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Post by jimmy on Sept 30, 2015 15:44:27 GMT
Horseguy. Since you sell a lot of horses over the years, what is the percentage of buyers that want a pre purchase exam?
I think it is standard operating procedure, but still find some people who don't bother. What is your take on them?
My current employer, who knows nothing about horses, doesn't seem to get why. I am having a hard time explaining to him he should be having a vet check out each horse he is buying.
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Post by horseguy on Sept 30, 2015 16:33:11 GMT
Great question that many people can benefit from. For me a pre-purchase exam is about the value of a horse. My threshold is around $5,000. If a horse is worth less than that, I do my own pre-purchase exam. The reason is a basic pre-purchase exam is superficial, and to me not worth a lot. I can check out a horse, even ones that may have been drugged and get an idea of how it goes. I do like trials though, if a seller will give me a few days or a week with the horse, that's the best.
For me the value in a pre-purchase exam is in the x-rays, which are generally around here not a part of the basic pre-purchase exam. I need leg x-rays. Back in the day when x-rays were glass plates that needed to be developed, it was an ordeal to do the whole drill to take the number of leg and foot x-rays that might turn up a problem or concern. Now with digital x-ray machines the process is much quicker and easier, fun actually seeing the bones in real time. I did ask the vet when he showed up with his new digital x-ray machine if the cost would be less since there were no films to develop and it was a quicker process. His answer was no, because the payment on the machine was more. OK.
The old saying, "No hoof, no horse" is what the x-rays are about. If I am going to buy a horse for more than $5,000 and put months or maybe years of training into it, I need to be confident that the legs will be there at the end of the road to allow the horse to do its job well. I'm in the business, or I was, and it comes down to cost/benefit analysis. With a useful number of x-rays (Sometimes 6 or 7 per leg) a pre-purchase exam might run $1,500 to $2,500 or more. That's a good investment if the horse has real value, but for an auction horse or a typical craigslist horse of $1,000 or $2,500 adding $1,500 to the price when I have the ability and experience of decades of evaluating horses, it does not make good business sense to hire a vet. If I am wrong, I average the loss on the horse into the long run of the business.
Another factor in a basic pre-purchase is the vet doing it. In central PA a vet will come out and look at a horse, no x-rays and give you an opinion for $250 to $500. That's probably worth it to the typical horse owner who has owned only a few horses in their life. But some of the local vets are not very experienced with lameness, which is what the legs are about. In an essentially non-horse area like this equine vets do not encounter competition horses that experience real leg stress and owners who can do effective rehab. They see mostly back yard horses that trail ride. I would venture to say that my experience in competition over many years with a heck of a lot of horses has provided me with more exposure to lameness than the typical local back yard horse vet sees. Therefore, the "once over" kind of pre-purchase exam for me is not worth it. If I do have a question, there is a minor league racetrack not too far away and I can trailer a horse there to see a vet who sees lots of lameness and he can give the horse a worthwhile once-over. Unfortunately, I read in the PA Equestrian newspaper that the track vet I like has been indicted on charges of not recording prescriptions administered at the track. I really like the guy, but the track is an odd culture and I guess he got caught up in it.
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Post by horseguy on Oct 9, 2015 18:11:17 GMT
I have a hunt horse going out of state for the season, so I had a vet out to update the coggins and do a travel health certificate, which, I was told, requires a physical exam. I'm new to the area and had a new vet come out yesterday. This is not a pre purchase exam, just one for travel. Vet came, handed me a clipboard with a new client 5 page form to fill out, inserted rectal thermometer, drew blood, looked at horse from both sides and front, removed thermometer, took pictures for coggins, said we're done. Cost of the physical and travel paper nearly $100, plus the coggins test. It took me longer to fill out the form than to do the vet work. I appreciated the speed but I thought maybe there would be a stethoscope involved.  |
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barbarafox
New Member
Riding Instructor for a long time
Posts: 11 
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Post by barbarafox on Oct 10, 2015 1:44:21 GMT
Hey Bob not to go off topic for long but your comment about the $100 health certificate- we have a vet that lives/works less than 3 miles down the road- trip charge is $45 - all exams and everything else go on top of that. Compare that to what you can get for a group lesson where you provide the horse and tack......unbelievable
Going back on topic- I'm with you on the pre purchase. We had vets in Flagstaff that refused to do them because of liability. I always advise them to clients for their peace of mind though. A fellow (in our age group) I know just bought his first horse. He wanted an older dressage horse and knew that he might have to deal with a few minor issues because of age. He found a horse he loved and was thrilled that it passed his level of exam (he's a retired doctor). All was good. Had the horse shipped in, bought all the good tack etc rode it a few times. A few weeks after delivery the horse tore a tendon during turn out so now he's learning about bandaging and rehab.
It has occurred to me that we don't have to go to the track to participate in the gamble
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