nice big ottb on the local site, but he has a visible curb in the pics. Not sure how old it is, any tips on predicting how pretty it will heal up? I would take more of a chance if it was for a personal horse but as a resale project I am leery of visible blemishes.
Without any history on the horse, it’s anybody’s guess.
Old curbs, bone spavin and bog spavin – once cool-- shouldn’t put off your average buyer from being interested in your horses. Not everyone has the same knowledge base, so it’s best to do a PPE on horse to find out how active this injury is, then decide from there if you want to go ahead with purchase.
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The criteria for a project horse you will train further or retrain and sell should be much stricter than for a horse you want to be part of your life for long time.
When it comes to selling your project horse, prospective buyers will go over it with a fine comb and it will be harder to sell if the horse is any other than close to perfect.
Buyers already come with all kinds of expectations when looking at a horse, even the odd ones like “my non-horsey boyfriend has to like it”.
No need to add to that blemishes, even if they are only cosmetic ones.
Unless you think he will become a pro horse, where those may not be an issue over training, talent and a winning record.
Just think, you yourself are asking about that curb as a buyer.
That will also become a question when it is time for you to sell the horse.
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Bluey, your post is depressing. Absolutely factual, but depressing the same.
Gone are the days where minor conformational flaws and scars are observed from the perspective of “The horse is X years old and had Y career before he came to me. Of course he’s going to have some jewelry.”
It’s sad to see the population decreasing that can determine the difference between critical flaws and minor conformation issues that won’t be performance inhibiting. Then again, lots of folks think they’re heading to the olympics but never make it out of their county. 
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It should not be a soundness issue. They pop up overnight at the track, and you usually don’t stop the horse because of them. But yeah, I understand how picky buyers are.
Sorry about that.
I was thinking, a few months from now we will have someone posting about buying a horse with a curb and it may just be that one.
It is a good question, when in doubt, find out more.
At the same time buyers are getting more picky, I should have said that more informed buyers today than ever is great also because they should put in perspective that most curbs are merely cosmetic.
That is better all around, reason to smile.
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It’s typically just cosmetic and wouldn’t bother me-- I actually did buy a horse with one and he has never had any issues. Even in a resale horse it wouldn’t worry me much, unlike a big bow or lumpy ankles.
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They will usually cool out on their own, but if they don’t, freeze firing them works well. I had one sent from the track to winter board here. Biggest curb I have EVER seen, just a monster curb, as big as your fist. And it was still sore. I suggested that the owners get it freeze fired, but they didn’t. Improved over the winter, and he went back into race training the following spring. But it bothered him again that year, sore again. THIS time, they did freeze fire it, and sent him back again here to winter. It reduced in size substantially, and he was sound on it from then on, and won a bunch of races. Freeze firing works well on curbs.
thanks everyone
