5 health conditions you and your vet should watch for when you’re trying a horse to buy

In early spring 2022 Carly Ostrander signed an agreement to take a young Quarter Horse mare on trial before deciding whether to buy her. Ostrander paid half the mid-five-figure asking price for a 60-day test ride. She hoped the horse would become her next mount for national-level ranch and reined cow horse events and, later, a broodmare.

Ostrander rode the mare in a two-day clinic preceding her first show. The mare was working cattle well despite having had a few years off. Hours before their first class, the mare tied up.

Fortunately, a veterinarian and an ­ambulatory technician show on the same circuit. They ran intravenous fluids; the mare responded to treatment and was cleared to compete. However, the vet suggested following up with a polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) test. In PSSM cases a mutation of the GYS1 gene causes muscle cramping due to abnormal glycogen (sugar) storage in the muscles.

“At that time, they told me that even if it was PSSM, it could be managed through diet and exercise,” Ostrander says.

After the show she ordered a barrage of bloodwork and sent a hair sample to the University of California, Davis, Genetics Laboratory. The results confirmed PSSM. Believing the situation was manageable, Ostrander and the seller, who had never noticed the mare tying up in the past, negotiated a reduced price. Ostrander kept the mare even though she didn’t have a future as a broodmare (PSSM is hereditary).

Following veterinarian recommendations, Ostrander continued competing and attended the American Ranch Horse Association (ARHA) World Show in Ocala, Florida. It was a 25-hour drive from her upstate New York barn, and she opted for layovers to make the trip easier on the mare. A few days into the show, however, the mare had a severe tying-up episode.

“Here we went with more fluid, more drugs, more bloodwork, and lots of bills,” she says. “I learned that sudden bursts of motion and standing in a stall for long periods of time can trigger an episode. Essentially, this horse is not well-suited to be a reiner or a cutter and is better suited to be a trail horse or a pleasure horse.”

Getting any horse, especially of this caliber, on lengthy trial is typically uncommon, says Beau Whitaker, DVM, CERP, co-owner at Brazos Valley Equine Hospital, in Salado, Texas. Allowing a horse to go home with a potential buyer can pose risks, so many sellers will not agree to a trial. However, if you are permitted to take a horse on trial—and even a weeklong trial can be advantageous—he recommends watching closely for signs of injury or illness.

A prepurchase exam and results from genetic testing (when available) reduces the guesswork when identifying a horse’s potential health issues. Trials offer an extended time to observe any medical conditions not previously visible and consult your veterinarian about them. The results could make or break the deal.

If you arrange for a trial, Whitaker suggests looking out for signs of these five health conditions.

1. Lameness

Soundness is the most common health characteristic buyers look for, Whitaker says. Lameness can be the result of an injury or wear and tear and can require ongoing maintenance, such as joint injections.

“Buyers need to consider how much maintenance they can live with, as it will increase ownership costs,” says Whitaker. “In addition, severe injuries could mean the horse is unusable for an extended period.”

He suggests observing the horse on a longe line and under saddle for:

• Head bobbing when trotting.
• Gait unevenness.
• A limb creating a “dropping out” appearance (or sensation, when riding) mid-stride.

Soundness issues are not limited to legs and joints. Problems in the axial skeleton, which includes the skull, vertebral column, sternum, and ribs, can also create lameness. Whitaker says neck pathology (disease or damage), kissing spines, or sacroiliac joint (SI) issues can also be performance-limiting.

“Stiffness in the neck or back and soreness in these areas after work suggests there may be an underlying issue,” he adds.

2. Hoof Problems

Hoof issues often get lumped under lameness, but it is essential to consider the foot on its own, says Whitaker. Corrective shoeing increases the expense of ownership and, depending on discipline and work intensity, the pathology at hand can limit performance.

Cornell University’s head of farrier service, Steve Kraus, CJF, has fielded many calls from clients who discovered unsoundness after buying a horse without a prepurchase exam, with laminitis, ringbone, navicular disease, and hock osteoarthritis being the most common discoveries.

If you have a horse on trial, Kraus suggests the veterinarian and farrier:

• Walk and trot the horse on hard ground to watch for head-nodding or hip-hiking.
• Watch to see if the front feet are landing toe first and, if so, search for the underlying problem.
• Examine the hooves. Farriers look for fever rings and abnormal growth patterns, which might indicate chronic laminitis.
• Evaluate hoof size. Farriers are good at evaluating hoof size relative to body size. “Inappropriately small feet usually lead to lameness,” he says.

Kraus describes a situation in which a regular client bought a competitive horse. When he arrived for the first shoeing, he immediately noticed mismatched front feet and asked if anyone evaluated the horse prior to purchasing. The client responded that the veterinarian conducting the PPE commented about the horse having a small foot and said, “I hope you have a good farrier.”

