Brad's Come in Brown Too....

So, uh - I wouldn't say that I've been shopping, more like "keeping an eye out" for anything super interesting. 

Oh.  Interesting.

We've even gone so far to bop around a bit and see a few younger prospects that have popped up.  And while I've never been a good window shopper, it's amazing how much less desperately I shop when I have a great horse at home in the barn...

Of the horses we've seen, there are a few lovely ones I liked, and if I were horseless, I probably would have jumped all over them...  But for one reason or another (size, price, grumpy face...) I could easily pass while I've got a wonderful Windsor waiting for me at home. 

Anyway, I really don't think I've ever actively shopped when I haven't been horseless and willing to compromise (sometimes a lot), so this whole "be really picky" thing is new to me. 

The idea with a possible new pony would be to have something fun to ride that could get me some good mileage while keeping Winds' schedule a bit lighter.  Since I'm not sure I can actually show two horses actively, I'd want the second horse to be something that would be easily marketable in a year or so. 

I should clarify - this would not be an investment horse.  I remain skeptical that such things exist.  But it would be nice to have something that's nice, calm, and attractive enough that I'd have a shot in hell of moving it along to another happy ammy.

In my crazy dream world, I'll have Windsy for ever and ever, and possibly have a rotating second horse that I learn on, show a little, sell -  then go find something else to learn on, show a little and sell.  I have zero illusions of making money - and I'm not sure the rotating roster idea will even work - but it's helping to at least define what to maybe-possibly search for.

Anyway, the current contender is definitely the flashiest of the group we've considered thus far.  A nice liver chestnut with a cute face and a daisy cutter trot.  He's 5, hasn't done a ton, but has shown 1.10m with an amateur.  I like his balance, looks, and gaits.  His jump isn't the biggest, loftiest thing out there, but it's cute and consistent.  He seems straightforward, forgiving (and is a total push ride) - all things that are good for an increasingly chicken, ammy...

blurry - but you can imagine

There are still a few question marks that need answering, but I like him and while I know it's dangerous to name the puppy (especially before you vet it), I can't help but to start brainstorming names.....

Vetting is scheduled for Monday.  Cross your fingers, toes and hooves!

True Costs: Importing a Horse

When I look back on the blog. I can't help but  smile when I realize how many "once in a lifetime" experiences I have managed to squeeze into the last couple of years with the magical beasts. 

Of course, if I'm in a cynical mood I also cry a little because if I add up what the True Costs of those experiences really are, it feels like if we saved that cash we could be in the South Pacific on our own private island right now drinking Rum Rickies out of freshly carved coconuts....

But, I love the horses.  I'm grateful for the wild adventures we've had, and even more grateful that The Boy isn't totally freaked out when he asks me "what do you think this will cost us?" and my response is to give a nervous shrug then pour more wine.  (always more wine).

Much like when we first stumbled into the world of A and AA Hunter/Jumper shows, I had an 80% idea of what to expect in terms of cost, but quickly realized there is a unspoken 20% that always magically appears on your invoice.  And it's that sneaky hidden 20% that's just a real kick in the pants..

So when we first started considering the idea of importing my next horse, I had no idea what that would add to the "bottom line" of the budget.

I feel like over there years I've always heard that it's "about" $10,000 to get a horse stateside. 

But I've heard $10,000 for a long time now.  Airline tickets change, the exchange rate fluctuates and there are enough variables at play that I didn't want to put too much stock in what was essentially a rumor - and an out of date one at that.

I've also heard a lot of people say that a horse that would cost you $100k in the States is waiting for you in Germany for 30,000 Euro (can't find my euro sign).  I will say that seems like a slight exaggeration at this point - but from what I saw it's not hugely off. 

Comparing a fairly green 4 year old to a fairly green European 4 year old - Dollar for dollar, you'll get better quality in Germany.

That is, assuming you can find it, and get it home again. 

I'm smart enough to know that there's no way I'm lucky enough (or naïve enough?) to find the crazy diamond in the rough that's the deal of the century.  Some people find those - I usually don't.

Though it did seem like there were lots of lovely (young and green) options from about 15k...

The 40k range had some gorgeous stunners and for 100+ there were some really impressive prospects, or going horses with spectacular resumes.

So there's lots to buy, in theory at a better price than you could find domestically - but you just can't forget about that pesky cost of actually shipping it over.

So here, dear readers, is a breakdown of the Germany Horse Shopping Process.

