# Rough price of X-raying legs at a vetting? & Scans?



## Puppy (6 May 2010)

Has anyone had legs X-Rayed at a vetting recently, and if so please could you tell me how much each leg cost? Also, is it worth having the legs' ligaments scanned? Do people do that?  

Having had my beloved, dream horse, written off at age 8, despite passing a 5 stage vetting when I bought her, I am considering taking extra precautionary measures this time, although I know it still is no guarantee... 

Thank you very much in advance


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## natalia (6 May 2010)

OK, the vet I use for vettings is £190 for 5 stage vetting.
£100 for xray set up and then £10 a plate for the xrays. He would advise 3/4 on each leg. Scans I have no idea about. Depends what your buying though, I wouldn't have xrays done on anything under 10k maybe more. And most slightly older horses will show shadows of some sort on xrays or some sort of changes. IMO your better off buying a decent youngster pref, unboken so you know it hasn't been hammered too young and just getting a good vet to vet it. Touch wood none of our horses we have brought unbroken have anything major wrong with them joint wise, as they have all been taken slowly and the ground ect. taken in to consideration when they are worked, they are all approaching early/mid teens now too.


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## kezimac (6 May 2010)

I have paid £50 set up and £28 an xray so it seems to vary at each surgery.


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## Halfstep (6 May 2010)

Puppy, instead of having xrays and scans, maybe think about having gait analysis. The cost works out about the same and combined with a standard 5 stage vetting I think it may well be more relevant.  Unless, of course, the vetting shows up something that the vet wants to look at. 

To answer your question, when I had a full vetting plus digital x-rays done (hocks, feet, stifles and fetlocks) it came to just over £500. Ultrasound scans would be c. £120-150 depending on the practice.


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## Puppy (7 May 2010)

Halfstep said:



			Puppy, instead of having xrays and scans, maybe think about having gait analysis.
		
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At the risk of sounding terribly dim, please could you tell me exactly what that entails?


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## Puppy (7 May 2010)

natalia said:



			IMO your better off buying a decent youngster pref, unboken so you know it hasn't been hammered too young and just getting a good vet to vet it.
		
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Erm, no!  As I'm getting over an injury an unbroken youngster is the last thing I need.


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## Halfstep (7 May 2010)

Gait analysis, see here:

http://www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk/



Buying a young horse still leaves you at risk of getting something with sub clinical OCD (for example), which would not be seen without x-rays.


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## natalia (7 May 2010)

If your not prepared to take a risk then don't buy a living animal. End of. Animals breaking down is part of life, get used to it.


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## Puppy (7 May 2010)

natalia said:



			If your not prepared to take a risk then don't buy a living animal. End of. Animals breaking down is part of life, get used to it.
		
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Jeeez! Why do you feel the need to be so unpleasant? 

Clearly you have no idea what I've been through with my current horse 

I am fully aware that even with the best of care animals get ill or break down. 

It's not uncommon for people to X-ray legs as part of the vetting process, but as it's not something I have opted for before I was just enquiring how much that would cost... I'm not sure why you feel the need to be so rude about it


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## Halfstep (7 May 2010)

I don't understand your attitude either natalia.  When buying a horse for myself I want to know exactly what I'm getting. If I'm buying it to sell on, it is even more important to know that there aren't any nasty surprises that might pop up in a future vetting.  Of course a vetting isn't an insurance policy again future problems. But who wants to end up with a horse with ocd, arthritis, navicular, etc if they can avoid it?


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## Darkly_Dreaming_Dex (7 May 2010)

Puppy said:



			Jeeez! Why do you feel the need to be so unpleasant? 

Clearly you have no idea what I've been through with my current horse 

I am fully aware that even with the best of care animals get ill or break down. 

It's not uncommon for people to X-ray legs as part of the vetting process, but as it's not something I have opted for before I was just enquiring how much that would cost... I'm not sure why you feel the need to be so rude about it 

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(((hugs))) Puppy. The newer and IMO increasingly unkind/intolerant members on this forum dont have a clue what you have gone through. Shame on you Natalia 

In answer to your question- we purchased a horse to replace Jacob (while J is a happy fat field ornament, OH wanted to ride). Although he was "cheap" we still had xrays of his feet. They found a couple of minor issues- consistant with age /workload of the horse but nothing "big" so we went ahead anyway. My unbroken youngster still had a 5 stage vetting despite already owning his sound older brother. I would definately xray all four feet and the hocks as part of a vetting. Yes its extra expense and there are no guarantees but it means you are unlikely to buy a preexisting condition.

Good luck xx


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## natalia (7 May 2010)

Sorry bad day as have had a few pts today and am on a rather short fuse (all old or useless but still no easier). I just feel that often that by being so set on what is said by xrays, ect.  you will almost be asking for more problems, and in my opinion its better not to know and therefore have nothing excluded from your insurance by what "could" go wrong in the future. NO horse will ever be a safe purchase, they could break their leg being unloaded, so I can't abide people being so pedantic in pre purchase exams unless they are spending an awful lot of money (in which case if you can afford to spend it normally you can afford to spend it again if need be, as lets be honest, top level horses themselves cost a fortune to run and really are a very dodgy investment unless high quality breeding stock)


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## Puppy (8 May 2010)

Halfstep said:



			Of course a vetting isn't an insurance policy again future problems. But who wants to end up with a horse with ocd, arthritis, navicular, etc if they can avoid it?
		
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This is indeed the point of my post.  

