PPE Advice for OTTB

[summerfield]

Hello all,

I’ve been reading every thread I can on this topic, but it seems there are a variety of opinions. I am getting an OTTB vetted next week— hoping to use him for lower-level dressage. My budget for the PPE is $1500, but unfortunately, living in the tri-state area, the basic exam and farm call will run me $880 (and I called around!). At $50/shot, that leaves me with 12 x-ray shots. I know it’s money well-spent, but it seems ridiculous to spend more than that on a $3k horse. If you only had 12 shots, what would you take? (I appreciate advice as I’m not sure how many shots each joint takes, as this is my first horse and 2nd PPE-1st one failed miserably on flexions and I stopped the exam.)

[Ibex]

It depends. Are you prepared to move the horse on, or give it a home for life, if it proves insufficiently sound?

[Lusoluv]

Can you haul someplace further out, maybe to a university or equine hospital that can do a thorough PPE in your budget? Any horse, no matter how inexpensive can cost a lot if it comes with “baggage” of a physical nature. I’ve bought expensive horses and cheap ones. I do the same PPE on all of them for the previously stated reason.

Did a PPE at Rood & Riddle in Lexington last fall. Did full physical and 28 rads for $1250. Even if you hauled a few hours away to a reputable equine vet, could that save you enough to do a thorough PPE that you would be comfortable with?

[IPEsq]

That is tough…I had a similar budget dong a PPE in FL but got 30 rads for stifles, hocks, fetlocks, front feet

[summerfield]

Unfortunately hauling the horse isn’t an option, and I am in a small-enough state where doing so would mean crossing state lines. I suppose I should just cough up the money for peace of mind. I am just feeling a little sticker shock! If the horse became permanently unsound, I would do retirement board, just a little sooner than expected.

[NJRider]

That seems ridiculous, I had a PPE done outside of the Philadelphia area by one of the best vets on the East coast, exam, farm call, flexions health cert, 18 radiographs $1100. I am in the Midwest so expected to pay in the same budget as you have but $880 for a FC and exam seems out of whack. Why isn’t hauling an option?

[Can_tFindMyWhip]

Vetting OTTB’s is tricky. Stifle and foot x-rays are the most important in my opinion and experience. A lot of people drive themselves nuts with PPE’s, looking for the cleanest horse on earth, only to have them hurt themselves a few months later. My friend and I took two different approaches to vetting OTTB’s.

My friend went nuts, and spent $2,200 on the PPE for a $2k OTTB in New Jersey. Over 30, probably closer to 40 actually, x-rays were done on the feet, pasterns, hocks and stifles. They found that the horse had an old sesamoid fracture that he definitely raced on, so my friend passed. In hindsight, he thinks that the money he spent on the PPE wasn’t worth it, and if the horse was sound and racing on the sesamoid, it probably was a non issue anyway.

The way I did it with my OTTB was I looked at his race record. I saw that he was a genuine War Horse, who retired sound and had no inexplicable gaps in his record. I reasoned that if he was tough enough to race the way that he did, and he is still healthy and sound, than he should be able to hold up to my uses. So I took the gamble and I didn’t do any x-rays. I am happy to say, two years later, my gamble is still sound with minimal maintenance. I’m actually tempted to have a a bunch of x-rays done on him for curiosity’s sake to see what shows up, and then see what types of things they can live with.

[summerfield]

[QUOTE=NJRider;8806591]
That seems ridiculous, I had a PPE done outside of the Philadelphia area by one of the best vets on the East coast, exam, farm call, flexions health cert, 18 radiographs $1100. I am in the Midwest so expected to pay in the same budget as you have but $880 for a FC and exam seems out of whack. Why isn’t hauling an option?[/QUOTE]

All I can say is Fairfield county. It’s like a whole different world. $1200 board is very normal.

[summerfield]

Thanks for sharing the experiences! It’s hard to decide what to do when i know people who haven’t done any exam at all and ended up okay. This horse raced mostly one year and retired sound, so I find that reassuring. I will probably end up somewhere in the middle.

[asterix]

You can always do the clinical and just shoot pics of anything that flexes funky…

[judybigredpony]

[QUOTE=asterix;8806870]
You can always do the clinical and just shoot pics of anything that flexes funky…[/QUOTE]

Do feet and there are views that will give you a good look without doing every single angle. Don t be afraid to ask the tech. Just holding the cassette long ways adds viewing room…we used to do one that captured foot n ankle in a single shot. Don t let them bully you…ask your Vet or Xray tech for help and view terms…
Again you can do a Flex ankle that will cover a lot and show the joint.
Skip knees unless he flexes off
Hocks are forgiving and even Spurs rarely bother them…trust the flexions
Stifles are trickier …I would if me and for dressage be certain spine is good and make sure Vet flexes and checks neck…

[Lusoluv]

To add to my tale above, I vetted an unstarted 3 year old Lippizan several years ago. Horse was the best-moving of the breed I had seen! He was part of a farm dispersal sale as the owner passed away. Horse flexed clean all around and as the rad bill was racking up, I almost stopped the PPE. Glad I didn’t. He had an old fracture in one of his hocks - perhaps a pasture accident? After having 2 other equine orthos look at the x-ray, I was told clearly to pass on this horse. I was so upset and sad, but not half as much as sad as I would have been to have this old injury develop into career-ending changes a couple years or so on…

[tbchick84]

I’m just up the road in New Haven County. No way in hell would I pay $800 for a PPE. Put out some feelers east of I-91 and the prices drop dramatically from Fairfield County.

[gallupgirl]

You and I think alike!

[HappyTalk]

I would go with an ultrasound of lower legs and less X-rays. JMO. I have had more issues with soft tissue injuries.

[GraceLikeRain]

Hocks, feet (lateral and solar), stifles, and ultrasound would probably be my priorities. I did hocks and laterals of the feet and ended up with a heartbreaker of a TB so I’m sold on doing the solar view for a more comprehensive look at the internal structure.