Thursday, February 19, 2009

Spoke with the Vets

I discussed the findings of the pre-purchase exam with both the vet who performed it and my own vet who reviewed the results. Each vet called me individually but they hadn't yet been able to catch up with each other by phone. Buying a horse long distance is quite a process! I can't imagine how someone goes to Europe to buy a horse.

I asked both vets to look into the two things I noticed about him. The first is one of his front feet has a "clubby" tendancy. He is sound, but has a higher heel to toe ratio and I wanted to be sure it is not something that would be a deal breaker. Monty had a very similar set of front hooves, one was very narrow, with a somewhat contracted heel and frog and the other was a nice round hoof with a big soft frog. Yet in all the years I owned and rode him, he never had any problems from it and only wore basic steel shoes. So, as long as there were no changes going on that could be seen in X-rays that would be of concern, I could handle that.

The second thing is he's very "butt-high" He only measures around 16 or 16.1 hands at the wither but he's got a 16.2-3 rear end! He looks really big in the picture because the trainer is only 5'3" or so inches tall! I'm 5'9" so it's a big difference. This downhill conformation makes for a very different ride from what I'm used to. I asked the vet if he felt this colt would at least even out if not be an "uphill" horse. He told me,"he's a gangly kid right now. He needs time to fill out and to gain muscle. I think he could at least make 16.2 but you don't know". Which is pretty much how I felt about him when I first looked him over.

It's his personality that keeps coming back to me. The vet told me that all through the X-ray session, as he moved the plates around and even had baby stand on them to get pix of his hooves, the colt patiently did everything he was asked to do and was relaxed about it! He said most horses are not fond of putting their feet on the plate for the hoof X-ray but this little guy just cooperated!

Today I start calling to look for a horse transport who can bring him home. I have no idea what that is going to add to the cost. Hope I'm not blown away. :/

11 comments:

OnTheBit said...

CONGRATS!! You have a new horse now! Yay! Good luck finding a shipper (they are all really pricey) that you can afford and that takes care of your new horse! I know I already gave you the name of a shipper...I wish I had more but of the handful I know well enough to have an opinion on the one I told is the only one I recommend. I can't wait to see pictures of him as he grows up and gets taller!

Anonymous said...

I leased a TB mare for year with similar front feet. Her left front was very clubby and her right normal.

She never once had a problem related to that foot. A stifle injury is finally ended her career as a riding horse.

C-ingspots said...

Oh yeah!! So happy that you've found your new friend and equine partner. Now just get him home safely and you can begin building the relationship!!

wilsonc said...

Wonderful news about the vet check. Hopefully, you will be able to find a shipper ASAP. He sounds like a wonderful horse.

Anonymous said...

Yay! How exciting!

Shipping from Seattle to just east of Portland (4 hours or so) was quoted to me at $500. My horse's previous owners did it for about $200 though. Basically, I gave an offer, they upped it and I said sure, as long as you ship him and they did. Sometimes they like to do it, see where the horse is going and all that.

Grey Horse Matters said...

Good luck with your new horse, he sounds like a dream. I'm sure he'll fill out and be perfect he certainly has a great personality already.

Jean said...

Trust me, a 2 yo Thoroughbred is not done growing. I got my guy at coming 2. He was about 15.2. He is now 16.3+..pretty close to 17.0. All the Thoroughbreds I have owned, including one I got as a late 4 yo grew after I bought them.

Sometimes the "sring test" will give you an idea of his finished size. Run a string from his elbow to his fetlock and then, turn it upside down with the one end still at his elbow and the top up above his back. Gives you a picture of his potential "left to grow."

Clubby feet can be helped a bit with super good shoeing and trimming. My guy actually did have a full club foot as a foal and had the ligament suregery to correct it. His foot looks virtually normal. My shoer is wonderful.

This kid sounds like a honey to be so good on the ground. I think you are getting a winner!! Good luck with the shipping. May it work out at a good price sooner than later.

Promise said...

When I moved my horse from Boston to Tampa (about 1300 miles) it cost me about $1500 or so.

Promise said...

P.S. The guy I used was a friend of a very close friend of mine. He is based in New Hampshire, and I can't guarantee that he does transport where you are, BUT, it is possible he could recommend someone. Let me know if you'd like his info.

Promise said...

Ack...last one, I think. Looking at his website, he does transport in the lower 48 states, so it would probably just be a matter of if he was in your area at a convenient time for both of you.

Horseypants said...

This is so exciting! I'm really glad that you found your horse. Every book/article/opinion I've ever read about horses yields to a good temperament. It's so important. And it would be very unusual if he didn't keep growing & even out. I believe your feeding program can help that along too.