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!

Exciting Stuff

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!