Can a Horse With a Club foot Jump??

Question

I am a 15 year old hunter/jumper In the process of buying a horse. He is so beautiful and flashy. He jumps amazingly, has great flatwork and kills everyone in equitation. He is the horse for me. and he has been jumping absolutely fine. and he is 6 years old. But i need a horse that can take me where i want to go in my riding. which at some point is the olympics. now obviously i am not going to the olympics on him but i need a hose that i can learn from. Now he was amazing and great and has all the nice things. but the vet ust found that he has a club foot.

It is apparently not very bad he barely shows it but for over 10000 $ is it worth the risk. I will be jumping him alot. and if he does go lame selling him will be impossible and we will get no money for him. My family cannot afford to board 2 and we cant afford 2 horses. once i spend the money i have, the next horse i get comes out of what i get when i sell the first one. Should i risk it??

Answer 1

What does the vet say? If he's not concerned, probably its not going to matter. I trained a mare for several years who had a slight club foot, and she was never lame on it. She was also a year-end champion several times (adult hunter) so it obviously didn't affect her movement either.

For $10,000 you are not going to get "perfect", but you can get "really good but with minor imperfections". If the worst thing about him is the foot, and the vet says hes ok, then go for it!

Answer 2

My answer is based on the fact that you haven't bought the horse yet.  I would never knowingly buy a horse with a conformation defect such as clubfoot...no matter how minor.  That said, I've seen horses do just fine with it, if it is minor and properly maintained...diligently and properly maintained.

Most people I know who settled for this flaw had very good reason...often the lesser of evils combined with limited finances.

At the price you are able to pay, you can find a horse without this defect and with the qualities you seek.  I wouldn't buy this horse.

Answer 3

First of all, as long as it is not that severe, he should be fine. as long as the vet says its ok in the pre-purchase exam, then go ahead. If you want to learn, then I would suggest buying a greener horse like I did. Thousands of kids get horses that do everything and they learn nothing. They can be doing things completely wrong, and they don't even know because the horse just does what it's supposed to do. If you get a challenging horse, and bring it along, you learn more and will become a better rider. If you do ever get to the Olympic level, and have to ride horses that aren't push-button and need to have a strong rider, you won't be able to get S H I T done if you've never been challenged before.

Answer 4

hmmm...my horse has a club foot and he is a 15.2hh QH who EASILY jumps 3' (I show him 2'6) but I am guessing you are jumping much higher than that. So, my horse isn't a very good examplke because he will never be shown past 2'9 The only other horse I can think of that has a club foot and competes is a 6y/o Warmblood and competes in Novice level eventing and was jumping about 4' until she got a bone chip in the leg with the club foot xP and will never be jumped if ridden again...

so I personlly wouldn't take the risk if he is the future for you. if you could afford two horses, or if it was possible to sell him and get a horse that worked then maybe. but from the outcome of Rose who was only 6y/o and had good bloodlines I don't think I would take the chance xP

Answer 5

I don't think I would risk it, judging by the financial situation.  You must have a horse that you can depend on.  Although there are no guarantees with any horse, it is not good to start out already knowing that there is a problem.  So, I would lean towards looking around more.

Answer 6

NO, I wouldn't risk it. Club foots can only get worse, and I definately would not spend that money on a horse who already has a pre-existing condition. Save your $$ and buy a horse who is deemed to be in perfect health and you'll be more happy with that decision. The last thing you need is to have the horse stumble or fall while you're on him, because then his foot would be the last thing you would be worried about!

Answer 7

I wouldn't. You are spending ALOT of money on this horse and he/she should be in perfect health =] He might be fine, but I wouldn't risk it.

-Nicole

Answer 8

the horse probably can jump well if it has training, but jumping with a clubes foot can only lead to more serious injureies like a split hoof or a pulled tendon. My advice, don't risk it! Lave the horse and look for one who wouldn't be subseptibke to injurries

Answer 9

$10,000 for a clubbed foot horse? I have heard some wild tales and uproarious laughter among some treacherous and cunning horse traders about their sales to some naive people but I'm sure the seller of this horse will have a whopper of a tale to tell if he finds a buyer so easily duped out of far more than 10 times what an astute and discerning buyer might consider paying for that horse if he could find one willing to take on the challenge of clubfootedness. BTW, if your parents are interested in investment property I hear that there is a bridge in Brooklyn for sale!

Answer 10

For 10,000 you can turn around and find yourself another amazing horse. Definately talk to the vet though, find out the chances of keeping it from getting worse but...

I'd look for another horse and keep this one as an idea. If he doesn't sell, the owners might drop the price a bit, and you may be able to find another horse. Look close. If you find a horse that can teach you a lot, you can turn around and hopefully re-sell him when you're done, and if you go to resell this horse, who is going to want to buy a horse who has the beginnings of a club foot? Even if it's a mild club foot, turning around and selling him might be hard.

Ultimately, no one on here can tell you what to do, we can only advise you so it is in your best interests to talk to some experts who YOU know know their stuff. The people here haven't seen the horse, etc. But we'll give you ideas :).

Good luck

Answer 11

no dont risk it. Im also looking for a  horse and also wanaa someday go in the Olympics, and i found the perfect horse but he has ring bone arthritis. So i looked for other horses because even though we love these horses they need light flat work so they dont get lame or really injured. Im sorry but its true hope this helps :)

Answer 12

First of all a club foot can be fixed.  If it is as mild as you described it, then a good farrier/trimmer can make all the difference in the world.  If it's worse than that there is a surgery that can be done.  But I don't think that would be necessary.

When I was younger I showed a horse in jumpers until he was close to 20 and both his front feet were mildly clubbed.  One more so than the other.  He was just fine.  Now at 26 he's still completely sound with just regular visits from a barefoot trimmer.

Club foot is not a death sentence, however it just needs to be cared for.  They will not get any worse with proper care.

I do however think that $10,000 for a club footed horse is a bit over the top.  Negotiate on this.