Sintaluta Stables

10/30/2025

09/14/2025

Back in our happy place to wrap up the season

08/24/2025

For many buyers, a pre-purchase exam (PPE) feels like the ultimate green light. If the horse “passes,” the future looks bright. If not, the deal is off. But according to Dr. Julie Vargas of Spy Coast Farm, that view oversimplifies what a PPE can really tell you.

At a recent Plaidcast In Person event, Vargas shared a candid perspective on the limitations of pre-purchase exams and why buyers need to think of them as a risk assessment, not a guarantee.

“Pre-purchase is a statistical evaluation of risk on that day,” Vargas explained. In other words, a PPE captures how a horse looks and performs under examination at a single moment in time. It cannot predict the future or eliminate risk entirely.

That’s especially important when considering the growing use of advanced imaging. Many buyers now expect radiographs of joints, backs, and even necks, even when no clinical issues are present. These images may show anomalies (changes in bone shape, small lesions, or other findings) that may or may not ever affect the horse’s performance.

With better technology, Vargas noted, veterinarians are simply seeing more. But that doesn’t mean every finding carries long-term significance.

This creates a challenge for both veterinarians and buyers. How should a finding be weighed? Some changes might remain clinically silent for a horse’s entire career, while others could indicate a greater risk for future problems.

Vargas acknowledged that veterinarians are put in a difficult position: “I hate pre-purchases and I love them. Every other vet will say the same.” They can provide valuable information, but also place vets in the role of predicting the unknown—an impossible task.

🔗 Continue reading the full profile at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/08/21/why-pre-purchase-exams-are-a-snapshot-in-time-not-the-only-decision-factor/

08/21/2025

“Horses are so expensive.”

I agree, they cost me a lot everyday.

Horses cost you your selfishness.
Having horses means everyday you are alive you must consider someone’s needs before your own, multiple times a day. Even when you’re away from them arrangements must be made, this builds character and gives us self worth.

Horses cost you your ego.
Right when you think you have it figured out, you will undoubtedly be presented with a humbling experience either in the arena or out. They will force you to reach out for help when your expertise is maxed out. If you are wise, you will realize life is like this too. Maybe we should reach out for help more frequently and we would get further.

Horses cost you your laziness.
You will never progress with an equine partner by leaving it turned out, just as you will never progress by staying checked out. Do the work and you will get somewhere.

Horses cost you your heart.
They never fail to find a way to touch us deep within even (and especially) when we are feeling cold to the ways of the world. There’s something special about getting to interact with a being that becomes softer when we soften. We should learn to respond to one another similarly.

Yes, horses are so expensive. But everything they’ve ever cost me has also made me.👏🏻

- Amanda Barlow Radford

08/16/2025

Torchy thinks all these Derby’s are pretty awesome 😍

08/14/2025

🌧️ All the rain this season at RMSJ makes for some pretty soggy grass. Kanabisa it’s pretty excited that she gets to stay in her PJs today and have snacks. 🌧️ ☔️

08/14/2025

07/26/2025

Love how this young horse is coming along!

07/21/2025

These two had an amazing show at Rocky Mountain’s Mid Summer Classic tournament. Champion in all three divisions they entered. 🥇 🥇 🥇