Recent research carried out by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has found that lameness is the most common condition likely to prejudice the outcome of a prepurchase examination (PPE), also known as a vetting.
Horses are often examined prior to purchase to check for any conditions that might prevent the horse from being suitable for the intended use, such as competing, hacking, breeding, etc. The PPEs follow a standard procedure and are a snapshot on the day, with the vet in question making a recommendation based on what they see at that time. As a result, because PPEs are not conclusive and are somewhat subjective in nature, their value has often been questioned.
In their research, the RVC team took 133 PPE certificates of a mixed, nonracing population of horses from three first-opinion practices and looked at the types of the PPEs (i.e. five- or two-stage PPE), any diagnostic imaging (e.g. X-rays) carried out, purchase prices, the physical attributes of the animals as well as their intended use and, finally, the outcomes of the PPEs.