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Finding the Horse of Your Dreams

A complete pre-purchase vet check

should include:

1. GENERAL CHECK
First, your vet should write a description of the horse. This description should
include the horse’s color and age; any marks such as stars, blazes or snips on
the horse’s head; whirls on the face and neck; white areas on the legs; and any
kind of scar, splints, or joint effusions. A deep examination of the horse’s skin
is also important because it might reveal scars from a colic surgery or any other
important surgery (Mansmann, 2018). Horses who have had colic surgery are
more likely to have colic again in the future, and you really don’t want a horse
that is prone to colic (Norton, 2016).

Next, your vet should check the horse’s overall body condition. Being under-
weight or overweight can lead to several health issues. Obesity can be a genetic
problem, or it can occur simply because the horse is overeating and under-exer-
cised. In any case, obesity can be very dangerous. There is a very strong link be-
tween obesity and terrible diseases such as laminitis (Norton, 2016). On the other
hand, poor body condition may be the result of inadequate nutrition, poor dental
health, a disease, or even poor parasite control (Equine Guelph, 2018).

Finally, during the general check, your vet should examine the horse’s back, legs,
hooves, eyes, and teeth, and listen to the horse’s heart and lungs to check for
abnormalities.

COMMON RED FLAGS THAT COULD ALERT THE VET TO
ISSUES IN THE GENERAL CHECK:

• Scars from colic surgery. ween the cornea and the iris)
and lens.
• Both poor condition and
obesity. • Arrhythmias that may indi-
cate cardiac problems.
• Tooth abnormalities. This
reveals your vet how much • Any kind of infection in the
dental care your horse may horse’s hooves.
need in the future.
• Warm feet.
• Lesions on the cornea, ante-
rior chamber (the space bet- • Back pain.

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