Should I stay or should I go

[Huntin_Fool]

Dear All,

I drove 8 hours to look at a 5yo, OTTB and loved him. He’d been worked by the seller’s boyfriend on cows, ridden around the area with no problems, not jumping but 3 nice gates. He was very slightly lame, the seller said he’d thrown a shoe 2 days before. Called back to see what happened when they pulled the shoe and she said the track vet had flexed him and decided he was off in both hocks and they injected him. Seemed astonished when I said ‘well, I probably don’t want him then’. I did find out, from a vet, that horses are routinely injected by racehorse owners even if they aren’t lame.

So should I pay to have him x-rayed on the chance that he doesn’t have significant hock issues or best to leave alone?

Here’s the other part of the story-I’ve been looking for 2 years, yes two years! for a horse. I found one, hated it-trailering issues I posted on here earlier ;-)-and sold it. In my 30 years of buying horses-just for me, I’m not an agent-I have only once before had a horse vetted that didn’t vet. Now I’ve vetted 3 that failed!!! I’ve driven all over Hell’s half acre looking at horses that when I got there were club footed, sour, lame, or a combo of all the above. Tons of stuff at my house has broken and my “horse fund” is very small.

So what do y’all think? Risk $300-the vet at Peterson and Smith in Ocala said he’d do x-rays for that. For a horse I know I like and think I’d feel happy riding and introducing to hounds. Or keep looking and save my dwindling money?

I know there’s no real answer here-none of us are psychic more’s the pity-but what would y’all do?

Thanks!
Andrea

[SouthernYankee]

Vet the horse.

You know you like him, if you don’t vet him you’ll always think ‘what if’.

[Zu_Zu]

Please keep looking ~

[Bug_Boy]

[QUOTE=Zu Zu;8668658]
Please keep looking ~ [/QUOTE]

I take the opposite view, actually. If you like him, and especially if you can get him cheap, buy him. I might not even vet him if the price is right. Race horses get injected, it’s par for the course. I won my first race on a horse with two visible, ugly, old bows. And, I’ve seen horses pass a vet and then have catastrophic breakdowns regardless. IMHO, if you’re buying to foxhunt, the mind is key - I’d deal with the maintenance if I liked the horse.

[FLeventer]

I expect injections on a racehorses. Have the horse vetted. Make an offer if its something you can live with.

[alibi_18]

Don’t they have Xrays of him? You could start by asking for those and show them to your vet and then decide if you want to go on with your PPE.

I would walk away unless they say the horse is no longer lame.

Also, why dismiss a horse for a club foot? I know of many horses who are great athlete that have that condition. Sure, it needs to be carefully managed but still, not something I would be too bothered by.

If you haven’t found a horse in2 yrs, maybe you need to rethink your expectations and get someone to truly help you in picking the right horse. You are either not looking at the right places or what you want doesn’t exist.

[JBD]

I’d pass on a 5 year that was lame or lame without hock injections.

[Huntin_Fool]

Update! I called back about the horse and after some heming and hawing the seller said “Well they were going to make him a track pony and she thought that was what he was suited for.” Which to me meant she figured he wouldn’t hold up to anything else.

Re: the club foot-they are often uncomfortable to ride-this one was. And it’s a flaw in the make up of their foot and leg and our hunt often has really long days. I’d worry about how long it would hold up.

Re: the two years-well, believe me I’ve thought of that!! Over the two years, I’ve liked 3 horses that didn’t vet, bought one that I ended up not liking and sold, and had one girl back out of the deal-after I’d driven a long long way, and taken the horse on hound walk-sigh.

Let me say in the 30+ years I’ve bought horses for myself before this, I’ve only liked one that didn’t pass the vet-I mean that the horse seemed sound to me but didn’t pass. And I’ve probably had to look for a year before. But not this long!!!

So, I guess my search continues!!!

[FLeventer]

[QUOTE=Huntin’Fool;8674083]
Update! I called back about the horse and after some heming and hawing the seller said “Well they were going to make him a track pony and she thought that was what he was suited for.” Which to me meant she figured he wouldn’t hold up to anything else.

Re: the club foot-they are often uncomfortable to ride-this one was. And it’s a flaw in the make up of their foot and leg and our hunt often has really long days. I’d worry about how long it would hold up.

Re: the two years-well, believe me I’ve thought of that!! Over the two years, I’ve liked 3 horses that didn’t vet, bought one that I ended up not liking and sold, and had one girl back out of the deal-after I’d driven a long long way, and taken the horse on hound walk-sigh.

Let me say in the 30+ years I’ve bought horses for myself before this, I’ve only liked one that didn’t pass the vet-I mean that the horse seemed sound to me but didn’t pass. And I’ve probably had to look for a year before. But not this long!!!

So, I guess my search continues!!![/QUOTE]

Huntin’Fool are you in FL? I see quite a few that are suitable for hunting/eventing when I look for horses around the Ocala/Central FL area. Hope the search goes well, I am hoping to take a few of my guys out this fall hunt season.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

Always have a horse given a PPE. Because while horses can go lame for numerous reasons after a purchase, you don’t want to be stuck with one that has a pre existing condition making him unsuitable for riding.

Buying a lame horse is stupid. One woman I know, before I boarded where she boarded, bought a horse who “had an abscess.” Turns out it was navicular. Of course she did not shoe him or have vet treat him for navicular and kept trying to give him away, but he always came back. I moved after a few years and don’t know what eventually happened to the horse. Vet and farrier both said they could have helped him but the woman would not pay for care. And she bought him from a CoTHer with a big barn with lots of horses. So beware!

[crosscreeksh]

[QUOTE=Huntin’Fool;8674083]
Update! I called back about the horse and after some heming and hawing the seller said “Well they were going to make him a track pony and she thought that was what he was suited for.” Which to me meant she figured he wouldn’t hold up to anything else.

Re: the club foot-they are often uncomfortable to ride-this one was. And it’s a flaw in the make up of their foot and leg and our hunt often has really long days. I’d worry about how long it would hold up.

Re: the two years-well, believe me I’ve thought of that!! Over the two years, I’ve liked 3 horses that didn’t vet, bought one that I ended up not liking and sold, and had one girl back out of the deal-after I’d driven a long long way, and taken the horse on hound walk-sigh.

Let me say in the 30+ years I’ve bought horses for myself before this, I’ve only liked one that didn’t pass the vet-I mean that the horse seemed sound to me but didn’t pass. And I’ve probably had to look for a year before. But not this long!!!

So, I guess my search continues!!![/QUOTE]

You are sooooo wrong about him “best suited for being a track pony” being a bad thing!!! A pony…especially an ex race horse…must be showing that he has an exceptional mind!! And a pony is expected to gallop anywhere from 10 to 12 miles or more (different race horses) per day…7 days a week!! That takes a very sound horse!! I’d be getting him vetted …or not even bother if he’s cheap!! Sounds like he has the mind…and the owner thinks he’ll hold up!!

[Huntin_Fool]

Oh I am a big believer in the vet!!! I vet everything! I would vet a free horse and I"m not kidding at all about that. I am a soft touch for horses-I think most of us are-and if a horse wasn’t able to be ridden, he’d probably be out there with my old retired guy who is fat and sassy doing as he pleases in the pasture! And I’d be unable to ride, cause I can’t afford 3. No, I always vet. I just wanted to know if it was worth the chance ;-).

[Huntin_Fool]

Now on to the next horse with a question I’ve found!