Conference noted::equitation

    Well, yeah, I guess a vet should know if a horse is lame, but the
    standard way of looking for lameness is to watch the horse trot and look
    for unevenness in the gait, which can show up as unexpeceted head 
    movement, for instance.  So it's not surprising, really, if the vet can
    be thrown off if he/she is not usee to how a Tennesee Walker moves.
    
    Is the new owner saying that the horse failed the vet check?
    

I've understood that there is such a thing as a "normal irregular heart
beat" as well as an "abnormal" one.  If a vet isn't certain, an EKG will tell.
The normal kind usually passes in a vetting, while the abnormal doesn't.

Melinda

    
    	A Walker will pass/fail a flex test same as any other horse.
    	Did they do that? Also, lameness is not so difficult to pick
    	up because the gait should have a definite four beat cadence
    	and lameness will throw that off just the same as a trot. I
    	think a lot of people are just afraid to try to judge the 
    	gait, I wish it weren't that way. 
    

    
    
    	No.. the vet passed her but, he said he couldn't tell if 
    	she was lame..  which bothered me. but, the vet told the
    	women who bought her that she looked lame on all four feet.
        so it must be right
    
    	I get angry when a vet doesn't know what he is talking about.
    
    	but, anyways' he also said that it was very hard to hear
    	a irregular heart beat..  
    
    	Thanks
    	Donna
    	

    
    
    	Why are vet's so unknowlegable about walkers???

    
    	Even though there are more and more Walkers in NE, they 
    	seem to appear `clumped' in an area, so it is possible
    	that a vet may not see Walkers in his area, but the next
    	vet down the road may have a dozen as clients. You should
    	come right out and ask him ahead of time of he feels comfortable
    	checking a Walking Horse for lameness, rather than pay him to
    	scratch his head and say it looks like she's lame on all four
    	feet! 
    
    	For your own benefit, you should get the opinion of an experienced
    	Walking Horse owner/trainer on this horse, and probably ask them to
    	recommend another vet. 
    
    	The funny thing is, the ONLY time I can count on my Walker to TROT,
    	is when I have to `trot him out' for someone. Yes, (for those of
    	you unfamiliar with TWH's) they can trot, they often learn it from
    	other non-TWH's out on the field, or sometimes do it just to amuse
    	themselves (as in bounce mommy a foot above the saddle, whee!) :)
    	They can also pace. We've had this discussion elsewhere, but the 
    	integrity of a Walking Horse's running walk is dictated by many
    	things, such as build, breeding, shoeing,training, and attitude, so
    	it is not unusual (but not desired) for them to deviate from the
    	running walk. 
    
    	Sherry
    

    
    
    	She asked up front if he knew how to vet a gaited horse.
    
    	I really want to feel great about the horse.  She is so 
    	special.. 
    
    	Another thing.. 
    
    	The vet wanted to know what she was getting for grain, I told
    	him she was getting 10 qts of crimped oats with a vitamin
        suppliment every day.  (he could'nt believe it) she was about
    	100 pds to thin.    He checked for worms and she had none.. 
    
    	Shelly our other walker has the same problem.. but, Lady
    	is a blimp.
    
    	Is there somthing I can have the vet check to see if she
    	is low on anything????

    re .7
    
    If she asked about vetting gaited horses, instead of specifically
    saying a Tennesee Walker, this could have started the misunderstanding. 
    Many people think of Saddlebreds, or other horses trained for
    saddleseat riding.  I'm not saying this is correct, and the vet should
    perhaps asked for a better explanation of what your buyer meant by
    "gaited", since it means different things to different people.
    
    As for the weight, if you are feeding crimped oats, keep in mind that a
    "scoop" of crimped oats weighs much less than a "scoop" of sweet feed
    or pellets.  My scoop, for instance, holds two pounds of pellets, but
    the same scoop full of crimped oats would probably weigh only about 1
    pound.  So if you are counting by scoops, your horse may not be getting
    as many pounds of grain as you think.  (Perhaps you already know this,
    but it's easy to forget...)
    
    -ellie

    Hi,
    	I thought I'd make a quick comment about vet-checks. It is
    supposed to be general practice amoungst Vets not to discuss
    "pass" or "fail" a vet check because there is alot of grey area
    that one vet may see different than another. A vet check will
    indicate "problem areas" but the Vet should leave the "pass"
    or "fail" decision up to the buyer. The Vets purpose is to
    provide the buyer unbiased data so to beable to make a decision.
    
    I have had several vet checks done in buying horses, and it is
    frustrating to get non-commital "advice" when looking at a 
    purchase. The key is that the decision is ultimatly the buyers.
    The buyer must know what they want/need. Simple. no?
    
    Ed P