Hock Injections and Insurance

After discussing Kwik's crow hopping issue with my vet, I decided to have her come out to do a lameness evaluation. She did flexions and watched him go on concrete and in the round pen. He started up with the crow hopping right on cue when I asked for the canter, and she saw it all (thank goodness- I'm not crazy afterall!). She thinks his hocks are bothering him, but it does not appear to be severe. We decided to go ahead and inject his hocks, and we discussed joint therapies for maintenance. My farrier happened to be out a day early and was present for the evaluation as well, and we decided to put back shoes on this go around. He had to stay in last night, but he can go back out with Skye tonight. We can start walk work and light trotting on Monday, and we can start working back up to regular work after 7 days. Kwik raced for 5 years and just turned 10 so I fully expected him to need some joint maintenance. Hopefully annual/semi-annual hock injections and a good joint supplement/injectable will fix our problem and we'll be back in business very soon!

I also finally pulled the trigger on an insurance policy. After MUCH deliberation, I decided to go with a $2,500 Mortality + $5,000 Basic Medical/Surgical policy from Hartford. It's not the ideal policy, but I think it gives me the most value for the premium price ($103 + $200 = $303).

The Good:

• The $5,000 limit for Medical/Surgical is not limited to the value of the horse. I insured Kwik for $2,500 but I will get the full $5,000 if I need it. Some policies restrict Major Medical limits to the value of the horse ($2,500 wouldn't get me far at all if he ever needed surgery...).
• The policy includes a $3,000 emergency colic surgery endorsement. Major Medical is my primary coverage, but basically I have $8,000 available for colic surgery which I think is pretty decent.
• The premium is very reasonable. My main concern for purchasing insurace was being able to afford a major surgery in the event of an injury or illness. I really don't care about being reimbursed if he passes away. If you're not concerned about recovering your loss, insuring your horse under value is a good way to make premiums more affordable.
• There are no copayments for X-rays and ultrasound diagnostics.

The Bad:

• There is a 50% copay for other diagnostic imaging (bone scan, MRI, etc.) and shockwave therapy
• Havested tissue treatment isn't covered

Hopefully I won't need any of this, but it's good to know I'm covered and I didn't have to break the bank!