12/13/2024
I’m going on a rant hoping even one person reads this and gains some extra knowledge and understanding of buying and selling horses. This is mostly for the adult amateurs or juniors with the non horsey parents that are new to this game.
I am no vet and I’d hardly call myself an expert. But I have bought and sold a lot of horses for 10+ years now. I have mostly purchased horses in the lower price range $500-5k. After their training and time with me I would market them in the low 5 figure range. Most of which were marketed as adult amateur or junior mounts. 5-10 years ago people would maybe do a basic pre purchase exam if that. They would have the vet out to see that the horse is sound and healthy end of story. Fast forward to now, especially this past year. Everyone and I mean everyone even for mid 4 figure range is requesting x rays. Which is fine of course. But what is bothering me is buyers completely writing off a horse because they didn’t receive a perfect set of x rays. Even if the clinical exam is perfect they will still run if they see a hair out of place on an x ray. I completely get walking away from a sale for the really concerning findings. I’m talking about a small chip in a good place or some arthritic changes in a 10 year old horse still flexing sound or even a 1/5.
Most of these buyers in the low 5 figure budget are shopping to do low level jumpers, low level dressage, trail, working equitation etc. I’m feeling confused because when in the world did it become imperative that horses doing low level anything need perfect x rays. I think there are very few if any horses that do HIGH level sport that have clean x rays and no maintenance. So why are we setting a precedent that LOW level horses need to be absolutely perfect..
If I had to guess I would chalk it up to the lack of knowledge people have as well as a massive false sense of security a perfect PPE gives. I think people are feeling that if they have clean x rays and a perfect vetting it’s less likely the horse they purchased will have issues…. I said this to someone yesterday and I will say it for the rest of my life. A perfect vetting and clean x rays does not guarantee you a sound & healthy horse for life. Your horse could pass a vetting and have perfect x rays and still colic, get injured, get sick and go lame. Even a day after your perfect PPE. Frankly the minor stuff you find on your x rays is probably the least of your worries when you look at the risks of owning these animals. Again - I absolutely understand the concerning stuff that will 100% progress and debilitate your horse I’m not talking the major concerns.
There are a million high level horses that don’t vet and still go on to do their jobs for years without major issues. Expect to do maintenance on a horse that ages. Be glad your horse gets to see that age that you even have to do maintenance. A lot of people lose or have to put down horses at a young age for a ton of unforeseen reasons and freak accidents.
I’m sad to see how many lovely horses that are a perfect fit for a buyer being written off for small imperfections. I myself will no longer be marketing these lower budget adult ammy/junior mounts after years of doing it. It is hard to put in all the time and money just to lose a sale because of a chip found in a sound horse. Unfortunately I can see this becoming the case for a lot of people that do this. In turn there will be less of a market for anyone with a lower budget looking for a good broke horse. There will be unstarted horses and mid 5 figure horses only.
You can’t take it with you when you go and you can never be guaranteed a sound and healthy horse for life. So accept that they cost money and you will likely do maintenance and buy the damn horse you like.
