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  "path": "/plus/opinion/vets-choosing-horses-not-riders-warns-richard-sheane-915745",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-05T10:32:28.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.horseandhound.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Eventing",
    "Opinion",
    "Buying horses",
    "Eventing opinion",
    "Pre-purchase vettings",
    "Selling horses",
    "Top stories"
  ],
  "textContent": "5 March 2015; Richard Sheane at Cooley Farm. © Peter Mooney, 6, Cumberland Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Tel: 00 353 (0)86 2589298\n\n**Richard Sheane of top Irish horse producers Cooley Farm explains why he feels vets examining X-rays without having seen the horse in the flesh is influencing the sales of future equine stars**\n\nHere at Cooley Farm, we’re having an ongoing problem, which is shared by many high-end horse sales yards. It’s common for a client to come in from abroad, buy a horse subject to vetting and for the horse to be presented at their chosen Irish veterinary clinic for the pre-purchase examination. The horse is clinically […]",
  "title": "‘Vets who haven’t seen the horse in the flesh are stopping riders from buying,’ warns Richard Sheane of Cooley Farm"
}