What is a hard pass in a vet check?

[Jackie_Cochran]

IF I had enough money to buy and support another horse I would also avoid greys. I lucked out that my 2 greys did not develop melanoma, at least where I could see it.

I prefer bays, red bays especially. I also like brown horses, except they do tend to look a lot alike.

I never had a chestnut mare but I did own two chestnut geldings. Way back when a century or so ago I’ve read in books published then that said that ALL chestnut horses were super sensitive, almost exactly what people say chestnut TB mares are like in personality today.

Of course if I could afford a horse I would welcome a chestnut Arabian mare, well any type or color of Arabian. I would hesitate to say no Arab grey mares because that is what the Universe would send me if I got too dogmatic about it.

Hard pass for me? Kissing spine usually (that does depend on the horse), and the problems with the lower neck vertebrae (HARD no.)

[Pehsness]

I always dreamed of having a bay. I’ve had nothing but sorrels. I guess my current is a chestnut but pretty much the same thing.

[Rel6]

That is the reason I tell people to save face. But deep down, the idea of waking up earlier at shows to make a grey horse presentable makes me want to cry.

[sara78]

I had a red roan and man, that horse was Always dirty, yellow, impossible to have him nice and clean, i would pass on red roans also. I have a chestnut mare with a bald face and she is super sensitive, her brother, a palomino, IS super super dull. I never thought that color could influence the personality

[Pehsness]

oh, I do love red roans. My last (sorrel) mare was a bit roany. But she never had a good shine. That’s the one thing about the chestnuts - they can actually gleam with good nutrition and grooming.

I do admit to be being a bit biased against colour breeds. I don’t know if that’s a growing up in the AQHA world thing or what. And I know it’s nonsensical because colour doesn’t dictate athleticism.

[sara78]

There are a lot of colored horses in the reining because of the gunner lines (Katie gun). There are known to bé very quiet and huge stoppers so very apreciated in reining, that is also why we see many of them

[RedHorses]

@RAyers this:

@fivestrideline

ETA: I think people tend to make ‘hard passes’ out of issues they’ve dealt with in the past, as this thread illustrates!

No xray findings are guarantees, good or questionable. But if someone has had heataches dealing with Y issue in the past, they are being quite sensible in choosing not to take the risk that the presence of Y on xrays won’t develop into a serious problem in the future.

For me it’s hocks and neck, because I had horses with those issues. Both had to retire young, and were euthanized in their teens. Someone else is welcome to roll the dice on horses showing no issues with either finding, but I’m going to walk away.

[sara78]

Yes, for sure, liké me, i had to retire all my navicular ones, could not make them sound in any way so i really look every horses feet now

[endlessclimb]

I’ve never dealt with it in my personal horses, but there is not one single symptomatic navicular horse that I’ve ever seen that I would call remotely sound - corrective shoeing, osphos - none of it worked.

Of course, nerving can work, but the ethics of that are so questionable to me that I don’t ever want to be facing that bridge to cross.

[GraceLikeRain]

Like many I’m sensitized to issues that I’ve experienced or watched close friends navigate. Feet, soft tissue injuries, and anything remotely neuro never seem to have any good outcomes. I’ve had ones who vetted pristine and were heartbreakers but there is some solace in feeling like I did my best with the information available.

[quietann]

Yikes, I remember helping clean up the school horses for a schooling show when I was a kid. We had this wonderful strawberry roan large pony with lots of white (big blaze, all 4 legs white well above the knees/hocks, a big belly spot). It was so hard to get her white hairs white again! That was a wonderful pony; she was completely safe for beginners, but could do a 3 foot plus course with a balanced rider, and was a nice foxhunting type as well. Lollipop was her name.

As for the thread topic: no grays (melanoma). No major surgeries other than gelding. No barn- bound types. I would say no to navicular or past laminitis evidence, not sure about spine issues. Sensible is important!