The Best Little Horse House in Hastings, Inc.
501(c)3 Non Profit Organization
Soundness Checks
The examining veterinarian should have experience with the specific breed, as well as knowledge of the purpose for which the horse is being purchased. All notes taken during the examination should be kept in the buyer’s file and a report should be given to the buyer.
Horse purchasers have different levels of experience and practical expectations. The veterinarian should ask about the particular buyer’s expectations and disclose the limitations of the examination, emphasizing that the examination does not eliminate risks. Buyers should be aware that the opinion or diagnosis of one veterinarian is not necessarily going to be the same as the opinion or diagnosis from a second or third veterinarian.
Traditionally, it is recommended that the examining veterinarian have had no contact with the horse or seller in a previous medical or personal role. However, this is often not possible when the horse is being sold within a small community or within the same boarding barn.
State and international disease testing and other requirements should be reviewed with the buyer and complied with by the examining veterinarian. Drug testing should be offered to the buyer and its limitations discussed.
Prepurchase examinations of performance horses often are conducted under several different conditions of training. The following are examples of conditions an examiner may face. Any of these or other modifying conditions should be noted as part of the examination notes: 1) A horse is currently in early training for a specific athletic endeavor and the buyer is ultimately looking to have the horse compete at a higher level. 2) A horse is coming off a lay-off period and has only been back in work for a brief period of time. 3) An older horse that has some infirmities and is being purchased as a schoolmaster by a less experienced rider, in which case the physical demands will potentially decrease with the new buyer. 4) A horse is being purchased for a financial investment. 5) A horse is being purchased as a pleasure or trail horse where the workload is not high but the horse’s attitude is extremely important. In each of these conditions, different approaches are needed, and different questions should be asked and understood by the examiner.
During the first part of the examination, a thorough identification of the horse should be recorded. This can be a written description of its color and age verification with inspection of the teeth. Notations of markings and any other permanent peculiarities to the horse’s body are also beneficial. The most common markings include a star, stripe, blaze, or snip on the face of the horse. Any white markings on the legs should also be described. Other markings that are valuable to record include whorls on the face and neck, brands, and tattoos. The presence of any scars, splints, or joint effusion should be noted. In some cases, brands or tattoos can give information, such as age. The date, time, and place of the examination should also be recorded. An ophthalmologic examination should be done, as well as auscultation of the heart and lungs, temperature and pulse recordings, and oral examinations. It is also worth looking in the stall for the character of the manure and feed and/or oral medication remaining in the feed bucket.
The second phase of the examination outside the stall can begin with general body and skin condition. The body condition score (1-9) can be assigned a number from thinness (1) to obesity (9). Scores of 4, 5, or 6 are considered normal. Next, visual observation and palpation of the limbs, hoof examination (including hoof testers), passive and active flexion tests, and watching the horse move on different surfaces on a straight line and in a circle should be done. It is also valuable to complete a basic neurologic examination.
Many examiners feel that it is helpful to watch the horse being ridden to rule out any subtle unsoundness. It also gives the examiner some observations and insight into the potential of the rider, if it is the buyer. These observations are worth noting, even though it is the trainer’s and buyer’s responsibility to determine the suitability of the horse.
The fourth part of the examination should include any diagnostic procedures that may be necessary to determine soundness, including radiographs (particularly of the feet, hocks, and stifles), ultrasonography, and nuclear scans. Radiography is the most common diagnostic procedure performed. A recent retrospective analysis of radiography in equine prepurchase examinations suggests that higher radiographic grades (eg, 2-3) in the navicular bone and distal phalanx are associated with lameness, whereas similar grades in the tarsus were less likely to be associated with lameness.