First things first: I can't believe it, but somehow I managed to win SB's Riding Ninja giveaway! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it :-D Thanks to SB for having such great contests! I can't wait to see the 'Tis the Season entries!
The birthday boy was pretty darn good yesterday. I put him on the lunge line in the arena, and we did a quick walk-trot warm-up on both sides. There was no running around like an idiot and no bucking. He was borderline lazy and responded well to my voice cues. Win! Since things seemed to be going pretty well, I decided to clip on the side reins Ann left for me to try out. After he figured them out at the walk, I asked for a little trot. It took him a few laps to relax into the contact, and after a couple of good laps, I decided to hop on for a bit. He was great at the walk- relaxed, responsive to my leg- good stuff overall. I knew I needed to try a little trot, but let's be honest, I'm a little hesitant these days since "Hey, let's do a little trotting" sometimes turns into "Okay, but how about a mad gallop instead?" He still had a case of the zoomies, but he didn't break into a canter, there was no bucking, and he came back to a walk when I asked. Honestly, at this point I think it's just me anticipating an incident, tensing up, tipping forward, and pretty much doing all of the things I'm not supposed to do. I need to put my big girl pants on, take a deep breath, SIT BACK, and ride like I know I can. Hah- easier said than done!
Next up- insurance. In all honesty, I really didn't know insurance for horses was something people bought until about a year ago. Oops. Once I learned such a thing existed, I asked around at my barn to get recommendations and opinions. No one really bought policies for their horses and seemed to think putting away a fixed amount every month in the event of an emergency was a better use of their money. At my new barn, everyone has insurance and will never be without it. After doing some serious thinking, I decided I didn't ever want to have to make a hard decision regarding my horse because I didn't have the money for treatment and I hadn't purchased insurance. So I did a little bit of research and decided to use some of my tax return to purchase a policy. Of course Kwik ended up needing emergency care before I made the purchase, but it is what it is. I'm definitely buying coverage now. My question is: my horse probably isn't worth all that much right now (he's priceless to me!). Many of the policies I've researched have a coverage limit ($7,500 or $10,000 for example), but the actual coverage amount is not to exceed the value of your horse. Now my horse's value is nowhere near either of those figures, and from my recent experience, procedures at the veterinary hospital involving general anesthesia and the like can reach $6,000 +. If something like this was necessary (thank goodness it wasn't), a policy like this wouldn't help me out a whole lot. His value will go up over time with training and experience, but I want to make sure he's protected in the meantime. So what are the best options for owners of horses on the lower end of the price spectrum? Any advice is greatly appreciated!
I have recently considered insurance as well. I'll be interested to see what you have to say. I think that I'll probably get a major medical/ mortality policy or just put a set amount aside for emergencies but I haven't decided.
ReplyDeleteThere are certainly a lot of things to consider! Oh, these horses! It's a good thing we love them so much!
DeleteThe plan I was planning to get (and still need to) for Simon covered his mortality (set at $3,000) and up to $5,000 for surgery with an additional $2,000 for colic surgery. So it wouldn't cover a crazy treatment like stem cell or shockwave, but it would cover colic surgery for up to $7,000 and any other surgery up to $5,000. The price was around $250 a year? Which I thought was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good price! What carrier was that through? The plan I was looking at would set the Mortality limit at $2,500 for $109 plus $5,000 Major Medical/Surgical coverage (no stem cell therapy coverage, and 50% coverage for shockwave therapy and diagnostic imaging) for $200 for a total annual premium of $309 ($300 deductible/claim). My only worry with that coverage limit is another incident like I just had. If the UGA team hadn't been able to determine involvement of the tendon sheath just by distending the joint, the next step would have necessitated general anesthesia. I don't know if I could take that agony all over again!
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