Pre-Purchase Exam-How Much?

Question

I have been looking at different horses for 1.5 years (I was leasing during that time), we have found 5 horses that we are going to go look at and seem suitable for me. What would be the cost of a pre-purchase exam with no x-rays, ultrasounds ect.?

Answer 1

That's going to vary from  area to area.  In my neck of the woods (Southern California), it's going to run $250-400 because vets tend to be expensive out here.  

If you can get the vet records for any of the horses you are looking at for the vet who is doing the pre-purchase to examine before he actually looks at the horse, you might save yourself some money and time.  Ask the owners if you can get copies of the vet records.  (Offer to pay for this if necessary-- some vets charge for copies.)  If the owners of the horses you are looking at have nothing to hide, they should have no problem with making the vet records available to a prospective buyer's vet.

If any of the horses you are looking at is administered butazolidin (bute) on a regular basis, you just might want to re-think your ideas about x-rays.  Particularly if you intend to use the horse for jumping.  You might also want to know explicitly why the owner is selling the horse.  I used to ride hunters, and several times during the years when I was doing that I knew people who were either offered or who bought horses that had early signs of navicular disease that the seller most likely knew about but didn't disclose.  X-rays by themselves aren't diagnostic of navicular, but coupled with symptoms can save you the grief that goes with buying a horse that has navicular.

If the person you are buying the horse from had X-rays taken when they bought the horse, and you can get copies of these, they can be really useful to the examining vet if he takes X-rays.  A comparison of the two sets can reveal degenerative processes taking place, which can be a very useful thing to know.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Approx. $125

Answer 3

look it up, it would cost as much as a horse costs. lol