Pre Purchase Vetting

The practice carries out impartial vettings of horses for pre-purchase and insurance purposes to a rigorous standard.

Pre-Purchase Examination

Veterinarians have developed a general routine of examination which has been found to be satisfactory as a means of detecting signs of disease and injury. We recommend a full Five Stage Vetting for any purchase of a horse or pony. In exceptional circumstances we can carry out a Two Stage Vetting but we require you to sign a disclaimer form explaining that this is a limited examination and some problems may be missed.

The Five stages are as follows:-

Stage 1 - Preliminary examination

This is a methodical examination of the animal’s body to assess general appearance and condition. It includes examination of the teeth, the resting heart, the eyes by ophthalmoscope, the skin, the limbs and feet, and flexion of the limb joints to reveal pain or limitation of movement.

Stage 2 - Trotting up

The animal is walked and trotted on hard, level ground in order to detect gross abnormalities of gait and action. Flexion tests are performed at this stage placing the limb under tension for a set period before trotting the horse off to see if any lameness is present.

If any lameness is present. The horse may be lunged or trotted round on a hard surface at this point. These tests often show up or exacerbate low grade underlying lameness not present at a straightforward trot up.

Stage 3 - Strenuous exercise

The animal is given sufficient strenuous exercise (1) to make it breathe deeply and rapidly so that any unusual breathing sounds may be heard, (2) to increase the action of the heart so that abnormalities may be more easily detected, and (3) to tire the animal so that strains or injuries may be revealed by stiffness or lameness after a period of rest. We recommend that the animal is ridden rather than lunged to examine any effects of the rider on the horses back or action e.g. breaking when ridden or lameness only evident when ridden.

Stage 4 - A period of rest

The horse is allowed to stand quietly for a period. During this time the breathing and the heart are checked as they return to their resting levels.

Stage 5 - The second trot and foot examination

The horse is walked and trotted again, turned sharply and backed, in order to reveal abnormalities exacerbated by the strenuous exercise stage.

Each Vetting can take from 1½ to 2 hours.

In addition we can also carry out X-rays, endoscopic examinations and tendon scans if required.