I have had my 'dream-come-true' horse fly a vetting, and yet then be crippled and written off when still incredibly young, with something that probably would have showed in xrays, as opposed to flexion tests. I know there is no guarantee with horses, but I do want to do the best to make sure we can take all precautions possible not to go through the same thing again. I love my broken mare very much, and she has a home for life with me, but having her retired so young has been heartbreaking, and as I have her, and my oldie to keep, it is very important that the next one is actually rideable, and therefore I would like to take whatever steps available to check that out.


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## hrhmika (8 May 2010)

I have never had it done personally but i suppose if anything goes wrong in future it gives you a point of reference, i.e. my ex racer has some radiographic change going on in his knees and it would have been nice to have seen whether it had got worse since we bought him! i depends how much your spending i guess, just my thoughts thats all, good luck whatever you choose!


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## Puppy (8 May 2010)

Darkly_Dreaming_Dex said:



			(((hugs))) Puppy. The newer and IMO increasingly unkind/intolerant members on this forum dont have a clue what you have gone through. Shame on you Natalia 

In answer to your question- we purchased a horse to replace Jacob (while J is a happy fat field ornament, OH wanted to ride). Although he was "cheap" we still had xrays of his feet. They found a couple of minor issues- consistant with age /workload of the horse but nothing "big" so we went ahead anyway. My unbroken youngster still had a 5 stage vetting despite already owning his sound older brother. I would definately xray all four feet and the hocks as part of a vetting. Yes its extra expense and there are no guarantees but it means you are unlikely to buy a preexisting condition.

Good luck xx
		
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Thank you DDD. Although my head injury made the whole thing that I've been through with Beans even more distressing, it's not even about that; the fact is, I've found having her written off (as the best horse I've ever sat on) heartbreaking in itself. 

Be has a home for life with me, and I still love her dearly, but I really want to do my best to ensure the next one is as health problem free as possible. 

Your answer about how beneficial the x-rays are is very helpful, but I don't suppose you can also remember how much you paid for those xrays? 

It's not a course that I am 100% decided on going down, but something I am certainly considering, hence the post  xx


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## Puppy (8 May 2010)

natalia said:



			Sorry bad day as have had a few pts today and am on a rather short fuse (all old or useless but still no easier). I just feel that often that by being so set on what is said by xrays, ect.  you will almost be asking for more problems, and in my opinion its better not to know and therefore have nothing excluded from your insurance by what "could" go wrong in the future. NO horse will ever be a safe purchase, they could break their leg being unloaded, so I can't abide people being so pedantic in pre purchase exams unless they are spending an awful lot of money (in which case if you can afford to spend it normally you can afford to spend it again if need be, as lets be honest, top level horses themselves cost a fortune to run and really are a very dodgy investment unless high quality breeding stock)
		
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Apology accepted Natalia  and I am so very sorry to hear that you've had to say goodbye to some 4 legged friends this week  It's such a terribly sad time when you go through that final day... and the days/weeks/months after...  

I know very well that things can go wrong within a split second with a horse, despite taking all precautions, (hell, that's why I am as badly injured as I am; a freak accident which changed my life!) but with what I've been through in the last couple of years, I am just considering spending the extra £s, to save me the extra heartbreak - hence this post. 

I have one old, and one that could be called 'useless' (but I still love them), and I wouldn't be without them, but the fact is, I want to do everything possible to ensure the next addition to our family is as unlikely as possibly (which is clearly far from 100%) not to be joining the retired party any time soon. 

I think your statement that if people have a lot of money to buy a decent horse, then they must be able to buy another, incredible, and sweepingly inaccurate. I spent a lot of money (inheritance) on my last horse (the one broken so very young ) and I shall be funding my next horse thanks to having LOU insurance on the former. I am not well enough off to buy pricey horses left, right and centre, but for the right one I am happy to spend a decent amount of money, as riding is my greatest passion in life. 

My post was purely to investigate the ins and outs of xrays when vetting, and it's something I am going to continue to consider


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## jazzsuperstar (9 May 2010)

Hi Puppy
Just had a bill from my vet for both front legs being scanned came to £190 but cannot help with xray's 
Hope get some answers i was in a situation like you and just wanted some answers good luck xx


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## opinionuk (22 August 2012)

natalia said:



			OK, the vet I use for vettings is £190 for 5 stage vetting.
£100 for xray set up and then £10 a plate for the xrays. He would advise 3/4 on each leg. Scans I have no idea about. Depends what your buying though, I wouldn't have xrays done on anything under 10k maybe more. And most slightly older horses will show shadows of some sort on xrays or some sort of changes. IMO your better off buying a decent youngster pref, unboken so you know it hasn't been hammered too young and just getting a good vet to vet it. Touch wood none of our horses we have brought unbroken have anything major wrong with them joint wise, as they have all been taken slowly and the ground ect. taken in to consideration when they are worked, they are all approaching early/mid teens now too.
		
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With regards to buying a youngster as it hasn't been hammered too much, I disagree had a really bad experience buying a 4 year old, I too thought all would be ok, she came with vets certificate so didn't get her insured, turned out after X-rays for lameness that she had a fetlock problem and kissing spine, as she wasn't insured they kept X-rays to a minimum but all her treatment still came to £900 and that was 12 months ago! I would never buy a horse with out X-rays no matter what the cost, she has cost me a fortune but love her to bits so what do you do ..


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## lyndsayberesford (22 August 2012)

ive just had my boy's leg x-rayed and it is £50 for Radiograph set up and interpretation and £13.50 per image (both prices inclusive of VAT)


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## philamena (25 August 2012)

Depending on the value if you want LoU cover your insurance may want x rays anyway. Worth finding that so and if so what views they'd want as it MAY work out better value to do them all at vetting stage than pay two lots of x ray set up costs in quick succession  It might not, but worth asking and doing the sums in case! Good luck, really hope this one works out for you.


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