# Pre-Purchase Exam



## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

So... my mom and I are looking at potentially buying a mare and wanted to do a pre-purchase exam to make sure she is in good health. I had a few questions and I was wondering if someone could help me out.

First, the mare is about three hours away from us so we can't have our own vet do it. Should I ask the owner to contact the vet that she usually uses and set up a pre-purchase exam? Or should we look up a vet in that area on our own and contact them? Should we be there when the exam is performed, or is it enough to give the vet a call afterwards?

Also, what is the typical cost of a pre-purchase exam, and what all does it usually include?

Finally, we were told that this mare had a very minor fracture in one of her hind legs when she was young but that it healed up on its own and she's been sound ever since. Should we still consider having her leg/s xrayed to make sure that everything looks like it should?


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## Rachel1786 (Nov 14, 2010)

I can't really answer any of your questions, but i would advise you have a vet that you contact do the exam, for all you know the vet the horse's current owner uses is a personal friend and could lie about their findings. I also think it would be a good idea to be there so you can see how the horse reacts and if the vet does find anything she/he can show you exactly what she found rather then trying to explain it later over the phone. If the horse had a fracture i personally would opt for an x-ray just to make sure there are no arthritic changes due to the break. The vet you choose may be able to feel the leg and tell you better if an x-ray should be done. 

Sorry i couldn't answer any more of your questions, i haven't ever had a pre-purchase exam done


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

I would ask YOUR vet for a recommendation for a good vet in the area and go from there. And I would personally want to be there. I like to see how the horse's responds and be there to talk to the vet in person while he's doing the exam. It's up to you though, I have done exams in other states where I wasn't present and they've been ok. 
I think a PPE without xrays is about $250-300ish? Ours include general eval of things like eyes, ears, teeth, heartrate, etc, hoof testers and flexions. 
What will you be using your horse for and how old is she? Unless you're only using her for easy trail rides I would definitely get her xrayed! Even if she's sound now i'd be concerned about her future soundness.


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## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

The mare is 11 years old... I'd be using her for casual trail riding and lower/mid level dressage.

I think I will try to be there when they do the exam. Timing is sort of tough though.


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## sixlets (May 1, 2009)

Definetly do a pre-purchase exam. I agree with upnover, you should ask your vet for reccomendations. I would also have the vet who performs it send all x-rays and finding to your vet, so s/he can review them. I wouldn't say you HAVE to be there for the exam, but it's nice to watch to make sure no funny business happens. I was there for the vet check on my mare Wyndemere, because it was done at my barn, but can't be there for Dulcinea's because she's about 7 hours away from me  . As for price, it all depends are where you are. For Wyndemere's, in MN, it was over $200. For Dulcinea's, in SD, it'll be about $80. It just depends on prices in the horse world in your area. Best of luck!


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## Deerly (Apr 18, 2010)

It would be super if they would let you take the horse to your barn so you can see how the horse is outside of it's element as well as let your vet have a look. I would not have the normal vet do a pre-purchase as that can be a conflict of interests. 

If they won't let you bring the horse to your own barn/vet for a trial then I'd ask my vet for recommendations. If they don't know the area I would call the nicer tack stores / horsey places and ask who the top 3 vets in the area call and get quotes.

I recently had a pre-purchase done for around $560 without x-rays (horse failed the tendon palpation ). Another barn-mate had one done for $360 (with additional cost for x-rays) by a vet that was not their normal one.

I didn't have a lot of experience with pre-purchase exams until recently. They include a physical where the vet takes their vitals both at rest and after exercise. A lameness exam is done, tendons are palpated, flexion tests are done on all limbs, eyes, teeth, hooves, reflexes all examined. They did some tests for obvious neurological disorders, listened to their lungs and gut and probably a lot more I don't recall.

It's also very common to add x-rays. For the horse I finally bought x-rays cost about $48 per view and we did four views of each front foot.


