Dad looking to buy this horse for his 8yr old girl... but is it a Stifle injury?

What does "halter bred" mean in this context, please, @Lollykay?

I think it's ones bred specifically to show in hand. Unfortunately in wanting them to muscle up quickly and look impressive at a young age they bred in a problem called, I think, HYPP which basically means you end up with a horse incapable of any work and likely to have a short life due to major physical problems - but hey, it won lots of prizes as a youngster! Yet another example of people screwing up an animal bred to work and be tough 😢

@Lollykay if I've got my breeds muddles and have just spouted utter garbage please correct me!
 
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I think it's ones bred specifically to show in hand. Unfortunately in wanting them to muscle up quickly and look impressive at a young age they bred in a problem called, I think, HYPP which basically means you end up with a horse incapable of any work and likely to have a short life due to major physical problems - but hey, it won lots of prizes as a youngster! Yet another example of people screwing up an animal bred to work and be tough 😢

@Lollykay if I've got my breeds muddles and have just spouted utter garbage please correct me!
You are spot on👍👍 Thank you for a much better explanation than I could write😃. I once ran into someone at the local feed store, who pretty much was force feeding SWEET FEED into their young QH, to quickly “bulk it up”🤬

The Appendix-bred QH’s also carry the genetic disease of HYPP. These days even a small tracing of the halter-bred stallion, Impressive, could mean a horse might test positive for HYPP. There is no cure, but testing can be done as part of a PPE to save a potential buyer possible heartache.

 
had a look at the video, what a genuine horse trying to do his best just broke my heart. The owners clearly don't care enough to either fix him or pay for him to be pts and just shove off with no thought of where he is going to end up, and how much he will suffer in the process.

I watch one of the australian sale sites, they bought a 3.5-4.5 year old colt, sweet thing, unhandled, massive leg injury and eye injury and have got him to a place of safety after buying him from the dogger. Sadly he will be pts on Monday as his leg deformity could have been fixed as a foal but wasn't and will never fix, his eye needs to be removed as he is in great discomfort, and one of his testicles hasn't descended so all in all lots of major surgery and the vets say there is no way to get him paddock sound, and out of pain, even if he could survive the trauma of all the handling. So he at least will be pts after a weekend of love and care, rather than spend 3 days on a truck with others going to a very shit abbatoir in queensland.
 
A lot of the time, the only comfort is to look at your own animals and thank God that at least they landed safe. Ending animal abuse is like emptying the ocean with a bucket.
Yes and Suze was heading to the meat sale at Maurs which is horrific in the way they treat them. Tintin is such a lucky boy, he got stopped in transit from the death camp, something wrong with his papers was sent back. the transporter said just shut up about it and a month later Tintin showed up, skin an bone, covered in lice but alive
 
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I think it's ones bred specifically to show in hand. Unfortunately in wanting them to muscle up quickly and look impressive at a young age they bred in a problem called, I think, HYPP which basically means you end up with a horse incapable of any work and likely to have a short life due to major physical problems - but hey, it won lots of prizes as a youngster! Yet another example of people screwing up an animal bred to work and be tough 😢

@Lollykay if I've got my breeds muddles and have just spouted utter garbage please correct me!
Halter bred horses, the genetic diseases are a small part of their problems and you can test for them before purchase. In QH, paints etc. their biggest problems are their conformation sadly, as you said for heavy muscling but also big hips, tiny feet, post legged to name but a few, this often means they don’t physically hold up to any real work.
I personally liken it to the breeding of British bulldogs for the desired feature of a short nose, until the poor buggers can barely breathe.
 
@lauren123 I have gotten a few horses out of bad situations over the years.

One was from from our local auction that wasn’t a kill auction. The sheriff was involved in that confiscation. Nobody would tell me the ow res. me because they all knew I would go after him.

The horse was so starved, the vet said if he survived the night, I stood a chance of saving him. When the horse had gained sufficient weight, imagine my surprise when testicles dropped down - he had been so starved they had retracted🤬🤬

I rehabbed him and found him a good home.
 
Thanks to all the replies! It's been a continuing journey finding a good horse. My daughter recently fell for this horse, the palomino.
Here is her first ride on him. What do you think of his gate? Seems stiff to me. Now he has been sitting in a pasture, and it's cold where we are now, around 40deg F.

A little trotting

Walking

Just looking for general opinions on gate, and health. Hope ya'all had a happy holiday!
 
