I’m curious…has anyone bought a horse that your vet advised against buying after a PPE? (Not the same thing as someone else passing on the horse after a PPE and you buying it later.) If so, did the horse stay sound? If not, was the cause something that had been identified as problematic in the PPE, or something else entirely?
Well I have a horse that I’m not sure would have passed a PPE, his conformation alone is enough to make one shudder (seriously, you’ve never seen a horse as back at the knee as this one.) But he was a rescue, got him for free, and after proper farrier work he is performance sound (and has been for years.)
Another mare did not pass her PPE and the vet told us to seriously think about how much we liked her. We got her at a discount from the owner, spent a few thousand in diagnostics and surgery (multiple chips in stifle) and after an uneventful 8 week recovery, she is 100% sound.
I bought one (without riding him since he was too wild to get on) that was sound when I saw him and 3 legged lame when he was vetted. After diagnostics, vet thought that he had strained a stifle. Had him for 20 years and never regretted buying him. Horse of a lifetime.
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I had a PPE and feet and hock x-rays on my younger horse. He has contracted heels, which is not uncommon in TWH from the south. I’ve had him a year and a half and he has been totally sound shod or barefoot. Vet did not advise against him just said it was something that needed attention and good farrier work. So I bought him knowing this and have definitely not regretted it. There just are not guarantees even with a perfect PPE. Some issues are worth taking a chance on.
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They all have something, but no, my vet knows me and although it was painful I’ve always taken his advice. Now, I have bought a couple with no PPE because I knew the horse and knew they wouldn’t pass, or knew the horse for years and just bought her. One had heaves and slight navicular, but was a steal and I hunted him for a couple of years, then sold to an adult who loved him until he died. It’s kinda like I knew he wouldn’t pass but knew what I had to deal with. And for the buyers PPE the vet said that all things considered, he was a great horse for her, and he was. It just really depends. I find that some sellers get really mad when you find something that just will kill the deal. PPEs, God. I’ve had some sellers really get agressive.
Long ago, looked at a horse for a friend.
Horse had an ugly scar on his RF pastern.
Asked vet, he said he didn’t know how he was sound on it.
Vet didn’t think he won’t stay sound much longer.
Horse was perfect for older friend, we took a chance.
20 years later horse injured his knee beyond repair.
He was bucking around in the pasture … at 30 years old.
After two bouts of penile cancer, that he was now free.
That bad pastern? Never gave a minute’s trouble.
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Sometimes the things we fear never come to pass. It’s usually something that blindsides us.
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No, I’ve never bought a horse against my vet’s advice. That said, I’d never had a horse vet “clean.” Every horse I’ve bought has had findings, some minor, some major - but my vet and I were always on the same page about our ability to manage them before the wire was sent.
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I have a neighbor for whom I horse sit occasionally. She has a palomino QH gelding of a gorgeous shade of gold. At some point, he foundered spectacularly. He is currently sound and being ridden barefoot three or four times a week. I asked how old he is the last time I was there…she had to think about it for a while. Finally, she to!d me, “Dr S. Told me not to buy him in 1985, as he was already foundered. He’s 37 this year.” I was shocked. To look at him, you can clearly see he is aged, but I would have guessed maybe 20ish!
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Well, technically I didn’t “buy” one…but, I had gone to look at a horse, test-rode her and after thinking about it, asked if I could try her out. I knew it was not too likely the owner would say yes, but lo and behold, she did. So, 2 weeks after I had tried her out, I drove 2 hours to get her and she had dropped probably 200 pounds. She looked horrible! They must have stopped feeding her. All their pasture was dead. No one, including my husband, was available to accompany me that day, so I had to decide on my own, do I say never mind or take the poor thing home? I decided I couldn’t leave her there, so I took her home. The agreement was that I would try her for 3 weeks. I had left a check for the purchase price for owner to hold (Which wasn’t that high- she was a 14 year old (supposedly)BLM mustang. After 2 weeks I had the vet out for a PPE. I just couldn’t take her back there but couldn’t ride her in the shape she was in. She had a long list of issues, including the fact that she was at least 16 years old. I texted the issues to the owner, said I’ve already spent X amount on her grocery-wise given the shape she was in when I picked her up, plus she has issues… Owner agreed to let me have her. Several months later, she had filled out, was 100% sound and quite sassy. Too much sass for me in fact, so after about a year, I gave her to a friend who adores her.
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I took a Tb mare on trial for 2 weeks prior to vetting her. She was such a good egg (and lovely mover that was a joy to ride) that I knew I wanted to buy her before the PPE. The vet did find a significant bone spur in her right hock (although she flexed ok). Her fronts looked great though and he said that was probably more important for jumping anyway (“the landing gear gets more wear and tear” as he put it). I did buy her and she was the best horse (to date) that I ever owned. She evented into her late teens and in her older years taught my hubby and others how to ride. She was the kindest, sweetest horse I have ever known. When she was in her teens, I had to do some maintenance—Adequan and hock injections. Sometimes she was a little “hitchy” on the right hind, but worked out of it. The maintenance was well worth it—and with that support, she still looked amazing at age 21. I lost her this past summer at age 24----due to a freak pasture accident. Miss her every day.