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## MissH (Apr 10, 2010)

My pre-purchase was about $500 with multiple xrays (no blood work). This was completely worth it for me and gave me peace of mind that I wasn't getting into something I couldn't deal with later. I would suggest choosing the vet you want to do the exam - the seller's vet could potentially be biased or influenced by the seller themselves (although this was not my experience).


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

My trainer always asks the seller who their Vet is, just so she can use a different one. If for no other reason than a Vet who is familiar with a horse/seller could potentially miss something because they are going into the situation with an "oh yeah, that horse, she's perfectly fine, I'll just go show the buyer that" where a Vet whose never seen the horse before is going over it with a a fine toothed comb to ensure the seller isn't busy trying to hide anything since they don't know the seller either.

At my trainer's suggestion I went with an extremely large Vet practice that has a teaching hospital for my Vet check last year since we lived hours away from the seller and had no clue on Vets there. We were beyond thrilled, we had an older Vet come out who'd been around the block more than a few times but was also extremely up to date on new treatments and findings as their hospital gets the "my Vet is stumped, this is our last hope" cases. She brought a couple students along with her and we had one very thorough exam. 

I paid $800 but had a series of x-rays done on one leg that failed the flexion test and that nearly doubled the original cost. As far as what it covered, pretty much everything. I don't think there was a square inch of my horse that the Vet didn't poke, prod or violate. She had the horse walk, trot, canter on a variety of surfaces, indoor and outdoor, flexion tests, heart rate while resting, working, took his temperature a few times, checked his vision, his teeth, you name it, she did it. She spent about 3 hours total with him. Oh and we did do some bloodwork as one heck of an unspooky under saddle 4yr old, we wanted to ensure that was his temperament not a chemically induced one and we needed blood to obtain a current Coggins any ways.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Some vet practices will not do a PPE on a horse that they regularly treat. If they are willing to do one they have to have the owner sign a release. Otherwise there is a conflict of interest.

I would ask your vet for the name of a vet in that area. If your vet does not know anyone ask around to find a vet.

I agree, that you should be there.
This allows you to decide on various things as you go. 

I recently had a PPE done. It was $300 for the basic exam and any testing above and beyond that was extra (x-ray, blood work, etc).
If everything is going well you might decide to not do some additional testing, etc.


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## equineeventer3390 (Mar 27, 2009)

-Don't use their vet. Look around for another vet in the area or ask your vet for reccommendations

-Be present at time of pre-purchase. If you absolutely cannot be present. Call the vet you are using and tell them EXACTLY what you want done and if the owner of the horse says no to any of the things you want done, pass on the horse

-If you are present, ride the horse before the pre-purchase. THEN make sure the vet draws blood. I've seen way to many times where the owner has given the horse a little Ace or pain medicine to mask a bad behavior or lameness issue while someone is riding the horse. These will show up on a blood test.

-I would reccommend flexion test AND x-rays. I got both done on one of my horses. He didn't do well on the flexion (possibly due to having been in the trailer 4 hours prior) but passed all the x-rays (and they xrayed everything!).

-For pricing, tell the vet what you want and get an estimate!!! When I did a pre-purchase on my horse, the owner brought the horse to my trainers farm me to ride and get the pre purchase. I used my trainers vet as mine was out of town. My vet is always pretty cheap. I think she charged around 400-500 for a vet check WITH x-rays. My trainer told me her vet wasn't too pricey either. WRONG. We paid over $2,000 for the vet check with x-rays. Even my trainer was in shock at how much she charged us.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

i had to have my mares PPE in another state, with the owner, when i was not there. they used a different vet besides their own [even trailered the horse an hr to get there] the vet that did the exam called me and my vet after the exam and told us what he thought. it was great and worked very well ! 

i dont find a huge conflict of interest when using their vet [but i guess its always possible] most vets wont give a pass/fail on a PPE because they might lose the owner/seller as a client if they say it fails. they just state their findings.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

gypsygirl said:


> i dont find a huge conflict of interest when using their vet


I agree.

I think the concern is more for the vet.

I use the same vet as the person selling the horse I recently purchased. The vets office required the seller to sign a release form to allow them to do a PPE for me.


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