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Looking "Under the Hood": Equine Prepurchase Exams
Imagine: You're car shopping. There's a 2008 bright red Honda Civic on Craig's List. Mint condition, low mileage. Just what you wanted and the price is right. SOLD!
A month after delivery, the car quits. One tow ride later, your mechanic has bad news: The car is actually a 2006 model that was in an accident last year. Oh, and BTW, the engine needs a new head gasket!
Extreme example of "buyer's remorse"? Well...yes...but the take home lesson is that what you see is not always what you get. Unfortunately, this can be true with HORSE SALES too.
At GVEC we've seen chronically lame horses go to homes where someone counted on riding them daily. Close inspection of the teeth has told us that the "new" horse is at least 10 years older than anyone thought. Oh, and that horse that "just coughed when warming up"? Our ears confirm he really has a bad case of heaves. We've even seen people buy blind horses and not realize it till they unloaded the trailer.
Prepurchase exams (PPEs) help prevent stories like these. The PPE is a thorough physical examination, coupled with observation of the horse in motion. The exam is done to establish baseline status and screen for potential problems. PPEs are a sensible choice that adds hard evidence to the emotional and financial investment of purchasing a horse.
THE EXAM
A PPE takes one to two hours. A medical history is step one.
We start by asking the seller many direct questions about feeding, preventative care, stable vices, past veterinary history and riding use.
For the moving part of the exam we want to watch the horse go on good footing, so an indoor ring should be available. We will tell the rider to perform a series of circles, transitions and patterns at all gaits . We'll watch very closely, screening for lameness, incooordination, or respiratory difficulty.
When the horse is a bit winded, we'll listen to the heart and lungs with a stethoscope.
Riding observation is balanced by a series of tests on the ground. The horse is guided through tests of the nervous system, checking for weakness, nerve dysfunction or incoordination.
 
Each of the lower leg joints will be held in a cramped position for about a minute and then we'll watch as the horse is jogged off. Such provocative "flexion tests" screen for arthritis and lameness.
The moving part of the test is paired with a thorough physical examination. Vital signs are recorded along with estimated weight
and body condition.
We dilate the pupils and check the eyes inside and out with an ophthalmoscope.
We open the mouth to estimate age and look for dental issues.
All four legs are bent, poked and prodded, checking for bone spurs, splints, arthritic changes or old injuries. Hoof balance and defects are noted. Every inch of skin is felt and all lumps and bumps are described. Various areas are checked for surgical scars. Behavior of the horse is observed.
Often, buyers want to find out as much information as possible during the exam. In these cases we couple the basic PPE with other tests such as blood analysis or X-ray imaging of the legs. Sometimes we do endoscopy or drug testing.
After the results of any extra tests are in we prepare a summary report. The report describes all the issues discovered during the exam and gives our opinion on the significance of those findings. We often counsel buyers on the relative pros and cons of the purchase related to their stated purpose for the horse. Our very detailed PPE report helps the buyer make an informed purchase decision.
These days, anyone can fall in love with a horse that shows a certain prance to their stance on YouTube. We think its great that it is so easy to locate horses for sale. We just caution you to "look before you leap"!
Thank you to Annie Mortimer and "Hot Wheels" for their assistance in illustrating this article. Thanks also to Wehle Farms for use of their facilities.
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