What happens at a vetting

After months of searching, hours of driving around the country and multiple not-quite-right viewings, you’ve finally found your perfect horse. There’s now just one hurdle remaining– the vetting. However, despite being relatively commonplace, much confusion exists surrounding vettings and how any findings are interpreted. So, what can you expect?

The first step

Pre-purchase examination is the correct term for a vetting, and it aims to ensure a horse is likely to be suitable for the intended use. 

For ease of communication, it’s often best to use a vet you already know and trust, although this is not always possible – for example, because of location or a conflict of interest. But, whoever you choose, try to arrange a chat in advance of the examination so you can discuss your requirements, the intended use of the horse and any reservations or concerns you might have.  

Did you know?

While not necessarily a conflict of interest, the vet must inform the purchaser if the seller is a client and disclose any veterinary history that might influence the horse’s suitability for purchase. 

Did you know?

A pre-purchase examination might be required by your insurance company before issuing a policy, depending on the value of your prospective horse.

Plan ahead

When it comes to the actual vetting, it’s wise to ensure beforehand that the facilities will be appropriate. Ideally, the horse should be stabled prior to the examination and there should be…

• an area of low light for examination of the eyes
• a flat, firm level surface for trotting up
• hard and soft areas for lungeing
• a suitable area for the ridden part of the examination, if applicable  

Top tip

If the horse’s current environment is not ideal for a vetting, try to arrange a visit to another location rather than accept a compromised examination.

Did you know?

The standard five-stage vetting doesn’t include a detailed examination of the mouth using a gag, checking for pregnancy or examination of the inside of the sheath.

The five stages

At the vetting, the vet will first identify the horse, which usually involves scanning the microchip and matching it to the passport.  

The passport and microchip numbers will be checked, along with the horse’s name (or breeding) and recorded date of birth. The vet will also ask the seller some questions, such as how long they’ve owned the horse, whether they’re aware of any previous lameness, medical problems or surgery, or if the horse has been administered any medication during the previous four weeks.

The standard examination follows five stages, usually carried out in the following order…

1. Examination at rest involving a detailed external examination of the horse including assessment of the incisor teeth, eyes and listening to the heart and respiratory systems with a stethoscope.
2. Dynamic assessment in hand when the horse’s movement is assessed in walk and trot in a straight line. If appropriate, flexion tests and lungeing will also be performed.   
3. Exercise both to assess the horse’s way of going and to evaluate the cardiac and respiratory systems at higher heart and breathing rates. If the horse is being bought for ridden purposes, this stage should be performed under saddle, although there might be circumstances when it’s carried out on the lunge. Usually, the horse will be assessed at walk, trot and canter on both reins, and the vet might ask the rider to perform transitions, small circles or figures of eight. Once this has been completed, the horse will be exercised at a faster pace to elevate the heart and breathing rates. The vet will listen for abnormal respiratory noises and to the heart and lungs using a stethoscope as soon as the horse is pulled up. The extent of the exercise will depend on the horse’s current fitness and intended use.
4. Rest when the horse stands quietly, usually back in the stable, to recover from exercise. The heart and lungs will be monitored as rates return to normal.  
5. A second trot up will highlight any lameness aggravated by exercise and rest.
6. Expect a five-stage vetting to take between one and two hours to complete, unless X-rays or other techniques are performed when it will take longer.

Lameness testing

Flexion tests are sometimes seen as controversial, but when performed consistently and interpreted fairly, they can provide useful information. Their purpose is to try to identify underlying injury or disease that doesn’t currently affect the horse under normal circumstances, but which might become more significant in the future. 

Many horses will demonstrate a mild, transient lameness following flexion of a limb, but if the resulting lameness is severe, prolonged or much worse in one limb than others, there’s greater cause for concern.  

When interpreting the result, the horse’s age and work is taken into account, as a middle-aged horse competing at a high level might be expected to suffer from a degree of joint disease and to demonstrate a positive response to flexion, whereas in a young, lightly worked horse, this might be a greater worry.

Lungeing can highlight mild lameness that might not be evident in a straight line and, ideally, should be performed on both hard and soft surfaces. The horse will also be backed up and turned in tight circles in both directions to look for any hidden neurological or gait deficits.

Did you know?

A blood sample can identify drugs, such as sedatives or painkillers, that might have been administered prior to the vetting. You can elect to have the sample analysed immediately or stored for six months for analysis during this time. 

A shorter option

In some circumstances – for example when purchasing young animals – you might elect not to proceed with a full five-stage examination, but request the first two stages only (often referred to as a two-stage vetting).

However, the two-stage examination has limitations and some clinical signs of injury or abnormality might not be identified.

The extras

Sometimes, additional techniques may be performed, the most common being X-ray, especially if there is a concerning clinical finding, or X-rays are required by the insurance company. X-rays can also be valuable in young horses to identify underlying developmental problems such as joint chips, as these issues might be clinically silent in horses not yet in work. 

Other examples of additional techniques are endoscopy to evaluate the airway and ultrasonography of tendons and ligaments.

Top tip

While it isn’t necessary to attend the vetting yourself, it can be useful to do so, as the vet will be able to point out findings as they go.

Risk assessment

Following the pre-purchase examination, the vet will discuss their findings with you verbally – remember, it’s rare to have no clinical findings at all. The key is in evaluating the significance of them and whether they increase the risk of purchasing the horse.  

The significance and relative risk will depend on the intended use of the horse and the individual purchaser – a mild lameness in an older horse might be an acceptable risk in a horse intended for light hacking but unacceptable for a different purchaser wishing to event. 

Following this discussion, the vet can make an assessment as to whether, in their opinion and on the balance of probabilities, the findings prejudice the horse’s suitability for purchase. The outcome is rarely as black and white as a pass or fail but, rather, an assessment of likely risk.  

The pre-purchase examination cannot guarantee a horse’s suitability, but it is a comprehensive, detailed examination that provides valuable information. There is a financial outlay, of course, but it could end up saving you time, money and anxiety further down the line, and that’s something certainly worth having.