Drs. Liz Barrett, Emma Adam, and Shannon Reed answered audience questions about prepurchase exams during the 2019 Thoroughbred Makeover educational seminars. | Photo: iStock

Emma Adam, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, ACVS, assistant professor at the Gluck Equine Research Center, joined Hagyard Equine Medical Institute’s Liz Barrett, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, and The Ohio State University’s Shannon Reed, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS-LA, to answer audience questions about PPEs. Here are some take-homes from the 90-minute session.

Off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs) are unique in that you can acquire them right after they retire from racing for relatively small price tags; however, many of these young athletes have already had full careers, with substantial wear and tear on their bodies. The panelists agreed that it can be difficult to justify a full prepurchase with $3,500 worth of radiographs on a $1,000 horse, but some degree of PPE (or even post-purchase exam, said Reed) can pay dividends both now and years into the future of the horse’s second career.

“We all have an idea of what we want to do with our horses, but if those circumstances change or those plans include selling the horse later on, we need to know what we can communicate in a transparent fashion with the next person,” said Adam. “Things that I would be quite happy to accept might not be something a prospective purchaser would be able to tolerate