I am looking into this horse as a future jumper (3’3-3’9) potential. I was taking a closer look at his photos and realized he may have some club feet. I am not very educated regarding club feet and so it is hard for me to tell if they even are.
So two questions:
Pictures:
I’m no foot expert but I find it hard to determine as he’s not standing on a firm flat surface. Hard to determine if he’s in a rut or not standing in the sand.
You will not know whether there is any true clubbing without a vet and xrays, especially from these photos.
Is he sound for the job he’s doing now? If so, for how long has he been sound? Is the job he’s doing now the job you want him to do? Where is he in the price range of other horses that do this job?
Clubbed foot or not - those are the questions I’d want the answers to to decide if I’d pass. In an adult horse, a history of soundness while doing its job is very valuable, and unless you have a big budget you might need to accept a horse with flaws.
Club feet do not bother me at all if the horse is sound and performing on them. That includes if it raced and stayed sound if looking at OTTBs. Get the best farrier you can and keep it on a six week or less shoeing cycle and I’ve never had any issues arise from them IF they are not causing any problems currently.
There are a lot of things that I do consider red flags that others don’t mind, but club feet are not one of my personal reasons to nix an otherwise suitable horse. I am sure opinions on this will vary wildly.
By “prospect” do you mean it is not currently Jumping anything near the 1.1m or so you are selecting him for? Has he raced or done other hard, regular work staying sound over a long period of time?
I do not know about club feet versus iffy farrier work, can’t tell off these pics. But I do see a few other things that might restrict physical ability to go thru the schooling and practice to get around a course at that height and width. A PPE would be a must for me on this one.
True that, findeight. I don’t like this horse’s back/topline, I’d make sure its SI is OK. Or its shoulder, or the way its neck is set; it is heavy in front and light behind. Or its very thin bone and the way it stands on those front tendons, it looks like the kind of horse that is going to have suspensory issues. But the feet don’t bother me particularly and 3’3-3’9 isn’t very high so if it’s doing the job and is sound and is going to take care of OP, it doesn’t have to be a beauty queen.
But if it is just a prospect straight OTT, there are hundreds of other nicer ones. I really like a jumper prospect with a big strong hindquarter, a strong shoulder but balanced with three equal parts that is going to be light in front and easy to balance. This horse looks like it will be heavy on the forehand to ride and I try to buy one that is light from day 1 in the canter, why spend years fighting the tide when you can just buy one that has it naturally. That’s one of the key things I look for in a TB OTT.
[QUOTE=ladyj79;8502553]
You will not know whether there is any true clubbing without a vet and xrays, especially from these photos.[/QUOTE]
I was really hoping to avoid xrays because of financial costs on a cheaper horse.
[QUOTE=AmmyByNature;8502613]
Is he sound for the job he’s doing now? If so, for how long has he been sound? Is the job he’s doing now the job you want him to do? Where is he in the price range of other horses that do this job?
Clubbed foot or not - those are the questions I’d want the answers to to decide if I’d pass. In an adult horse, a history of soundness while doing its job is very valuable, and unless you have a big budget you might need to accept a horse with flaws.[/QUOTE]
He was on the track from 2012-2014, had 15 starts and was never unsound. He also has done small cross country work and been in regular work since then and has not been unsound.
[QUOTE=fordtraktor;8502615]
Club feet do not bother me at all if the horse is sound and performing on them. That includes if it raced and stayed sound if looking at OTTBs. Get the best farrier you can and keep it on a six week or less shoeing cycle and I’ve never had any issues arise from them IF they are not causing any problems currently.
There are a lot of things that I do consider red flags that others don’t mind, but club feet are not one of my personal reasons to nix an otherwise suitable horse. I am sure opinions on this will vary wildly.[/QUOTE]
He is an OTTB and he raced for 3 years, 15 starts and was sound the entire time. He has been sound since when doing low cross country work and regular work.
[QUOTE=findeight;8502625]
By “prospect” do you mean it is not currently Jumping anything near the 1.1m or so you are selecting him for? Has he raced or done other hard, regular work staying sound over a long period of time?
I do not know about club feet versus iffy farrier work, can’t tell off these pics. But I do see a few other things that might restrict physical ability to go thru the schooling and practice to get around a course at that height and width. A PPE would be a must for me on this one.[/QUOTE]
He has been free jumped through 4’3. Jumped through 3’ in general. He also raced for 3-4 years and was sound the entire time. He did low cross country work as well.
A set of X rays is WAY cheaper than purchasing and finding out he cannot hold up to work. Why would you purchase a jumper prospect without xrays, esp hocks?
In a couple photos, his front feet look OK, but one photos shows possibly upright looking front hooves- OR he could have been in need of a good trim.
Sometimes when heels are high and bars/soles not trimmed they can look very stuffed in the fronts and this will make them look upright. See the ridges
above coronet, this makes me think he needs correct trimming.
The pictures make it impossible to tell for sure, since the footing makes his toes dive in a bit.
That said, I don’t see any evidence of even a Grade 1 club. It is very possible he’s got a little high/low situation going on,but the majority of horses have that to some degree.
It IS clear, as Marla said, that he does need some better trimming for the reasons she stated - the curved nature of the coronet bands. But again, very common, and nothing looks SO out of whack I’d fear for the future health of his feet.
We’d need pictures of him standing on a hard(er) flat surface to have any better idea.
He is already at the high end of my budget. I have decided to go with a different mare, more in my price range that I will be able to do a vet check on.
[QUOTE=kyleekhansen;8502740]
He is already at the high end of my budget. I have decided to go with a different mare, more in my price range that I will be able to do a vet check on.[/QUOTE]
The purchase price is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of ownership and showing going forward. If you are concerned about cost, that’s all the more reason to have a PPE because ongoing vet bills or a lame horse would be way more expensive than the X-rays that might save you from making a mistake.
FWIW, I recently looked into mortality and major medical coverage and compared forms from various companies, and at least one now has an exclusion for a club foot.
[QUOTE=kyleekhansen;8502740]
He is already at the high end of my budget. I have decided to go with a different mare, more in my price range that I will be able to do a vet check on.[/QUOTE]
The purchase price is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of ownership and showing going forward. If you are concerned about cost, that’s all the more reason to have a PPE because ongoing vet bills or a lame horse would be way more expensive than the X-rays that might save you from making a mistake.
FWIW, I recently looked into mortality and major medical coverage and compared forms from various companies, and at least one now has an exclusion for a club foot.
[QUOTE=kyleekhansen;8502684]
I was really hoping to avoid xrays because of financial costs on a cheaper horse.[/QUOTE]
This is what’s known as false economy.
I’m glad you’ve decided to pass on him if you can’t afford xrays.
[QUOTE=kyleekhansen;8502740]
He is already at the high end of my budget. I have decided to go with a different mare, more in my price range that I will be able to do a vet check on.[/QUOTE]
Good choice. Always check for yourself and be a little skeptical of claims of soundness. 15 starts in 3 years is not a heavy load and means very little without seeing his actual race record and looking for gaps in training.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