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I did. Years ago I bought a three year old that failed a PPE with me twice and had some concerning findings on xrays. My vet recommended I pass but this horse had an a+ temperament and I was completely smitten. He did eventually become unsound …25 years later for completely unrelated reasons. I look at the experience as my one time free pass for being impossibly young and optimistic.
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I’ve done it in the past, with no regrets. I am looking at one right now that I like so much I don’t care if his knees are full of marbles.
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Back when, I bought a German-bred Hanoverian with pink papers as a 2 year old because the price was right…herd dispersal. Seller fully disclosed that she had one hock X-ray (Left) that showed a bone spur.
I showed X-ray to a friend’s father who was a orthopedist. He said NBD. I bought the horse…then showed X-rays to a vet who said pass on the horse.
Horse never takes a lame step.
Fast forward 11 years. I want to sell the horse so I take it for bilateral hock X-rays. The vet find the other hock (right) was worse than the left…and that after 11 years there were no changes to the left hock.
Because I had the early and current X-rays, the horse sold no problem.
I am a firm believer in vetting the seller vs the horse.
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Didn’t “buy”, but my long-term lease (my schoolmaster), soon as I got him home I went to my vet for a baseline check up. Vet shook his head and told me he wouldn’t advise me to keep the boy.
I did anyway, and yes there was a ton of maintenance. But I learned soooooooooo much from this horse I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
Warning: Gonna NameDrop here 
:
When I bought my Hunter - the Hey Vern! in my sig - he was PPE’d by Ross Hugi - later infamous in my part of the Midwest
He pronounced him sound, but “Won’t ever be more than a B horse”
A couple years later I was offered $45K by Diane Carney (through my trainer at the time, so add her 15-20% commssion to that #) who thought he’d be a good Adult Ammy horse. This was in the early 90s.
Offer after she watched my Novice shareboarder ride him in a clinic of hers - where I was told Ms Loose-In-The-Tack almost came off over a bounce, except Vern nearly cantered in place to keep her in the saddle.
I had Vern 20yrs & even though I stopped competing Hunters, he went on to school Dressage to 3rd, Eventing to Training & stayed sound throughout.
I had a horrible experience, I was in my teens looking for a jr jumper horse. Found one that seemed perfect, was super scopey. Had shown at thermal etc in the 1.20s. Had a well known vet out to do a PPE, x rayed some stuff. She said either offer way less or pass totally. Trainer liked the horse, I liked the horse. Thought we were getting a deal. The horse was never 100%. He still happily jumped around the 1.20 etc. I don’t think I ever would of gotten a chance to show that level if I didn’t get this horse.
A few years later my guardian died/biggest horse support in my life. I had to get rid of the horse as I couldn’t work off expensive board and try to live + I had other pressure to stop riding completely.
sold the horse, few years later the person who bought him turned around and sold him for 5x what I sold him for (no joke) this horse hasn’t been sound for the new owners for months now. I released all my vet records etc to new owners.
I did recently buy a 3 year old off the track (he will be 5 now) and he was dead lame and sat in a pasture for a year, his whole body hurt. I got him for cheap, skipped a PPE. I’ve been riding him for the past few months. We’ve moved cows on him, been elk hunting etc. has been one of my better horse experiences. I think he’s just super greatful if that’s possible
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I had a Morgan mare for a short while who had “failed” a PPE as a two-year-old. (Not my PPE) She had a very crooked front leg. I worked for her breeder and rode her for about a year after she’d been started to saddle before the breeder gifted her to me. When I got married I gave her back to the breeder, and she was sold to a young pony clubber. She never took a lame step for me, or for any of her future pony club riders; she competed at Training Level Eventing and First Level dressage and then spent years as a lower level school master and lived to be 30.
I have bought several with obvious issues I was advised would likely require maintenance down the road. 50/50 on whether it turned out to actually be a problem but all horses tend to need some sort of maintenance at some point. I have had good luck with ankles and “navicular changes” but bad luck with long pasterns (I know you have BTDT, Libby).
i don’t think I have ever PPE’d a horse that didn’t come up with something to worry about. And if I did, I am sure it would get home and get kicked or slip and find a way to have a problem.
Also, some horses have terrible X rays and are just fine and others x ray clean and have no end of issues. My old jumper had perfect hock X rays his whole life but required regular maintenance from the age of 10. Even Kent Allen at VEI was puzzled by him. With injections he was a different horse so that is just what we did despite the clean films. So weird…every purchase is a roll of the dice.
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On some level, my daughter’s horse. Her prior owner had her sold, but she flunked the vet and the buyers passed, so she discounted her price. We didn’t have her vetted because we knew she wouldn’t pass anyway, and we all loved her, so we decided to take a chance. She has stayed very sound (not counting a nasty stone bruise) all these 19 years we have owned her. I have had several people ask me over the years “have you had soundness issues with legs like that?” She has been a horse of a lifetime.
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