Horse nervous for ppe

[gymangel812]

I had a ppe done on a horse today and the vet said he was very nervous and jumpy. Otherwise, the exam went well. I was not present for the exam. When I tried him, he was chill (despite the seller warning me he was forward [it was an unususually warm day]). I watched the owner get him from field and groom him.

Would this be a deal breaker for you (maybe signs of him being nervous in general)? the seller sent me current vet records and his ppe record from over 2 years ago. The ppe from then did show he had to be sedated to get a temperature.

[Bluey]

Sounds like a nice, chill horse with some/one quirk.

Many ads for horses say “good with the farrier”, “good for the vet”, and so on.
His add would say, “not good with the vet”.

May want to find out what else he may not be good with?
Then you can decide if you want to try to live with that and any other than may show up.

Evidently was bad enough for the vet to mention that, something you will have to work with and live with.
It depends what your situation is if you can manage quirks and which ones.

[gymangel812]

yes, i asked how he was with farrier and trailering and the seller said fine. the horse has done shows in a few states. my farrier contacted his current farrier and that farrier didn’t mention him being a problem. i asked if he had to be sedated for the farrier or vet and seller said no. the vet records show he was sedated for teeth float (as expected) but not for shots. i can deal with him being quirky for the vet, as long as it doesn’t carry over to riding or normal handling.

[starhorse]

I’d only be a bit nervous if I had reason to believe the horse may have been drugged during the rides/visits, and not during the vet appt (for instance, if they were drawing blood). If he was previously sedated for a vet, probably not, but it would give me pause to see a totally chill, well-mannered horse on a trial then lose it for a vet.

[TheMoo]

I don’t really have an opinion as I have never not been there for a PPE. I will say I have had horses be nervous around certain vets. Nothing happened that was concerning to me as the owner, just they seemed more relaxed with other vets.

[2DogsFarm]

@starhorse

would give me pause to see a totally chill, well-mannered horse on a trial then lose it for a vet.

A friend has a horse she bought as a 9mo colt.
He is now 15 & has always had to be loaded into her 2H trailer for any vet work.
She has 4 other horses & all are fine with the vet.
Same vet treats all her horses & has for years.

So the horse you want may be fine for you & just quirky about vets.
Or possibly just the vet who did the PPE.
Did you have blood drawn (prior to sedation)?
That could show if horse had been drugged for your test ride.

[hlra11]

This would not really worry me. I have a legitimate candidate for the worlds best kids pony. He will do anything, go anywhere for a kid. You can climb all over him, heck hell even load into the back of a minivan for you. But the vet walks into his stall and he becomes a fire breathing dragon with hulk strength. Hes had many vets over the last 16 years with me, but its the same every time once he figures out whats going on… which is not very long considering hes as smart as he is adorable. Hes 11.3h, but is a DEF 2-3 person job to get done with shots and any vetting without tranq. Ive had him his entire life and hes always been this way.

Sometimes they just really dont like the vet but are perfect in every other way.

[Equkelly]

I’d be a little concerned about drugging. The seller could have predicted the vet would pull blood so she didn’t give him anything that day but did the other day when you tried him. That could explain the PPE behaviors.

Or it could be that the horse is just had a traumatic experience with the vet. My mare used to love my vet until she did her first dental. Now she thinks the vet is a terrible horse abusing lady and will pin her ears whenever my vet’s truck comes down the driveway.

[GraceLikeRain]

I’ll throw out a contrasting opinion. I tried a mare that was rock solid bordering on a bland personality. She had a flat affect, very much a “burned out lesson horse” vibe and was a push ride. During her PPE the vet noted she was obedient but shaking during flexions. You couldn’t see it from even a few feet and I remember thinking “eh, I wouldn’t love the vet either and she’s a good girl for standing so still despite being nervous”.

In reality, this is a horse with deep deep baggage who is highly distrustful of people. She was so shutdown and disassociated that she came across as easy. She did exactly as told because she thought she had no option. The vets presence pushed her threshold enough that some of that became visible. Unraveling all of that baggage has been tricky and in reality this is a hot hot mare when nervous.

I’d be curious to do a second test ride and push the horse just slightly. Maybe ask the seller if you can do a little groundwork or see how he responds to an umbrella opening or a tarp. If he spooks it isn’t a big deal, he’s a horse but you may see more to this horse with a little stress. The fact that he was labeled as hot and you tried him on an unusually hot day would definitely make me want to see him a second time before proceeding. If he’s got a seller may have lunged him down a bit and then you saw him on a warm day and that horse isn’t going to reappear again until June.

[candyappy]

If he is close enough can you schedule another visit to try him and get there early enough that they couldn’t drug him ( if you fear they are)?

I know some people on here get upset about this but unethical sellers make it necessary sometimes.

If he was good for you when you tried him and his farrier doesn’t need to sedate him I imagine he just has an issue with the vet and some of the things that were done.

My mare stands like a rock for the vet until he draws blood or has to administer a sedative. Just how some are.

[Spudsmyguy]

I had a horse that was sweet and pretty calm about most anything except the vet. Vet came out to tube worm (when that was still being done) and it was a battle just to sedate him. Horse fought the sedation and vet couldn’t get the tube situated. As soon as the vet left, horse went back to being his sweet willing self. I rescheduled the tubing and as soon as the vet got out of his truck, he walked up to the horse and BAM, nailed him with the sedation immediately before the horse had a chance to react. Tubing went off without a hitch. Later, I look outside and horse is laying down fast asleep resting his head against a tree.

[suzyq]

I would talk to the vet about how the horse conducted itself. Was it nervous but obedient? I was present at one ppe and actually stopped the ppe because the horse was so bad for the vet. She was a nice horse but I didn’t want to deal with that. My current horse is a bit nervous with the vet sometimes, but obediant.

If you are concerned about nervousness in general, have you talked with the seller about that? Maybe you could ride the horse again and take it to a new place or something?

I always do ppe next day after riding and pull blood and do drug testing.