Deposit returned after vet check?

[Annie10]

$10k for a 3 yo with no post race re schooling? Holy cow.
But yes I would ask about the deposit but be prepared to write it off.

[foggythistle]

Definitely shouldn’t normally use the seller’s vet, although in this case you may have lucked out.

Lots of lessons to be learned from this (moderately) expensive experience.’

In the future, get the refundability of the deposit in writing. Be sure to talk to the vet yourself prior to vetting, being clear on what you are expecting out of the exam and what your intended use of the horse is. If at all possible, do NOT use the seller’s vet. As mentioned previously, ask if the seller would be willing to trailer the horse (at your expense) to the vet of your choice if said vet won’t come to the horse.

[Buster]

No, sorry if I was not clear. My suggestion was to trailer to a neutral vet clinic where you may have a choice of veterinarians to use. That may not have been an option for you either, though, I understand. I am mainly saying this for inexperienced folks that think it’s perfectly fine to use a seller’s veterinarian. I usually avoid that at all costs, although I understand there are some situations that may be necessary. I realize that you can send the x-rays to your own vet, and have done that, but anymore my feeling is that the clinical portion is actually much more important . And if you don’t have a good, unbiased Vet with an excellent eye for lameness, that can really put you at a disadvantage. Either way, it sounds like you dodged a bullet, and I always like to have a take away lesson from these types of experiences. Good luck in finding the perfect horse for your daughter!!

[poltroon]

@Jarpur

When I sold a horse, I would offer to trailer (gratis) up to 45 minutes (one-way) to the veterinarian of the buyer’s choice – would have pushed the distance a little/time, but wasn’t going to haul the horse hours away.

But, back when our area veterinarians took turns taking evening and weekend calls, chances were that local horse owners would eventually cycle though all of the vets available within a reasonable distance – meaning that they would be considered a client of all of them, even if for only a one-time emergency call for a horse other than the one for sale.

Due to this, there was the chance of a conflict when I was selling a horse. For examples of out-of-state sales, one buyer told me to just use my regular veterinarian, and another buyer accepted having another veterinarian I had used taking fresh radiographs. I was never trying to hide anything, and didn’t use veterinarians that would have done so.

This would be true in our area too - I have at one time or another used all the equine vets in our county in various emergencies or special situations, though there is one practice that is clearly my home practice, the ones that trust me with their text number. If I were selling I’d suggest one of the others but these days with vet shortages it’s easy to see that this could be an issue.

It does sound like the veterinarian in this case did a thorough job even if they didn’t handle the PPE ideally by calling during the exam.

I am starting to shop myself (sob) so this thread has been a good reminder of some issues to be looking out for.

When at all possible, it’s been my experience that attending the PPE is well worth the effort - the vet will tell you things in the moment that won’t go into a written report or phone call, and it gives you extra opportunities to observe the horse’s behavior during the exam. But, I’m also aware that this can be really hard to arrange in our busy lives and buying a horse far away. These days, a trusted proxy could also share with phone video potentially.