Calling on horse people for an opinion!

[sufficientforme]

I would like some opinions from some more experienced horse people about a horse that I am considering purchasing. It is a VERY well trained 20 year old gray Arabian (Not my breed of choice but is the only prospect suitable for my kids in the last 6 months of looking in my area. Our area is more prone to gaming/roping horses, not pleasure trained mounts. Anyway, my only concern is a "bump" right above his muzzle on the bone, (no others observed) it is the size of a pea and its on the surface. I addressed this to the owner as a possible sarcoid/melanoma due to color of horse being gray and it being very common without complications in gray colored horses. I cannot stop thinking about it, would you purchase this horse at a very reasonable price around 500.00 and take your chances, or would you walk away? Thanks in advance.

 

[hoosier]

Do you have a trusted vet that could look at the horse first?

 

[big brown horse]

I love older arabians! We had one, he was a stocky Polish grey named Romay. We called him "MoreHay" b/c he was a chunk ball.

He had the bumps along the under side of his tale. We had our vet, at the time, check them out and he said they weren't that big of a deal. The price was right so we bought him. We never regreted it. He lived to be 32 I think. All the kids rode him bareback. (He had a wonderful natural gate that was sooooo smooth!!)

What does your vet think?

 

[sufficientforme]

My Vet would have to travel more than 100 miles and I really do not want to pay for a vet check at that rate. He is a great price and I can afford the treatment if necessary but I am just a little nervous about it becoming an issue as he ages. I just wanted to hear all your takes and experiences on them. He is just the ONLY horse I have come across here that is not so overpriced for it's training and my kids really love the look of Arabians.

*ETA that is 100 miles each way!

 

[ToLiveToLaugh]

I wouldn't consider myself a horse expert, but with all animals with lumps, there are a couple of things you need to check: is the lump hard or soft? Is it strongly fixed (like trying to move your elbow) or does it have some give (well, I can't think of a better example than a breast, sorry... like a breast).

If it's squishy, and you can roll it around like a ball, it might be a cyst. If it doesn't cause pain, it should be fine.

A melanoma is usally harder and more fixed.

I'm sorry, I need to finish this reply later, I have lecture! All the best to you and yours!

 

[sufficientforme]

It feels and looks more like a "wart", not lumpy under the skin.

 

[big brown horse]

Freemotion will have more knowledge on this and hopefully she will log on in a while...she managed a barn full of horses. (I am only a backyard horse owner.)

Just curious, what do his previous owners say about it? Do they have any vet records on it?

 

[opiemaster]

How much time have you spent with this horse? In todays horse market, good horses are selling cheap, but you still must know what your looking at. Arabians are known to be high strung critters, but this ones is old enough he could be an exption. His age is right, older trail/pleasure horses sell easier than the younger ones due to experiance and there temperment, (around this age, they either have it or they dont). I work more with the Quarter Horse's than Arabians,(just personal preferance). Find a local vet who will look at the horse for you. It would be cheaper if you just took the horse to the local vet if the present owner would let you, but if not, have the local vet swing by and just check it out. Also, is this person a "horse trader" or just someone selling there extra horse? "horse traders" (some, NOT all) have been known to "drug" a horse to make it seem calmer and more pleasaznt than it realy is and when you get it home, a couple days later you go to the barn and find "KUJO" the rabid horse going bat snot crazy on your ar$$ instead of that cool calm and collected critter that was there the night before. Another thing I always do when I bring a new horse home is give it a shot of penicilin this reduces the risk of bringing in an outside disease that can be spread. ( I learned this the hard way, had to quarantine 28 horses into individual pens to keep them separate when I brought a horse home who had the strangles disease and I didnt give her a shot. ) and quarantine the horse for 3days. Look for runny nose, etc. As for the bump on its nose, that sounds like a wart that they get, you cream to take that off with just about any vet or look at Velleyvet.com. Its like a wart off kinda stuff, find an amish family they can make you up a concoction that will take that off also. Hope this helps
Oh, another thing, does this person have lil kids? If the do wait till one of the youngsters is around and ask them, "hey, what does dad (or mom) call this horse? If they rattle off a few slang words like "knuckle head" or sh%^ head or something along those lines, I think you will figure out pretty quick that the horse has some issues.
AND there is no such thang as a "bomb proof horse".

 

[big brown horse]

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horsecare/392/33752.html

This article might help you make your decision.

Is there a way you can do a care lease with this horse with an option to buy later?

 

[sufficientforme]

I have gone out once and am going out again today. Her kids both rode him, and so did mine. She seems very honest about his flaws and condition and she stated that it has not changed in the 3 years she has had him (she is not a dealer in any way, this was her kids first "show" horse. The reason he is being sold is her husband lost his job and her kids have outgrown him, she has been finicky about who she is willing to sell the horse to, I feel like she is being honest about him, I am just nervous about dealing with "sarcoids" if that's what it is.
I agree with the whole breed choice I showed stock horses in my younger days and much prefer them the an Arabian, but my kids love the look of an arab and when we found this horse I softened because of his personality and training. Our area is a little different than what's available in other parts of the country, this is roping country/gaming/speed events, and unless you have BIG money to spend on a pleasure horse they are few and far between and my husband is not willing to travel 500 miles to get one. This horse is 100 from home which is about his limit.