A pre-purchase exam doesn't tell you whether to buy a horse — it tells you precisely what you'd be buying, so the decision is yours to make with clear eyes.
Dr. Murphy performs the pre-purchase examination on behalf of one person: the buyer. Findings are reported to you, discussed candidly, and weighed against the job you're buying the horse to do. There is no "pass" or "fail" — there is a thorough picture of the horse on that day, and an honest conversation about what it means.
Here's how the exam unfolds, phase by phase.
It starts with a conversation: the horse's intended job and level, your timeline, your risk tolerance, and any concerns you already have. Together you'll decide which diagnostics make sense for this horse, this job, and this budget — before anyone is standing in a barn aisle making decisions on the fly.
The buyer form collects the essentials; the seller form gathers the horse's identification, current medications, and authorization to examine. Both are on the forms page and take a few minutes at home.
A complete physical, nose to tail: eyes examined in a darkened stall; heart and lungs auscultated at rest; body condition, skin, and old scars noted; limbs palpated for heat, swelling, and sensitivity; feet evaluated with hoof testers; conformation assessed against the intended job.
Small findings get written down, not waved off — the point of this exam is a complete picture.
The horse is evaluated at the walk and trot in hand, on a straight line and on a circle, ideally on both hard and soft footing. Whenever possible, Dr. Murphy also watches the horse work under saddle — doing the job you're buying him for tells you things a jog never will.
Each limb's joints are flexed for a standardized interval with the horse trotted off immediately after, comparing responses side to side. Flexions add context to the moving exam and help decide where imaging is worth the money — they're interpreted as one piece of the whole picture, never in isolation.
A Coggins test can be drawn if current paperwork isn't available, and medication screening is available on request — blood drawn at the exam can be tested for substances that would mask lameness or alter behavior, or banked for later testing.
For a horse changing hands at a meaningful price, screening is cheap insurance; Dr. Murphy will give you her straight recommendation for your situation.
Radiographs are taken as requested — from a focused set of the areas that matter most for the discipline to a comprehensive survey. Before the exam, Dr. Murphy will help you decide which views earn their cost for this horse and this job, and she'll review the images with you rather than just filing them.
Ultrasound, endoscopy, or other diagnostics can be added when a finding — or a discipline — calls for them.
You hear from Dr. Murphy the same day — a candid walkthrough of every finding and, more importantly, what each one is likely to mean for the horse's intended job. You also receive written documentation of the examination for your records.
What you do with the information is always your call; what you can count on is that nothing gets softened and nothing gets skipped.
Both forms take a few minutes and keep exam day moving — complete them at home and email them back before the appointment.
Call with the horse's location and your timeline — Dr. Murphy will walk you through the options and get the exam on the calendar.