Pre-purchase examinations (old)

If you are considering buying a horse, it is a good idea to have it examined by a veterinarian prior to parting with your hard earned cash.

We routinely perform a large number of pre-purchase exams on all types of horses, including ponies, sport horses, race horses, breeding mares and stallions. If you are considering buying a horse, feel free to contact us to discuss having a pre purchase examination performed by one of our experienced veterinarians.

We frequently deal with horses that have recently been bought without a pre-purchase examination, only for a problem to arise shortly afterwards. This can end up costing the new owner even more money, and in some cases can mean the horse is not actually suitable for the intended purpose. In a lot of cases, this could have been avoided with a pre-purchase examination.

There are five stages of examination, and the type of examination you choose will generally reflect the value of the horse and intended use.

Below are the 5 stages of examination:

Stage 1 - Preliminary examination
Stage 2 - Examination during walking, trotting, turning, and backing
Stage 3 - Examination during and immediately after strenuous exercise
Stage 4 - Examination during the period of exercise
Stage 5 - The final examination during walking, trotting, turning, and backing.

On top of this you can also request endoscopy, radiographs, ultrasound examination, ECG, or a reproductive examination. Once the vet has completed the examination, they will contact you to discuss the findings. There are very few "perfect" horses, and many horses will have mild abnormalities (especially if radiographs are included in your examination). Your vet will assign a level of risk to any abnormalities found, and let you know how they may affect the future performance (or re-sale) of the horse. It is then up to the purchaser to decide what level of risk they are comfortable with, and if they will continue with the purchase.