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Finding the Horse of Your Dreams

• Tarsal joints.

• Synovial joints.

• Stifle joints.

However, your vet may include more images according to his or her findings in
the general test. European veterinarians include images of the horse’s back and neck
on the pre-purchase vet check to prevent any abnormality that may affect your horse
(Voermans, 2018). According to your pre-purchase vet check budget, think about
including these images especially if you are looking for a high-level horse.

4. BLOOD EXAM
Although blood tests are rarely done in pre-purchase vet checks because they
can be highly expensive, but your veterinarian may consider necessary to run
a blood test on your horse. Just like humans, a blood test will reveal your vet
different aspects of the horse’s overall health. This test will show your vet if the
horse carries any contagious disease, or if he has been given steroids, sedatives,
any muscle anti-inflammatory drugs such as phenylbutazone, which masks la-
meness, or any other substance forbidden by the FEI (Norton, 2016).

5. ENDOSCOPY

Your veterinarian may consider necessary to perform an endoscopy to examine the
airways and pharyngeal region of the horse. Some veterinarians perform an endos-
copy as a mandatory point of the vet check, while others prefer performing it only
if they see abnormalities in the horse’s breathing. An endoscopy will reveal your
veterinarian if the horse has a respiratory disease, an infection, gastric ulcers and
surgeries in his airways (Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, 2018).

Pre-purchase vet check checklist

• Choosing a trustworthy vete- • Lameness exam.
rinarian specialized in sport
horses. • X-rays and ultrasound.

• Informing your veterinarian • Blood test.
your goals and price of the horse.
• Endoscopy.
• General check.

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