Would you buy a horse that has been pinfired?

mich301

New Member
Jul 29, 2009
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Bristol
Question's in the title really? :)

I've just been speaking to the owner of an ex racer who said he's been pinfired but he's absolutely fine and it's not a problem etc.

What do you think?
 
It really depends what you want him for, light hacking etc. then I don't see it being a problem. Some horses lead perfectly active lives jumping etc after being fired, but personally I wouldn't want to do more than light work with one.
 
Well, I'm not into competing or anything like that. I'd like to hack out, do a bit of schooling, fun rides, really like to try my hand at a bit of dressage, pop the odd jump every now and then.

His owner assures me that he perfectly ok, jumping, schooling, hacking and everything.

Here's the ad:
http://www.horsehunter.co.uk/17-Hands--Gelding-p-65187.htm

She seems very confident about him, he's been advertised since March and she said that every time she tells somebody over the phone that he's been fired they don't want to come and see him. She said that she is happy for me to have him on trial and everything.

Arghhhhh don't know what to do!!! :confused:
 
He looks nice enough and his price is by no means silly! He's not too tidy over that fence but he's a big horse and it's a small fence. I don't see the firing being a problem at all for what you want to do. If you're concerned, speak to her vet to check it has never bothered him.
 
I don't know when the pic was taken - I'll have to check.

She did say that he needs a bit of schooling but that he's really laid back and she has his full medical history so speaking to her vet should be no problem at all.

And she seemed really up front with him, surely if she's willing for me to have him on trial then she has nothing to hide?

awwww I'm dead excited now :D
 
I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm but tendons are only fired becuase they are causing a problem and therefore indicates a weak point. I would think eventing and hunting would be unwise on a 17hh horse with any history of tendon issue but for what you want it may not be an issue. You will however have to be very aware of keeping his weight in check , not working on poor surfaces and ensuring that shoeing is always correclty done and up to date.

I think it is a lot of money for what you are getting, there are a lot of horses without problems at that price.
 
mich301, I wouldn't touch this horse with a bargepole. I wouldn't even take a a horse with a weak tendon for free. You'll just end up with mounting vets bills and frustrations.

I have to second what eml said.
 
Thanks for your advice, I think you're right, I was just getting a bit carried away last night - I'm off to look for some more horses!
 
My sisters TB is fired and is sound as a pound, she has BEAUTIFUL paces and is only lame if she's had a hooly in the field and has kicked herself - the tendons never cause problems. I also used to ride another horse who was fired and again never had a problem.

Pinfiring is a method used on horses where the skin is burnt so scar tissue is formed - when scar tissue forms it shrinks so basically forms a permanent tendon boot on the legs, it's typically done when a horse has had a fall and there is a small tear or hole in the tendon. Although I have heard of this being done as a preventative method as well.

It depends on what you are lookin to do with the horse and how you feel about them already, if they are otherwise perfect for you and you don't want do 5 star 3 day events then all I would sat is when you have a vetting done ask the vet to takke a look to see if there is any obvious tendon damage that can be seen?

I know many horses that have had this sadly done but have gone on to be fine

think there is a campaign to make this process illegal due to cruelty
 
Just thought I would add my two-penneth!

I bought my 15 yr old and he has been pin fired and had had a tendon injury on top of that. The vet said he would be ok for most things (as mentioned above) but advised me not to jump. He has been lame once since I bought him but has been fine the rest of the time.

I think one of the things which un-nerved me was that his front legs (which had been fired) were not insured so anything which happened from then on was on my own purse strings!

I dont reget getting him but then again I dont ride that much!

Good luck in your decision x
 
I bought my ex racer who had been pin fired in both front legs. Although i never had any major issues with his legs he would quite often go lame and if he over exurted himself the leg which had been pin fired twice would shake. I ended up selling him as a happy hacker as I don't think his legs would hold up to much more. He often looked 'sore' on his legs if he'd had a run about with the others
 
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