So I am in horse shopping mode and recently completed a PPE on a 4 yo warmblood mare. Most of her X-rays checked out, except the rads of her feet. My vet noted slight rotation of her front coffin bone (more prominent on the LS) and that it should usually present itself as flat. She is sound as of right now, but my vet worries that it might be an issue in the future and for long term soundness. This horse is supposed to be my 1.20m-1.30m prospect. Would you pass on this finding? Conflicted on what to do as this horse checks all of the boxes.
In a 4yo who presumably hasn’t been in heavy work… that would be a dealbreaker for me. If the horse was older and had been doing the 1.20-1.30 job (or something within striking distance of it) successfully, I’d be much less concerned.
This would be enough for me, I wouldn’t be asking on the forums. If long term soundness is a potential issue then this horse doesn’t check all the boxes IMO.
Am I entirely crazy for saying that I wouldn’t run without a decent evaluation of this horse’s feet/shoeing job? Agreed with the others that I would feel very differently if it were a 12-year-old doing the job versus a 4-year-old, but I do think that a correct trim can do a lot for palmar angles. (Of course, part of it depends on your budget and risk tolerance.)
I was told the same thing as @Tha_Ridge regarding palmar angles, and that it just took time and good farrier work to correct. If you’re not in a hurry to buy and the sellers give the horse time, maybe it could work for you eventually.
Not crazy. I think it comes down to risk tolerance and aversion. It also could depend what this horse’s sale price is in relation to the OP’s budget (none of my business).
If the horse is a the low end of one’s budget then it could be a risk worth taking or if the OP still has the means to get another horse if the horse becomes unsound or needs to be transitioned to an easier job (I imagine resell value would be lower with these findings).
Personally, I would pass as well simply because of the vet feedback and I wouldn’t want to risk my horse-purchasing budget on a 4 year old with these findings. Maybe if I won the lottery and had more disposable income, but alas.
Verdict is that her toes were pretty long at the time of rads, so we are having her trimmed/re-Xray’ed today to make a final decision. Hoping that it’s just a bad shot or she wasn’t standing perfectly flat. If it is what it is though, we will be passing. Thanks everyone for their opinions! I do trust my vet, just wanted to have some additional insight.
For specific intended purpose of 1.3/4m jumping? Pass. No way to evaluate effect on future performance until it goes into a long term, regular riding and training over substantial fences program.
OP I really hopes everything works out. You deserve a longtime riding partner. Make sure someone is there that will think entirely with their head and not their heart. fingers crossed on todays xrays
It’s always difficult to make a decision when you find something on a PPE that you didn’t expect to find, since the horse IS sound and not showing any signs otherwise.
One thing I feel like is real importance is how the horse has lived those first 4 years - in that, were they allowed to get very overweight? Did the farrier care “slip” or was not adequate? (Such as your long toes) These are things that I wonder with my own horse Red. I bought him at age 6 and he’s always had trouble with his front feet, although his xrays are clean and angles are good (now). But he was really fat and really greenbroke when I bought him. And I wonder, did those first 6 years of sub-par care contribute to his lifetime of issues with his front feet? Of course, it’s impossible to know. But it’s a thought in my mind.
I’ve certainly struggled at times with keeping him sound. Would I trade him for the world? Absolutely not!!! He’s 16 this year and I think he is feeling better than he ever has before.
But it’s really, really hard to know what to do when you’ve found a horse you really, really like.
Let us know what the new rads look like! Hopefully the trim job was contributing to the finding.
Still awaiting feedback from my vet as it’s the weekend… but for anyone curious, these are the differences between the two x-rays. First photo is original shot taken before trim, and second is after a fresh trim. My eyes aren’t trained enough to see much a difference… the suspense is building a little bit.
