PREPURCHASE GUIDELINES (OR… WHAT A VET MAY NOT
LOOK FOR!!!) by Andrea Haller Wellborn
Wellborn Quarter Horses www.WellbornQuarterHorses.com
Your vet will be able to determine the current soundness and
appropriate-ness of your potential purchase, based upon your intended
use for him/her. Conformational issues will (or should) also be
addressed by the vet.
However, there are some issues that a vet will not normally address
unless you ask or investigate on your own. Sending a vet does not
alleviate you from the ultimate responsibility. We once sent a
vet first, to inspect a TB mare that was 6 hours from us, each
way. I wrote a list of the criteria I was searching for, particularly:
should this mare be bred, is she conformationally correct? The
vet report came back glowing. We bought her an expensive KK bit,
as I knew from the video and by speaking at length with the seller
that she had trouble accepting a bit and was hard to ride. We readied
her stall, as we were going to return late at night, and could
not put her outside in the dark in her new surroundings.
We drove our big trailer south, very excited about our newest
mare. Boy were we disappointed, the moment she stepped out of her
stall, to see that her right front foot toed out. Then, upon inspection
from the rear, she was more than slightly cow hocked. I turned
to the seller’s “friend” who had also been there
for the vet inspection and said “this is not the kind of
mare we would consider breeding” and politely apologized
and left. The vet got a scathing letter from me.
OH! And her back was so sore you could barely touch it, and while
that was to be expected from her riding “posture”,
the vet did not mention this in the report.
IS HEIGHT IMPORTANT TO YOU?
My husband recently picked up a horse in SC and delivered him
to his new home in upstate NY. He got off the trailer and was a
full hand SHORTER than what the buyer had been told ! And she had
done a full pre-purchase exam! You should ask the seller to show
the horse in the sales video being measured, on concrete, if height
is important to you. And have the vet do it again during the exam!
WHAT ABOUT IDENTITY?
Many vets do not match the papers to the horse during a pre-purchase
exam ! Either they do not wish to insult the seller, or they simply
do not realize that many horses “sold” are actually
not the horse “on the papers”. Now this can happen
for a variety of reasons, some of which are fraudulent, and some
are truly accidental… but suffice it to say: HAVE
THE VET CONFIRM THAT THE HORSE YOU ARE PURCHASING MATCHES IT’S
PAPERS! And if there is a question, the breed registry
can confirm that the horse you are buying is (or is not) the horse
on the papers!
We ourselves purchased our QH Stallion from a video. We sent
a vet, first, to inspect him for us, and this vet flew on 2 airplanes
with his portable X ray machine to do it. He arrived in Kentucky
, and being a thoroughbred vet, was unfamiliar with the AQHA guidelines
concerning facial markings. He was convinced the stallion
was an “imposter” and “got out of there as quickly
as he could”. The AQHA came to the rescue, and
faxed him (and me) confirmation that the stallion was indeed the
true “Buddy He’s Impressed”, and all I lost was
one night of sleep over it!
ASK ABOUT VICES:
Ask the vet to check the teeth, not only for sharp edges and
ramps, but for signs of cribbing. You can also check the environment
from which the horse is being purchased: are there chewed boards
and stalls? If so, there is a good chance that there is a cribber
or wood chewer in the vicinity.
Mark Rashid tells a wonderful story in his book “A
Good Horse is Never a Bad Color”. The seller successfully
disguised the fact that the well-trained mare was a cribber,
by having her in an arena (with stakes and wire) and a plump
flake of alfalfa in front of her, at the first “showing”.
Then, the seller moved the horse to her trailer, where her tack
was waiting, and tied the horse to the trailer to saddle up.
The ride went smoothly, and the client purchased the mare, only
to get her home and find out that the mare would constantly crib.
Since it was never asked of the seller “Does this horse
crib?” no one suspected that there would be a problem.
So you can ask the seller: Does this horse have any vices? If
the seller says “no” you should get more specific and
ask: what about cribbing, trailer loading issues, etc?
Ask to see the horse load/unload into their trailer, and yours.
Remember, always have your trailer hitched up for this purpose
since a trailer can move suddenly if it is not hitched to a towing
vehicle. If there is no trailer available, see what it does over
a tarp, or a wooden platform or even a rubber mat on the floor
of the barn. If there is trouble here, there is likely going to
be trouble when asking the horse to load.
Ask to see the horse caught from the pasture. If the halter is
left on, this could be a sign that the horse is hard to catch.
Ask to see the horse brought into a stall. See if he/she paces
and/or screams for the other horses. This would be a clear signal
that the horse is herd-bound and may be difficult (if not impossible)
for a non-professional rider to take out on solo trail rides.
Ask if you can come back on “farrier day” and watch
the horse have it’s farrier work done. Many horses will let
the owner handle it’s feet but have to be tranquilized for
the farrier.
If the horse has been “started’ ask to see him/her
saddled. Does it take three people and cross-ties to successfully
saddle the horse? Clearly, if it does, this horse does not enjoy
being ridden!
Watch the horse as he/she is bitted. Does it take a step-ladder
to bit ? Again, not a good sign. Rashid’s next book “Horses
Never Lie” is a wonderful collection of stories,
which will teach you how to “read” a horse in just
a few moments. The horse will tell you exactly how he/she has been
treated, and it will be the truth. The seller cannot always be
expected to tell you “the truth”, because some sellers
simply do not understand horses.
And of course, if the horse is started then the seller should
be prepared to ride the horse for you, or have another party there
(such as the horse’s “trainer”) to ride the horse
first. Do not get on a horse that the seller refuses to
ride.
Another chapter in Rashid’s book “A Good
Horse is Never a Bad Color” reveals how Rashid
was thrown off a horse (the owner said his back was hurt, and
his “little grand-daughter” had just ridden and had
gone home for the day.). Assuming the horse was “safe” Rashid
mounted and had the ride of his life (almost his last ride).
Ask how often the horse is ridden: if the answer is “every
day” and you only ride on the weekends, this may not be the
horse for you! What you are trying out now is a horse in regular
work. You may not have the same horse after a week or two “off”.
Look around at the “training” facility. Is there
a pole in the center of the round pen? This is called a snubbing
post. If used for training purposes, it is not a considerate way
to teach a horse to stand, tie, saddle, or be mounted. Rashid’s
other excellent book “Consider the Horse” looks
at “training” from the horse’s point of view,
and should be high on anyone’s reading list.
But we are getting off the subject, as I often do! Another book
I strongly recommend to all horse buyers, especially first-time
buyers is “RIDING FOR THE REST OF US” by
Jessica Jahiel, Ph.D. In it is a wonderful chapter on the Pre-Purchase
Vet exam, looking for a horse, how to look at a horse (imagine
it covered in mud, she says). Do not be fooled by fancy or distracting
colors as they often disguise conformational defects such as long
backs, crooked legs, uneven gaits, and so forth.
In summary, you should buy the horse you think you will
enjoy most. After you have completed your investigation
that is. My husband says: how many times did you date before
you decided to marry? The same thought and time should go into
your horse purchase. They are easy to buy, but very VERY hard
to sell once you have made a mistake.
By Andrea Haller Wellborn Quarter Horses 386-963-1555
Also published in Horse & Pony Nov 2004 and on InforHorse.com
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