can advise you as to the long term impact of ‘cracks’. this horse may have had his shoes pulled recently. He may never get a crack again or he may need shoes. We don’t know him, you don’t know him and that’s why you pay professionals to give you their best educated guess on what he future holds. And even in so doing… there are no guarantees.

As for quarantine… you mention details of how your home farm is set up but then also that you ride at a nearby stable. In any event, it’s always smart to keep new horses away from eachtoehr (i.e.: NOT nose to nose, ever and separate tools) until least 2 weeks have passed if from another barn, or longer if from a sale barn or dubious history. No, a PPE and Coggins doesn’t cover communicable diseases per se.

ETA: Coggins of course is the sign of EEE, a mosquito born communicable disease that usually ends up with euthanasia or lifetime quarantine (far enough away from other horses so the bugs don’t travel between!)

Frankly, from the questions you ask, I think it might be prudent to find a mentor IRL and do some half leasing before you bring horses home, to be yours.

I’ll say this the kindest way possible… your perspective on things is a bit unusual and you’ll serve yourself well by hanging around some honest, weathered horse folks before pulling the trigger on purchasing your own – especially to bring home and care for yourselves FT.

Good advice although the coggins info is incorrect. A coggins tests for EIA. EEE is something they either survive or they don’t, there is no lifetime quarantine necessary.

[Sansena]

@Laurierace

Good advice although the coggins info is incorrect. A coggins tests for EIA. EEE is something they either survive or they don’t, there is no lifetime quarantine necessary.

Thank you so much for that correction.

[GaiaTX]

The horses I’ve ridden and owned were not barefoot, and so this was a new area to me. I am not new to horses, I have had a couple that I did care for full time, but at that time I had a more traditional set up and had boarded my horses together before bringing them to my place. So, I am new to barefoot hoof care and introducing different horses to a new property, so I wanted to check.

I’ve had a farrier check it out and they are superficial cracks that will be fine upon the next trim.

Thanks for verifying the need for separation at first.