Prepurchase Exams

A waste of money or piece of mind?

Every done a home inspection? It starts with you sitting down with the home inspector on a table and signing several pages of waivers and exclusions. Then you hand over your cash or cheque and the inspector starts getting his tools ready. A flashlight a moisture-meter, a ladder…

It was my first time last year do witness- and pay for a home inspection and the most important thing I learned was If I have to sign 5 times minimum in order to acknowledge there can be hidden defects and damages in an innate object, that are not readily detectable to the trained professional, I probably should “upt” the paperwork of my prepurchase forms significantly.

So what do you get and expect from a prepurchase exam for the horse you picked?

This is what I sometimes hear when talking to the prospective buyer:

“ I just want to make sure he doesn’t go lame further down the road”- or “ I once had a horse with navicular-I need to make sure this one stays sound” – or “ we love him so much, he needs to stay healthy”

Do you feel the pressure??

This is what you can expect from a prepurchase exam – or vet check as it is also called.

I try to get a concise history from the owner about the horse in question, not only the medical history but its workload, feeding program, supplements and routine medications.

Then the exam starts with a clinical exam of the horse at rest, I try to get an overview of type, conformation and  temperament. The head, ears, mucus membranes (conjunctiva, nasal mucusa and gingiva) are assessed, next I listen to his heart, lung sounds and gut sounds. Check temperature? The simple process of taking the temperature  can be challenging in some horses – and by now I have already learned a lot about that horse, if nothing else then to be more careful around it.

The eyes are examined with a flashlight and a special tool called ophthalmoscope.

Opening the mouth, holding the tongue in order to assess the teeth can be another challenge for some of my patients.

After that the body and skin is checked for lumps, scabs, injuries and scars.

All four legs are lifted, the joints are examined for swelling and range of motion and the tendons and ligaments are palpated.

The feet are tested for pain and sensitivity with a simple but very useful tool  called “ hooftester” and the horn quality of hoof wall, sole and frog is assessed.

This brings me to another comparison with everyday buying and selling. Ever tried to sell a car with worn and flat tires for a lot of money??

No ? Well, I have seen quite a few sale-horses, no matter how high the price tag was, that would have desperately needed a good trim or shoeing job before the vetcheck.

Once the initial exam is done, we look at the horse in motion. Walking on straight line in walk and trot, lunging on hard and soft ground. And again here is the challenge, how do you trot a horse in hand that never learned how to do so? Or doesn’t know how to lunge.

Welcome to my world…

Next step: Every ageing’s vet favorite- the flexion tests. One leg after the other is held in flexed position for approximately a minute, then the horse is trotted off.

We do this in order to detect joint pain often related to wear and tear, but we have also keep in mind that especially older horses, that perform perfectly well in the show ring, might not flex that pretty sometimes.

Now it is time to get the heart rate up, with lunging in trot and canter while listening for respiratory noise (roar), I will again look for any lameness. After that I will auscultate the lung and heart again, in order to check for irregular heartbeat or abnormal lung sounds.

We are coming towards the end of the basic exam, some other tests, like backing up the horse, circling in a small circle and checking the tail tone are part of my neurologic assessment.

Then it is time to talk…

All the findings are considered confidential and it is completely up to the buyer-my client, to share that information with the seller or not. As there is neither the perfect vet, nor the perfect horse there is always something to talk about.

If the buyer is happy with the findings, we will proceed with x rays if requested.
There is no standardization in Northern America about which views and how many x rays to take in the pleasure and sport horse world. As it is quite often a money issue – the x rays can be by far the moist expensive part of a prepurchase exam – only a limited number of x rays are taken, I try to do that on a risk based assessment in these cases. For example in an ex- race horse I will have a close look at the knees (carpus), whereas if it is a warmblood I probably spend my clients money better on feet and navicular rads. Although I xrays are an important part when buying a horse, it is important to realize that even after imaging every possible joint, there is no guarantee for future soundness of the horse, it will however give you an important baseline about the joints and bones at the time of the exam.

Depending on the situation other tests or diagnostics might be done, endoscopy of the airways, ultrasound, blood work, specific tests for hereditary diseases and blood for a drug screen. Due to the fact that “bute”, “banamine” or other “painkillers” are readily available there is of course the risk that you get a horse presented that  has “bute on board….”

Needless to say that this is a nightmare for the exam and the interpretation of it.

My personal advice to clients is, if we take blood it should be tested immediately.

It is possible to take blood and freeze it, and to only have it analyzed if a problem arises a problem down the road, but I will advise that, while it might unveil a

“dirty deal”, at that point the chances of successfully using the results in court – should it go that far - are slim, due to what is  called “ a broken chain of custody”. The opposite lawyer will argue that the blood sent to the lab 4 weeks later could be anybody’s.

There is a wide variation of how pre-purchases are done between veterinarians and also between countries all with the same goal, to gather as much information about the horse in order to reduce the risk that is involved in buying a horse.

But like may other things in life –“ no risk – no Fun” and every horse owner will tell you that owning your own horse is one of the most rewarding things in life.

And finally here is an example of a disclaimer and while nobody is a fan of reading disclaimers, mine is a lot shorter than our home inspector’s….

Disclaimer:

It is important to remember that the pre-purchase examination can only give us information about the horse’s health and condition on the day of the exam. While this information is very important, it can never be a complete picture. Many factors that impact a horse’s health are not necessarily detectable on the day of the exam. The veterinarian cannot predict the horse’s future, and no guarantee can be issued.

Our role as veterinarian in the pre-purchase examination is not to “pass” or “fail” the horse. Instead, it is to help you make an informed decision by providing information about the horse’s health. Ultimately, the decision to purchase this animal can only be made by the prospective buyer. Remember, your veterinarian is happy to discuss any questions the prospective buyer may have about the exam findings.