VET CHECKS ON OLDER EXPERIENCED HORSES
I wish we had some vets that were also horse trainers. As a vet you are always seeing injuries and emergencies of the horse. As you evaluate horses in vet checks, most vets just look at the horse. I wish the buyers would tell the vets how they ride, or the vets would ask. Imagine the vet hearing, I am a horrible rider I just want to be safe, what do you think of OLD NELLIE, can she do this for a couple years till I get better?
As most of us know older horses are better for beginners and also people who have been riding a long time who are more passengers then riders. Of course on a vet check with x-rays, these horses may have many faults. Then the vet recommends to the buyer that this is a risky buy. This of course is the job of the vet but the owners since they are not experienced usually do not understand how to weigh the risk of an older horse with faults vs. an older horse with no faults because it has no experience or a younger horse that is not a good match for that rider.
As a trainer we would rather have a safe horse with many faults for our clients then one that is clean but is going to kill the rider. This is the dilemma. Trying to converse this over the buyer who is being told by the vet that the horse may go lame in the future is very difficult. But as a trainer we know there are special shoeing, techniques, medications and therapies for lameness. Also, usually a lame horse will not kill its rider. We would rather have an arthritic horse that won’t buck or rear because the horse knows that would cause it pain. Therefore the rider will be safer.
If you ever talk to a rider who has gone to the emergency room because their horse almost killed them, I bet they would take an arthritic horse over the one they just came flying off of. There are so many risks in riding that you really have to take in the big picture when you are buying a horse and not just that it has problems in the vet check.
If I had x-rays of my joints I bet most vets would say I had a high chance of lameness. I have lots of experience and therefore lots of injuries. Injuries lead to arthritis over time. Yet I have drive, and heart which makes most of us keep going even if it does hurt. Horses are the same. If you vet check or x-ray some of the best horses, you would be surprised what some of them have going on inside them. But they are tough, have high pain tolerance and want a job. They don’t want to be left at the barn so they keep going.
I am not saying don’t get a vet check or x-rays. Because I know some of you may take this the wrong way. I think both of these are very important when buying a horse, but I recommend taking in the big picture when evaluating a horse. What do you want to do, how well do you ride, will this horse take care of you?
Most of the time when you see horses up for sale that the owner has only had a year or two. it says due to medical issues. Yet the horse never ask when you came to buy it, do you have any medical problems? Do you have a history of Cancer? How long will you be able to take care of me for? If they did, they might not want to go with you either. Yet they willingly trust that we will take care of them and climb into the trailer to go to their new home. I know you want the horse to last forever, the horse also wants you to last forever, but this is not realistic. You just need safe for the present time.
So just remember a good horse is a good horse. No one knows how long it will stay sound or live. They can colic and die the day after you buy them. It is all a risk. So get your vet check and x-rays if the vet recommends them, then talk with your trainer and get what is safest for you and your level of riding. You might complain your horse has this issue or that issue in the future, but lameness care cost a lot less then hospital care for you, having surgery and being out of work till you recover. And you might never be the same after a bad fall. So look at the big picture and then live in the present. Tell your vet how you ride and get the horse you can ride today not in 10 years.
I wish we had some vets that were also horse trainers. As a vet you are always seeing injuries and emergencies of the horse. As you evaluate horses in vet checks, most vets just look at the horse. I wish the buyers would tell the vets how they ride, or the vets would ask. Imagine the vet hearing, I am a horrible rider I just want to be safe, what do you think of OLD NELLIE, can she do this for a couple years till I get better?
As most of us know older horses are better for beginners and also people who have been riding a long time who are more passengers then riders. Of course on a vet check with x-rays, these horses may have many faults. Then the vet recommends to the buyer that this is a risky buy. This of course is the job of the vet but the owners since they are not experienced usually do not understand how to weigh the risk of an older horse with faults vs. an older horse with no faults because it has no experience or a younger horse that is not a good match for that rider.
As a trainer we would rather have a safe horse with many faults for our clients then one that is clean but is going to kill the rider. This is the dilemma. Trying to converse this over the buyer who is being told by the vet that the horse may go lame in the future is very difficult. But as a trainer we know there are special shoeing, techniques, medications and therapies for lameness. Also, usually a lame horse will not kill its rider. We would rather have an arthritic horse that won’t buck or rear because the horse knows that would cause it pain. Therefore the rider will be safer.
If you ever talk to a rider who has gone to the emergency room because their horse almost killed them, I bet they would take an arthritic horse over the one they just came flying off of. There are so many risks in riding that you really have to take in the big picture when you are buying a horse and not just that it has problems in the vet check.
If I had x-rays of my joints I bet most vets would say I had a high chance of lameness. I have lots of experience and therefore lots of injuries. Injuries lead to arthritis over time. Yet I have drive, and heart which makes most of us keep going even if it does hurt. Horses are the same. If you vet check or x-ray some of the best horses, you would be surprised what some of them have going on inside them. But they are tough, have high pain tolerance and want a job. They don’t want to be left at the barn so they keep going.
I am not saying don’t get a vet check or x-rays. Because I know some of you may take this the wrong way. I think both of these are very important when buying a horse, but I recommend taking in the big picture when evaluating a horse. What do you want to do, how well do you ride, will this horse take care of you?
Most of the time when you see horses up for sale that the owner has only had a year or two. it says due to medical issues. Yet the horse never ask when you came to buy it, do you have any medical problems? Do you have a history of Cancer? How long will you be able to take care of me for? If they did, they might not want to go with you either. Yet they willingly trust that we will take care of them and climb into the trailer to go to their new home. I know you want the horse to last forever, the horse also wants you to last forever, but this is not realistic. You just need safe for the present time.
So just remember a good horse is a good horse. No one knows how long it will stay sound or live. They can colic and die the day after you buy them. It is all a risk. So get your vet check and x-rays if the vet recommends them, then talk with your trainer and get what is safest for you and your level of riding. You might complain your horse has this issue or that issue in the future, but lameness care cost a lot less then hospital care for you, having surgery and being out of work till you recover. And you might never be the same after a bad fall. So look at the big picture and then live in the present. Tell your vet how you ride and get the horse you can ride today not in 10 years.