young horses & symptoms of neglect

["Michelle Fink" <michrowe@redwrench.com>]

I looked at a young horse today with severly overgrown hooves and he looked
to be carrying a wormload (from his coat, mane, and general level of
neglect).  It got me wondering - if he'd been cleaned up and trimmed, how
would I know a prospective distance horse had been chronically neglected.
Any suggestions?  I guess following up on farrier and vet references and
maybe running a fecal as part of the pre-purchase would be a start
(something I've not done in the past).  Any other good clues?  Is it likely
a horse that has lived with scuba-fin hooves has enough leg damage to
permanently impair performance or can this poor fellow recover?  This horse
was only 2.5 y.o. and couldn't move normally.

In this case, I'll be contacting the humane society to follow up as the
horse is truly neglected (not just ignored).  I contacted the owner in
Calif. who seemed shocked that the horse was so poorly cared for.  She said
she was here two months ago, seems like she'd have noticed as the hooves are
5-6" long and fanned out all around.  :-(

TIA -
Michelle (glad y'all take good care of your horses)