Page 1058 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

presented with a shoe missing. It is false economy to avoid the expense of shoeing if the

horse needs new shoes prior to the examination.
VetBooks.ir RIDER AND ASSISTANT

The vendor should provide a competent rider to exercise the horse. Alternatively, the

purchaser can ride the horse so that nothing can be disguised. An assistant should be
available to hold or lead the horse when required.

FACILITIES

Suitable facilities for exercise must be available. A firm, level surface is required for the

trotting up. Waterlogged fields, hillsides and hard, rutted surfaces are unsuitable for stage 3
of the examination. A dark loosebox is needed for examination of the eyes. If necessary, the

horse should be transported elsewhere. These arrangements need to be made beforehand to
avoid wasting time.

The vetting procedure

The examination is carried out in five stages.

1 Preliminary examination.
2 Walk and trot in hand

3 Exercise phase

4 Period of rest and re-examination

5 Second trot up

The purchaser may request additional procedures in advance, or the vet may recommend
them following the clinical examination. These include radiography, endoscopy,
ultrasonography and blood tests. These are reported and recorded on the certificate; the

examining vet retains the original images and records. There will be an extra charge for these
procedures and the vendor’s permission must be obtained.

A blood sample may be taken at the time of the pre-purchase examination (PPE) and

stored for a period of 6 months. This can be screened for the presence of non-steroidal anti-
inflammatory drugs, sedatives or other substances if there is any suspicion that they were
administered at the time of the PPE to mask a problem.

THE EXAMINATION

Stage 1 – preliminary examination