06/11/2026
To us, PPE was "pre-purchase exam" long before COVID tried to make it "protective personal equipment."
Pre-purchase exams are something we regularly offer here at VEC, for clients and non-clients alike. PPEs are a complete overview of the horse, not just an expensive soundness exam. Dental exam, eye exam, respiratory exam, and more go into this package. Furthermore, its an opportunity for the Buyer to have an objective look at the horse, especially if they are not local and buying remotely.
But the mindset of a "pass or fail" is long outdated. A PPE is better thought of as a "fact finding mission," and to determine how much risk the Buyer is willing to take on this purchase. This allows the buyer to be best informed prior to the purchase of a horse.
Some think that if the cost of the horse is not 20k+ a PPE might not be worth it. And while the concept is understandable, horses that are on the more economic side also tend to have more overt issues that are easily uncovered from a PPE. And regardless of the sale price of the horse, the depth of our exam is the same.
Our own Dr. White wrote a magazine article on this topic several years ago. Read it here: https://thehorse.com/1113827/the-all-important-equine-prepurchase-exam/
