I need some advice

[Dreamer]

I need some help making a decision. I am looking at a horse. He is very nice and fits what I want perfectly so saying no and moving on is a bit difficult. He is a green broke driving horse who hasn't been driven since last fall due to owners health. The horse I get will be shown in driving and be will be taken on occasional trail drives and parades. After looking at him a couple of times and being close to committing to him I find out he came close to foundering or had a light founder about 1 1/2 years ago. He is kept on a low starch diet. The owner doesn't believe he has any rotation and is paying to have x-rays taken next week. If he has any rotation I will not get him. What I want to know/need help with is if there is no rotation does that mean he will be fine and able to hold up to driving, conditioning, hauling, showing, the hours on the road for parades? My farrier thinks he should be ok and I am still waiting to hear back from my vet. This forum has been very helpful for me in the past and I would value having your opinion on this.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Once a horse has had a laminitic/founder episode, he is always vulnerable. I would walk away.

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

There's always more horses. If it was for a pet or pleasure drive then I'd say go for it but put it this way you wouldn't buy a horse you want to showjump if it had had a broken leg. It's always a potential weakness that will cost you.

 

[amysue]

Honestly I would keep looking. It is hard to walk away especially once you're real keen on a potential purchase. Your little voice inside prompting you to question his potential is trying to tell you something and it would be in your best interest to listen. If it were a horse you bred and raised with a personal attachment then I'd say try to pace it and work through it. However, there are more horses out there than there are people wanting them so.....keep looking. It will only further disappoint you if you buy him, invest time, work and money into him only to find he cannot keep up with your needs. Better safe than sorry. Good luck in your search for the perfect partner.

 

[Minimor]

If his feet are normal--if there is no rotation, if the white line, hoof angle, etc is all normal--then essentially the horse IS normal. There is no reason why he will not stand up to driving and hauling and showing. Did the seller say WHY the horse came close to foundering? Was he over fat? Got into too much grain? Just cannot handle an ordinary grain ration that is not specially low starch? If x-rays show the feet to be 100% normal I would not be turned off of this horse, especially if I have the information on WHY the past problem existed. Armed with the knowledge that he must not be given grain that is not low starch, and that he must not get over-fat...because in all honesty, I could find that any horse may have laminitis issues if he gets overweight or is given the wrong feed. As long as his feet come up normal, he is no different than any other horses. If the x-rays show rotation, of course that is an entirely different matter--then I would walk away.

 

[Marty]

There is no way anyone can predict what is going to happen in the future.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Is he a gelding or stallion? How old is he? Slight or no rotation would not scare me but only if you are committed to the maintenance that it will take to manage an IR horse. I would have him vetted and xrayed (nice of owner to offer) and then go from there.

I would assume knowing he has had a light founder in the past would hugely affect the asking price of this horse so cost would be something I would consider purchase price vs risk and maintenance consideration.. I know one breeder who has a filly that had a very slight laminitis flare up associated with being on pasture. She adopted this filly to a new home rather than selling her and the new owners are well aware and will do their best to giving her proper care to prevent this from happening again.

You can purchase a perfectly sound never before foundered horse that can founder within days or weeks of purchase. Kind of like getting a coggins test, it only captures that immediate testing time and date, things can change after so even if this horse vets sound and no rotation, you basically don't have any guarantee. Given that, with horses anything can happen at any time. If this is your dream horse he might be worth a risk. if you are paying a large sum of money, I would walk away. Seller knowing this horse has issues should sell at a greatly reduced asking price due to horse being high risk.

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What I would be looking for is rotation and damage, checking white lines and hoof quality etc. Ask yourself if you are willing to commit to the care and prevention of further founder would be the first step toward making up your mind in addition to asking price. Hope this helps..

 

[lucky seven]

I was so hopeful to have my little begger trained this year, even purchased a harness, only to have him founder with rotation over the winter. My farrier said if I work him too hard, he would break down completely, so he will be a companion only horse from now on. Hope this helps with your decision.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Awwww lucky seven. That's a tough break. I hate founder.

 

[Minimor]

Lucky seven--is the rotation so bad that you cannot do some driving with him? There is a

difference between working and working too hard.

I had a Morgan gelding--actually two of them--that foundered one winter (we found out after that our hay had been cut along the RR tracks--right after the RR right of way had been sprayed with some herbicide that was toxic--it was beautiful brome hay and it foundered the horses quite bad, we had to throw away the remainder and buy something else)--they had rotation but with time and corrective trimming they became sound again. We ride those geldings for many years and many miles after they recovered. We were careful not to ride them on gravel roads but otherwise they were good to go. Their feet were never 100% normal but I would say very close to it.

 

[MindyLee]

As a farrier to mini equine

Its hard to say untill x ray resaults are in and how his feet look.

If it was a minor founder and bounced back and has been good since and no rotation. .. then maybe

But if what your planing to do is drive him lots and possibly hard, then I would be somewhat concerned. Remember, he was damaged, but to what extent. ..

In my opinion, if all looks good after x ray, see if there is a chance to have him for a 30 day- 3 month trial run (lease) and see if any issues come up.

 

[lucky seven]

Minimor, I need to have his feet exrayed again to find out if he would be okay for light driving. If I ask him to do something he isn't in the mood to do, he will sidepass away from me and do a stutter step as if his foot is ouchy, so I really feel another vet call is in order.

 

[Carolyn R]

Make sure they are referring to a full blown founder case, not a horse with a touch of laminitis, many people use these terms as an interchangeable phrase. If it was a bit of tenderfootedness that was assumed to be founder but never diagnosed by a vet it could have been anything from a bad stone bruise, a tiny puncture wound, to a bad case of thrush penetrating deep into the hoof. Wait till the X-rays are done, if they show nothing then I would get the horse. There are no gaurantees, you can get a different horse and have it develope every ill foreseen medical anomolly known to man, meanwhile this horse could lead a normal life. If the owner is kind enough to get X-rays done, and they show absolutely nothing, then i don't see an issue.

 

[Margo_C-T]

I would pass on this horse. It is my understanding that a horse that has ever had ANY degree of founder is more likely to have that reoccur than a horse that hasn't. In over 60 years of daily horse-keeping and management, I have never,before or since, had a horse founder until I purchased a B mini mare who'd 'almost' foundered, but been X-rayed by her vet/owner, and no rotation seen. Months later, with NO change of any sort in her feed, activities, or anything else discernible in her environment,she became sore and 'ouchy', took quite a while to improve with recommended management and rest, just as I was about to try to begin driving her lightly again, she became sore again, and again for NO DISCERNIBLE REASON. I didn't feel I could use her again,or live with constant uncertainty of whether I could. Personally, I would NEVER touch a horse that has ANY SORT of 'history' of founder or laminitis again, period. The loss isn't worth it to me.Just my personal experience and reaction,of course.

 

[Dreamer]

Thanks to all who replied. You helped to give me that extra push to be able to walk away. There are plenty of other horses that are sound that will be able to hold up to my needs.

 

[HGFarm]

What minimor said!