Pre-Purchase Vettings

Pre-Purchase Examinations

Pre-purchase examinations (often referred to as ‘vettings’) are recommended prior to purchasing a horse or pony in order to determine whether they are suitable for their intended use.

The options are either a 2 stage or a 5 stage examination. The 5 stage examination is the most thorough and recommended for ridden horses intended for immediate work or competition. A 2 stage examination is more suitable for younger, unbacked horses or broodmares.

Stage 1 – A thorough clinical examination is carried out to determine if there are any signs of disease or injury, be it recent or historic. The examination includes listening to the horses chest with a stethoscope, examining the horse’s eyes in a darked environment using an ophthalmoscope and palpation of all the limbs.

Stage 2 – The horse is observed moving. The horse will be required to walk and trot in hand in a straight line on a flat, hard service. Usually the vet will ask for the horse to be trotted in a small circle as well. Flexion tests will also be carried out at this stage.

Stage 3 – This stage assesses the horse during strenuous exercise. It allows the vet to observe how the horse moves and also how the cardiovascular and respiratory systems cope with exertion. The horse is normally required to be ridden during this stage. If this is not possible, the horse maybe lunged instead.

Stage 4 – During this stage, the horse is allowed to rest. The vet will monitor horse’s heart and respiratory rate as it returns to resting rate. Whilst the horse is resting, the vet may carry out marking sketch and also look over their passport.

Stage 5 – This stage involves a final in-hand trot-up to determine whether the intense exercise during stage 3 has exacerbated a subtle lameness or not. Sometimes, flexion tests and trotting in a small circle will be repeated now.

During a pre-purchase examination, a blood sample will be drawn. This will be stored for 6 months after the examination. This sample can then be examined if problems occur with the horse in the first 6 months after purchase, primarily to check no analgesics or sedatives were administered to the horse before the examination.

At the end of the examination, the vet will give their opinion on whether the horse is suitable for their intended use. If the purchaser is not present at the time of examination, the vet can discuss their findings over the phone. The vet will then issue the written certificate.