What is everyone including in PPE's these days?

[Tha_Ridge]

@Dr_Doolittle

Unless you are doing only basic stuff (flexions, heart/lungs/eyes; x-rays of hocks and front feet, etc.), $600 is cheap - at least for around here.

Remember, the $600 PPE I was mentioning was in Europe and Eastern Europe at that. X-rays as a whole are lot less expensive and much more common to X-ray anything and everything over there, IME.

[Dr_Doolittle]

I figured that - especially with your “lol” , but was responding to the other poster who seemed to think that was high.

[cnd8]

My vet asks me how much I want to spend on a PPE and then tells me what I can get for the best bang for my buck within my budget. You can spend soooooo much money on PPE’s.

[Bonnie2]

Hmm. A little devils advocate here. This type of horse is VERY hard to find. If he is working more or less at the level he will be working, I would be tempted to go with just the physical exam. Eyes, heart, lungs, teeth. Hoof testers, palp, flexions. Neuro. If it is all good leave it there. Enough xrays and you will almost always find something. If he has some kissing spines or hock changes, but he doesn’t care, do you care? Going to the Olympics? Different story. If it is a resale xray everything so there are no surprises when he sells. For personal use, xray only what will help you sleep at night.

[IPEsq]

I did a PPE with several extra X-rays in Belgium for like $500-600 and I was like yes! Cheapest PPE ever! Unfortunately found something very not good on X-rays and I had to pass. Lovely horse. But at least I found that out for a little less.

[Dr_Doolittle]

Pretty much THIS - best post of the thread – thank you!

Horse was a complete saint for all the testing, did all of the above and he was a tiny bit lame after left hock flexions, almost impossible to discern unless you were really looking for it (everything else checked out great, and he jogged on concrete barefoot without being at all sensitive – he has fantastic feet! The vet was impressed.)

X-rays revealed very minor hock arthritis and a wee bit of arthritis in one stifle - everything else looked great, and the arthritis was pretty minor. The vet recommended maintenance; Adequan, and then maybe eventually injecting the hocks when he gets a little older. He said the back felt great, did belly lifts and butt tucks, and the horse was completely non-responsive to anything - all the poking and prodding revealed no reactivity anywhere. The buyer and I talked about doing back rads but the vet really didn’t think it was necessary! The horse was three years older than was represented though, they didn’t have an actual age on him (because they bought him out of a field three years) ago, so had to check the teeth. The seller is a young woman just getting started as a professional, so I guess she didn’t figure that that was worth much of a price drop – especially since the buyer pretty much found him perfect in every way other than the rads and the age.

Anyway, it looks like my student is the proud new owner of a wonderful horse! Thanks to everyone for all of the input

[Tha_Ridge]

Woohoo, congrats! Sounds like very reasonable findings for a horse of his age and experience.

[Xanthoria]

I know it’s a done deal but just in case here’s the list of rads my vet wants done, which are then reviewed by a radiologist separately:

Fore Feet

1. Navicular (D65Pr-PaDiO)
2. Navicular Skyline (Pa45Pr-PaDiO)
3. 0° DP
4. LM

Fore & Hind Fetlocks

1. Dorsal 30°proximal to palmar/plantar
2. Dorsal 15°proximal 45°lateral-PMO (elevate sesamoid above P1!eminence)
3. Dorsal 15°proximal! 45°medial-PLO (elevate sesamoid above P1!eminence)
4. LM

Carpus

1. DP
2. LM

Tarsus

1. DP
2. DLPMO
3. DMPLO
4. LM

Stifles

1. CdCr
2. Oblique (Cd30LCrMO)
3. LM

Cervical Spine
Lateral views from caudal skull to C7

Thoracic Spine
Lateral views dorsal processes T10-L1

By the way, the reason I do all of these is because I cannot afford to board a young horse through a long retirement, and another horse to ride and compete too, and I refuse to give away an unrideable young horse to an unknown fate. THAT is the real cost and risk of buying any horse - cheap or expensive: The long years of retirement - not the purchase price.

[RooTheDay]

Yeah, no longer relevant for OP’s student (congratulations, by the way!) but I have done two PPEs in the last three years, both on nine-year-old non-TB mares priced in the low to mid fives with proven competition records, and subsequently bought both horses. The first was ~$1500 (VA), the second was ~$3500 (NJ.)

In both cases, I did a full clinical exam with flexions and neuro exam, and also shot some back and foot radiographs. For the 2nd one, I added some additional labwork (no drug screen on either), an airway scope, and full neck x-rays, but the price differential is mostly to do with the change in the economic environment over the past few years and the practice’s cost difference, I think. Both were with the best sports medicine vets I could find within an hour of the horse’s location.

For me, cost of horse doesn’t really change how much I’m willing to spend on the PPE; they cost the same to feed/board/shoe whether you can ride them or not. I will likely feel differently about this once I have a farm of my own, but right now, that’s how it is. That said, I also don’t expect perfection, and both had some findings. I look at the limb x-rays as more informational and can/have been willing to accept certain findings there; the things I really care about are the clinical exam, back/neck rads, and the scope (since it is, in this somewhat stratospheric world, relatively cheap by comparison.)

[SBrentnall]

My last PPE was $4k.

[CindyCRNA]

[TWH_Girl]

Hard pass

[NaturallyHappy]

This is my perspective, as well. I also want to know what I have in the event I would sell this horse.

[sara78]

Yes, and even with good xrays and ppe i ended with problèms but i also think a good ppe IS worth every penny