Just recently reminded of a no-PPE purchase by a friend …
Friend is a very experienced rider & trainer who has trained many horses and competed at high levels in the past, but is a lot more casual now. Decided to do an OTTB project horse, didn’t have high aspirations, just spend some time turning one into a nice riding horse for a better junior or ammy. Has her own barn so her costs are relatively low.
Her trusted contact who is a sort of casual-ish trainer/dealer in every discipline imaginable, very reputable, had one to look at, price < $5k. Super-cute nicely-shaped chestnut with chrome. 3 yo gelding in let-down. From the track & training but never raced, didn’t show speed or aptitude. Energetic, big personality, but sweet nature. Terrible manners but just untaught.
So, track > dealer > friend, no PPE’s along the way. Whatever self-inspection was done, the horse looked sound to them.
Condensed version, after months of transitioning and nutrition-ing, friend is longeing her horse in preparation to backing. But. The more she sees him move in different scenarios, the more she sees that he might have some issues. Might. Some weird head-tilts and neck carriage that comes and goes. Sometimes his steps are out-of-synch.
Lots of “did I see that?” moments, she asked me to look, other people to look … something is going on. Horse is using himself so oddly and it just isn’t something those of us not around rehab horses very often see horses do.
Canter is irregular and not good quality, even when loose, surprising in a well-made TB. Side reins create problematic behavior and physical responses. Friend decides to explore before attempting to back him.
None of this was apparent before my friend started conditioning the horse on the longe and really putting some work on him. He had been long out of work in let-down when she first saw him at her dealer-friend’s place.
Horse goes to very good vet. Lots of x-rays along with the thorough sort of exam that people do for a serious PPE.
Horse has a broken neck and apparently some cracks in some other bones. All appear to be long-standing and I think they said not healing properly. That is, he had all this when he first got to the dealer’s and when friend bought him. I do not know the gritty details, just that there were a multitude of problems in the bones all around the neck and shoulder area.
Horse eventually goes back to dealer in a reversal of the sale (I guess) to … I don’t know, graze at pasture? be treated? hopefully heal … anyway he passes out of friend’s life.
So that was a large amount of time & expense for a horse that would never have passed a PPE before he was purchased.
Some people can absolutely “vet” their own purchases. Some of us can’t do that well at all. 
