Another vote that flexions aren’t a be all, end all and should just be taken as a piece of the information and considered along with multiple factors.
Sometimes they do accurately reflect a problem. Sometimes they don’t. My first GP horse flexed badly behind in two vettings (vetted him twice with two vets) but the price was right and the horse was right so we took a chance. Took me to young riders and my first GPs and eventually brought other riders up too. Showed into his 20s and never had any problems. Only retired when the rules changed about jrs and stallions so the kid couldn’t lease him anymore and there was no sense gelding an old, sweet stallion.
If you really like the horse talk to your vet, get a second opinion, consider the severity of the flexions, the horse in front of you, the work he is in and the work you want him to do, and what your appetite for risk is.
A vetting is not a crystal ball predictor of soundness. It is a snapshot of a moment in time that we can use to make predictions and not guarantees. Sometimes the balance of probabilities leans harder.
It’s difficult to make any blanket statements and you really have to go case by case with it based on all of the horse’s specific factors (age, level of work, how severe it is, any contributing factors, how the rest of the vetting is, how he moves and how he is built- is he going to be easy on himself or tough on himself, is he big or small, narrow or stocky, good feet or bad feet etc) and your specific situation (ability to do maintenance work and treatment if needed, appetite for risk, what your options are if he proves not sound - can you retire him and still buy another? Finances and land are going to be a factor…). You can have two horses with the same vetting/same flexions/same x-rays and end up with two very different clinical outcomes.
