Please could you give me some advice
I want to buy a 3 year old Belgium warmblood is is up for sale for £5000. however my vet went to give him a full 5 stage vetting but when he turned up he noticed that the horse has some kind of skin problem, and stopped the vetting immediately when the vendor was asked what the skin condition was he replied some kind of rain scald as the horse had been living out since he was vetted and brought over from Belgium in November. the horses has only just been clipped. my vet suggested that the horse be tested for ring worm so the vendor has agreed the results will be in tomorrow. how ever my vet is not happy to carry out a full vetting until the fur has grown back how ever the vendor wants to sell the horses ASAP.
is there anyway a written agreement can be drawn up to protect my self if the horse turns out to have a skin disorder. the vendor insists it hasn't and has said if I am not 100% happy I can return the horse at anytime? but I don't want to take his word for it but do want to purchase the horse?
please help?

I would seriously consider getting a written agreement that's legally binding. However could you not suggest the owner gets a full skin scrape done and the results sent to you? This would eliminate the possibility of it being a recurring problem and will isolate the possible cause. £5000 is a lot of money to pay for a horse that might need a lot of care in the future. I think that to exercise caution is the safest thing and if you are not as sure as you can be...don't go ahead.
I have to say I am not a Vet but think that if the owner wants to sell the animal that quickly, do they have the animals best interest at heart? Surely a skin scrape would not be too much trouble for the owner?
Best of luck.

Hi, Debbie,
Sorry to have been so long in coming back to you - my PC has been down for a few days.
I expect that you will have had the results of the ringworm test by now - I shall be very surprised if they turned out positive.
Explain to your vet that you are very anxious to buy this horse, and ask ( politely) if he would be prepared to carry out the rest of the 5 point examination, and if he finds nothing else, to issue a certificate with a caveat about the skin problem.
You could also ask for a second opinion from a veterinary dermatologist. If you are calling from the UK, all the veterinary schools and the EHT at Newmaket have dermatologists, and there are several in private practice spread over the country. Ask your vet for a referral.
It is unlikely that the vendor will give you the undertaking that you require - it is up to you to satisfy yourself by all possible means before you continue with the purchase.
Walter