I’ve bred horses a few times and bought horses as young as 3, but I’m now considering buying a Connemara cross yearling and am wondering what people usually do for vetting one that age? Does it still make sense to do xrays, or just a more basic vet check?
I usually buy a little older, but with the last yearling I bought I did [yearling-appropriate] flexions, which I was comfortable having my vet doing, but might not have done if I hadn’t known the vet as well. Then did x-rays of major joints (knees, fetlocks, hocks, IIRC) and figured at the very least they would be a good baseline to have. But I suppose it would depend on what purpose you were buying for. I knew I would likely resell down the road, and so always want to have x-rays in those cases. For a personal horse, I personally probably wouldn’t bother with x-rays on a yearling.
Eyes, lungs and heart on our weanlings. Legs will change a lot as they mature. I personally, do not want to see a very straight front leg on young horses. As chest widens, toe and leg will rotate, going from straight to toe in. Hooves proportionate to their size on a yearling. Absolutely no little hooves! Guess you could Xray joints if you wish, but costs do add up fast.
I WANT a baby look, not fat and huge, no ribs, carrying lots of weight on little legs. But that is me. I want them growing slower because they seem to last longer in work, into old age, for us.
Most folks like them fat and showing ready.
I only had a health check done on the yearling (technically 9 months) I purchased. Breeder’s husband is a vet, so I had mine come out when we got him home to make sure he came out of the travel well. No flexions. No X-rays. Eyes, Lungs, heart, as was mentioned above. He is also a slow growing breed that I don’t have a major concern about OCDs. Our vet didn’t seem worried about anything and did not suggest doing an extensive PPE on him.
I’ve bought a couple babies.
My current 11yo gelding was purchased when he was 14 months. The owner/breeder was also a respected equine vet. She volunteered to castrate him at a discounted rate before we brought him home. Conformation was good, and we were able to see the mare and two full siblings. Everyone was happy and healthy so we didn’t bother doing any sort of PPE.
Current 3yo was purchased as a weanling (6 months). We did eyes, lungs, heart. Didn’t really see the point of x-rays or flexions since she was so young and so much can change.
Current 16yo was purchased as a 4yo with a thorough vetting. It picked up a mild heart murmur which has never been an issue.
It was also nice to have baseline “adult” x-rays so we could see there were no changes a few years later, which helped diagnose a hamstring injury vs a joint injury.
I don’t bother with xrays or flexions on a youngster. As others have said, too much can change. I’d do eyes, heart, and lungs just to be sure there’s nothing glaring.
I’ve purchased 2 horses - both as yearlings.
Check heart, lungs, eyes, have it free longe or just run around in the arena/field to catch anything obvious. If it’s a resell prospect, maybe hock/ankle/hoof xrays.
PULL BLOOD. I wouldn’t test for sedatives, but I would test for pain meds.
