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Equine Prepurchase Examinations

Posted 5th October 2011

If you are thinking about buying a new horse, we would always recommend that you have the horse vetted before you part with your hard earned cash.

Many of you may have read articles in the horsey press about how there have been changes to this pre-purchase examination in recent months. Basically the vetting procedure hasn’t changed a great deal. A thorough examination of the horse at rest (including the eyes, heart, lungs, teeth, limbs, back etc) is followed by an examination of the horse moving in hand.

At de Boer & Taylor we have always followed this with a series of flexion tests, where each limb is held up in flexion to try and provoke any low grade lameness. This area of the vetting procedure has always been a bit controversial as some perfectly sound horses will appear noticeably lame after flexion but it really is a good way of picking up subtle problems.

The only change to the pre-purchase exam is that we will now ask for the horse to be trotted in a circle on a hard surface either on a lunge or in hand. Trotting in hand seems little safer if the surface is a bit slippery but does require a fit handler as we will need to see the horse or pony on both reins. Again this is carried out to detect subtle lamness problems.

During a five stage vetting, the horse will then be examined under saddle, allowed to rest and then re-examined in hand as previously.

The biggest change to the vetting procedure is in the paperwork! (Isn’t it always?) There is a completely new layout to the cetificate with the aim of making it clearer to the purchaser, what has been done during the examination. It also emphasises whether the person selling the horse (the vendor) is a client of ours and if so, whether we have ever examined the horse.

We will only examine a horse that is known to us if we are able to disclose its full medical history. This is no different to what we have always done but now we have to write it down!

If you are selling a horse, you will need to be prepared to make things run as smoothly as possible. The horse must be stabled for several hours prior to the vetting. This stable needs to be able to be made quite dark (a top door will help) to enable a thorough eye exam and preferably nice and quiet to let us concentrate! A flat level concrete or tarmac area is needed for the trot up and lungeing and then a school or flat level field is required for the exercise section.

A fit handler also helps as it can be a pretty tiring and rather stressful few hours!

Don’t forget, everybody wants the horse to pass and it can be pretty upsetting if the vet doesn’t think that the horse is suitable for purchase but do remember, we are only trying to avoid problems in the future. The right horse for you is out there somewhere!