There's varying degrees of servicably sound. I've known plenty of great first-ponies and schoolies that would never pass an intense vetting but when they were properly maintained for their issues (arthritis, past founder, prone to stone-bruises, etc) they were the greatest teachers on the planet. There's a world of difference between three-legged lame and works-out-of-some-stiffness or needs-to-canter-before-trotting-or-will-be-NQR for the entire ride.

Spooksandbolts wrote:
blah, blah, blah, blah and the dog ate your homework and I can smell bovine excrement