“I shod the horse to compensate for unevenness, and he moved well, but I predicted that the horse would not stay sound with increased work,” he says. “Eventually the horse became too lame to continue training.”

Whitaker adds that if you notice the horse is shod with anything other than normal shoes or has pads or a wedge, it is important to ask for details before buying.

Even when looking at feet, don’t forget to step back and consider faults in the horse’s overall conformation. “A high/low front end, a base-narrow hind end, a butt-high build in mature horses, and cannon bones misaligned to the radius (forearm) are all conformation faults that can interfere with performance,” says Kraus.

3. Gastrointestinal Issues

Gastric ulcers require intense medical management, involving long treatment periods of expensive medication and ongoing preventive strategies. The prevalence of gastric ulcers can be upward of 90% in certain disciplines such as racing. It is important to recognize the signs, so you can not only alert your vet and initiate early treatment but also decide whether you’re up for the potential ongoing expense and management if you purchase the horse.

“Symptoms are wide-ranging but can include irritability when the girth is tightened or reluctance to move forward at a trot or canter,” Whitaker explains.

A horse that colics during a trial can also be cause for concern. Depending on the severity, it might even necessitate surgery. The specific case and prognosis can determine the horse’s suitability for the rider’s goals.

4. Respiratory Issues

Equine asthma syndrome is the most common respiratory issue Whitaker treats in performance horses. It can be ­performance-limiting and requires environmental management and ongoing medications. Environmental dust and molds are typically the causative agents, though a summer pasture-associated condition can affect some horses as well.

Management involves minimizing environmental dust from hay, grain, and other sources in and around barns. Horses with summer pasture-associated symptoms must be kept off pasture for part of the year. Due to the seasonality of the condition, they might seem perfectly fine during parts of the year and severely affected during others.

“Symptoms to look for (with both asthma types) are coughing, increased breathing effort relative to the amount of work, and taking longer than expected to recover after exercise,” Whitaker says. Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage “is common in speed event athletes and should be factored into the decision if the horse has a history.”

5. Eye/Vision Issues

Eye issues are quite common on sale exams or whenever horses change hands, but they often go undetected by owners and trainers unless the problem is very obvious. During trial, watch for spooking at noises, as well as cloudiness in or squinting/drainage from the eye, which might indicate corneal inflammation, equine recurrent uveitis, and other ocular diseases. However, recognize that observation on trial is no substitute for a veterinary exam.

What If You Notice an Issue?

For Ostrander, her mare’s medical issues meant she couldn’t compete or be bred.

“So, I will not take her to any big shows. I will not put her in that kind of a situation where she has to be in a stall for an extended time. At my house she lives outside just about all the time,” she says. “I had to promise to keep her or that if I sold her that it be to a home willing to keep up her care.”

Fortunately, not all medical issues that can emerge during a trial period are as substantial as the one Ostrander experienced. Whitaker says if a health condition arises during a trial, have a frank discussion with your veterinarian and ask yourself:

• Does the issue keep me from using the horse for my intended purpose?
• Do I have the budget to manage the issue?
• Does that leave room in my budget for unexpected events that can arise and cost more than expected?
• Do I have the time to deal with an issue that requires daily therapy or medications? “This may not be a problem if you are at a barn with full board, but there may be an extra expense to pay someone else to give the medication,” he says.

Hindsight Is 20/20

Looking back, Ostrander says she should have returned the mare after the first episode. She was attached to the horse, however, and made an emotional decision rather than an objective one.

Also, going into the deal, Ostrander knew she had time to make an educated decision and opted to bring the mare home without a prepurchase exam or genetic testing. Without that trial period, she would have done both first. She took two actions when the mare came to her barn that made a significant difference in the outcome. First, she purchased major medical and mortality insurance right away. Second, she stayed in immediate and constant communication with the seller.

“He knew exactly what we were going through, what we were treating her for, and the time, energy, and money we were putting into vets, testing, and treatments,” she says.

The silver lining for Ostrander was the seller was committed to ensuring the mare had a good home. He recently sold his breeding operation and had no place to keep the mare. In exchange for knowing the mare he had bred and raised had a place with proper care, he refunded Ostrander’s ­deposit—something not all sellers are in a position to do. Similarly, not all buyers are in a position to add another horse to their herd if the horse cannot perform its intended use. “I’ll be forever grateful to Morgan (O’Brien, DVM) and Karlene (Bushey, ambulatory assistant) for saving my mare’s life that day,” Ostrander says. “Just be cognizant that you’re not letting your desire for instant gratification of something to show or something to ride outweigh your senses.”