Oh goodness @burben, that is a pretty little horse but he is very stiff behind. In walk I would say he does not look sound. Also although he seems to have a nice temperament I think he doesn't like having a complete beginner bouncing on him in trot - perhaps he is sensitive, or perhaps his back is sore.

He could be just stiff, but he doesn't have much muscle either - his neck looks as if it has been put on a bit upside down, if you see what I mean - and I wouldn't go any further with him if it was me buying him. If your daughter has fallen in love, at least get a proper vet's examination.

@Lollykay , @Jessey , you are more familiar with these light American types of horse - what do you think?
 
Sorry, he's not stiff he's lame :( . The surface isn't helping, but it isn't just that.

As an aside he's far too big for your daughter, she can get away with it in an arena on a quiet horse but for trail riding she needs something that's a more suitable size. And please don't take this the wrong way but looking at those clips she isn't ready to have her own yet, she isn't secure or balanced enough in the saddle. Treat her to more lessons, trail rides together at different places on different ponies. She'll get better and better with experience, and riding different ponies will give her an idea of what she likes and doesn't.
 
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So when you say he's lame. How do I find out the WHY of lame? Two vets have come out and two farriers, and no one really has a idea of why he's stiff.
He's 10yrs old, 15hands, is that too young/tall?
I don't understand what this means
"his neck looks as if it has been put on a bit upside down"

She is riding a few different horses, and we are doing arena work weekly, and trail rides when the weather gets nicer. This is just one she really liked.
 
Have to agree with carthorse, he looks very uncomfortable, even in walk. I'm afraid your daughter does look a bit overhorsed on him. He does look a sweet boy though, even so I think I'd give him a miss.:(
 
@burrben it isn't up to you to find out why he's lame, even if you're interested in him that's something the seller should do before selling. The fact that vets and farriers can't find why is worrying and suggests a deep seated problem and/or a whole chain of issues. Horses like that can be very difficult - and expensive - to get right IF you can get them right at all.

10 years old isn't a bad age, it's old enough that behaviour and temperament are well established and they've hopefully seen a fair bit of the world. 15hh is far too big for her at the moment though, for comparison the rider on the other horse is a far better match.
 
Im sorry but to me the horse looks lame. The arena surface is a bit bumpy so not giving the best view though.

In the trotting clip your daughter does not have good rein contact. Therefore i would suggest that she needs more lessons. I think she would be very over horsed on 15hh. Perhaps consider something 12-14 hh.

In the walking clip she has one hand on the rein. I know she is being lead but it would indicate that she isnt ready.

I agree as above if you have a horse vetted, you are asking a vet if the horse is sound for the purpose you require in there opinion. Its not for the vet to examine as to why its lame. If two vets have said hes not sound then walk away.
If you have a bottomless purse and you just want to give the horse a home then by all means. But quite frankly if its failed a vetting you wont get insurance on the horse. It will be very expensive to find out why its lame and then treat. This will only end in heartache for your daughter and lots of expense. And she will have nothing to ride.

To me the horse looks unsound and therefore not rideable.
I have a horse who is 10 years old. I have just had to retire him as he is completely unsound after sustaining a leg injury. I have been trying for 2 years to bring him sound with treatment but to no avail. He is now a very expensive field ornament, and i have nothing to ride.
 
Imho, your daughter really needs more lessons before you should be looking to buy her a horse. She has no seat, no control and no coordination. The horse is carrying her and this is a real make or break time for her. One fall and she could be put off horses for life. She is a passenger on the horse’s back.
 
There is something very wrong with that horse. You can call him stiff or lame, but it is obvious he is uncomfortable. Your daughter needs more lessons to learn to ride before she gets her own horse. What is the rush? She looks very little.
 
I would agree he’s lame (do you see how his strides aren’t the same length and he is limping - that means he’s in pain somewhere), and it would probably cost you thousands in tests and imaging to find out the why if it’s not been immediately obvious to vets who have been hands on with him, and weather or not you would be able to fix it no one can say until you know what it is. This is not a good buy for a kid because it will likely end in tears sadly.

It’s pretty common in the USA for tiny tot kids to ride (and compete) 15hh horses, a well broken, well mannered horse is absolutely fine for a kid, they just look completely over horsed for several years. In my opinion a bigger horse is often better in many respects, the gait is easier to sit than a small pony, an adult can get on and school the horse to keep its training up to scratch and any pony is just as able of physically overpowering a child. Ponies are better in that they are more proportional to the child and in short they’re closer to the ground so less distance for the child to fall when they fall, which they all do. In the UK it is commonplace to buy a child a small pony, and replace the pony as the child grows.
 
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