Can I be the one to cautiously call “Bingo” on this thread and declare that I believe it to be BS?
Glad to be wrong, but something doesn’t smell right here.
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Nope, not alone there.
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Did you sign a contract that says you “must” buy or was it stated as you “could” buy?
And does lease fee go towards the purchase price if you buy?
Hmmm 
Well, it would certainly explain all of the inconsistencies, the rather odd premise – and the fact that the OP has seemingly vanished.
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Sooo, OP did not have him for anything but the July maintenance visit? A year of use with just that? Just looking for clarification.
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Not everyone lives on COTH. 
Sometimes they have other things going on in their lives that don’t make posting possible here for a good part of the day. The OP was on this morning. Give them time.
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True, but let’s see.
All I can say here is… Never spend more money on a horse than you can afford to flush down the toilet. My own joy comes from making “something” out of something that started with less economic value. But if your joy is different from mine, and you can afford it, why not?
Many decades ago, I heard a saying that “there is no excuse for a 3 foot hunter to be crippled”. It’s just not that hard on a horse who is well built and well cared for, and well ridden. I still believe that.
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Flexions can be useful in that they might show you where to look for an issue, but a mild reaction isn’t the full story. Flexions are not an every day thing for the horse to do. What matters more is how the horse performs while doing the intended job. Things like the way the horse is ridden, their work schedule, the footing they work on, amount of turnout and the ground they’re turned out on can make a difference in how the horse flexes on any given day.
I see that a lot of people have asked if you had radiographs done and I don’t see a response, though I may have missed it. I always get a second (and sometimes third) opinion on xrays. The vet who did the PPE gave you contradictory information. I’d get clarification from another doctor. I had a PPE done recently. The vet who performed the exam found nothing in the xrays to comment upon aside from a remark about fetlocks they would not effect performance. My second opinion disagreed about the fetlocks, but pointed out a couple other things.
As for the price…a well trained 12 year old show horse who you love is priceless. If you can afford the price -sounds great. Don’t spend 100k on the purchase of a horse if you can’t afford injections and corrective farrier work though.
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See, this is reasonable, and I wish it was more the norm. You were thoughtful and took the time to examine all angles (literally!) and find a solution. That’s good ownership.
My experience with suspensory injuries has been, “we don’t know what caused it; let’s hope it doesn’t happen again.” And then two years later it happens again. In a couple cases, an additional time after that. Each time the horse stepped down or was retired.
YMMV for sure with these things. Everyone has different risk tolerances, which I think this thread shows.
ETA this is also why I personally care a lot about who has previously owned a horse and will go through the record books as far back as I can. There are some programs that, if I know a horse has been a part of, I would steer clear knowing their regime and how they care for their horses.
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Poor horse. He needs a soft landing with an experienced horseperson who has low performance expectations.
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Y’all are wild 
I WISH I had enough time on my hands to draft an elaborate fake post on a forum. No, on top of having a life and an intense career that takes up most of my time m-f, I’ve stopped replying because I’m going to buy him. Bottom line, I love him too much to let him go to someone else. I don’t know what our future holds, but I can’t bear to part with him. If that means he retires soon, that’s ok. He’s worth it.
I appreciate everyone’s advice and wish you all happy riding 
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I support this update! Honestly it sounds like he vets similarly to what one would expect for a horse of his age and experience. Enjoy!
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He makes you happy. Wow I’d like to find a real life man like this!
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It’s also a hurricane situation in the Southeast/South… so if they’re located south of the Mason-Dixon line, that might have take precedence over COTH. Just sayin’.
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Hahahahahahahahaha and remember, we can always sell or rehome horses if it’s not a good match. Not so easy with fellow humans. 
Best of Luck!
OP, I’m sure the horse is lovely, knows his job well, and has taught you a lot during your yearlong lease. But you’re quite clear about two things: 1) you don’t show often, maybe once a year and 2) you’re an amateur rider contemplating the purchase of your first horse.
My advice is: Do not buy this horse. If you were uber wealthy and had plans to show in the big time, you might say to yourself, “Well, what the heck. He’s a nice horse and I’ll take the gamble that I can get one good show season out of him.” But that does not sound like you,
Second, you are indeed way over your head in evaluating this PPE finding. It takes years of experience and plenty of heartache to develop a reasonable set of guidelines for what is and is not an acceptable risk, given that any horse can injure itself or develop some unforeseen problem that can end its career.
Do listen to the people who are telling you there are all kinds of red flags here. You would be much better off with a sound but perhaps less fancy horse you can have fun with, given your modest ambitions. Of course, later, if your goals change, you can always “trade up” so to speak.
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I agree ^^^. No way I would spend $100k on a horse with this medical history if the next statement was, “I can’t afford to show very often”. Hell, I wouldn’t spend half that much!
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