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Pre-purchase Examinations

The diligent application of a pre-purchase examination should ALWAYS be the first thing to consider when involving yourself with a new horse. How many times have I heard people say “oh, I wish I’d got you to look at him before I bought him”, when dealing with an un-useable horse they have just spent their life savings on. Hinterland Equine Vets perform pre-purchase exams very regularly, and have been doing this procedure for over 25 years, two very important factors to consider when engaging a vet for this purpose.

We perform a full five stage pre-purchase examination as outlined by the professional body Equine Vets Australia. Additionally, we take blood at the end of the exam and store it pending future testing requests. If required, we can take a full complement of digital radiographs, and send them to the buyer for further analysis by their own veterinarian. Other functionalities include endoscopy of the upper airways, ultrasound for tendons and reproductive assessment, and blood tests for general health.

It is important to note that the pre-purchase exam is not considered by us to be a pass/fail exercise. All available information is collated through the procedure, and then used to provide a full written report. The written report is supplemented by a verbal assessment, and it is most appropriate to consider the process as a risk assessment. That is, there is no such thing as the perfect horse, but our examination endeavours to give you the most thorough evaluation of the horse’s potential future capability.