Aside from my normal disclaimers of "this is my personal experience and I have no idea how normal it is" I will say that success in shopping abroad is directly correlated to how much you trust the people who are taking you. 

Lots of Trust led to getting this guy home

Getting There/Staying There:

Part of what kept my costs down was booking my airline ticket using miles.  Using miles also allowed me to upgrade to First Class which made me feel really extra-fancy, and also added to the sparkly-vacation-fun of the trip. 

However, since I wasn't sure if I'd be able to use miles, I did lots of googling, and would have booked a ticket on Lufthansa (in premium economy because I'm tall and hate feeling claustrophobic) for $2,500 round trip.  (also I should note I was looking for tickets about 6 weeks away from departure.. closer than I would usually plan a international ticket purchase..)

But because of the miles, my actual costs were like $27.63 for some random fee for taxes and whatever.

Once there, we relied on our contact to book a cute hotel for us.  He picked a charming little farm-hotel-B&B thing that wasn't over the top, but very comfortable and lovely.  I had no idea how much it cost, so when we checked out and it was only $80 a night, I was thrilled.  Since we were on the road so much looking at horses I'm glad we didn't splurge on a crazy hotel.  It was perfect, and the restaurant had great wine, great food and a cozy fireplace.

Getting around we rented a good sized Toyota station wagon thing, that I'm pretty sure we don't have in the states.  It was comfy, large enough that four of us didn't feel squished all week, and even with the extra insurance (which I usually never get) was about $250.  (Plus about $100 in fuel). 

Aside from the (great) breakfast that was provided at the hotel, we ate on the road, in small cafes and back at the hotel for dinners... so I really only spent another $100 on food in total. 

Trip Costs:

(Hypothetical) Airfare:  $2,500
                       Lodging:    $300
                       Car:            $350
                       Food:         $100

Potential Total: $3,250

On airline miles (and splitting the car with a friend) I did the trip for $575 once I was on the ground. (though I did pay for half my trainer's way as well..).  Pretty cheap, but turns out driving around and just looking at horses is the onlyeally cheap part of horse shopping.. Also, I'm not considering the fact that I justified a new winter coat or purse for the trip.

But I did.  Because... accessories. 


Horse Costs:

Obviously, there is a cost of the horse.  Since none of us ever agree on the same one, I'm going to ignore this line item (lol) and just look at the other associated costs.

The Pre-Purchase exam is also something that everyone does differently.  I know that the vet we opted to use was on the more expensive side.  He was a lameness specialist and one of the better radiologists in the area.   I already mentioned that my PPE was extensive to say the least, but my full set of x-rays, ultrasounds, scoping, and numerous videos (flexions, lunging, gait analysis, etc) cost me $2,600. 

To be honest, this was significantly less than I was expecting.  I also know from the other vetting that I watched, that a less.... extravagant vetting, (but still with extensive films) ran closer to $1,900. 

Of course, on top of that I had the exam reviewed by my local vet in the States... so tack another $500 on the top for her opinion on the films and review of his videos (both under saddle and from the PPE).  

Apparently when you do actually buy a horse it's "normal" that you don't pay for board while the horse waits to be shipped.  I don't really know why this is the case (it certainly wouldn't be in the States...) but I didn't mind. 

In my case, the transaction was finalized on November 16th, and Windsor shipped on the 23rd... If we had purchased a Stallion that needed to be castrated, that delay could be closer to a month, and would also add the cost of castration..

Actual transportation was the last Big Item to figure out.  By recommendation, we went through Horse Flight.  Having never done this before, I had no preconceived notion of what companies are good.. what companies are bad, etc... no idea.  Since our German Contact hadn't steered us wrong yet, we went with his contact and let them handle the details. 

Literally all I did was confirm the "ship to" address and gave them a visa.  I let them handle all door to door transit and organization.  This meant they picked the horse up, handled all the travel documentation, blood tests, etc. 

It was extremely easy from my end.  I did get a tad nervous since I never actually received a quote on the cost for all those services, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the entire process came in at $10,100.

Ten grand is a lot of money.  In fact, it's basically like going down to Thermal for 3 weeks (well... I could ship him half way back too..) but when I looked at the itemized invoice, no one thing seemed egregiously expensive.

His actual flight was about half the total cost ($4,800) on a KLM passenger flight from Amsterdam to LA. 

Transport from his home farm to the airport (and one night layover before his flight) was about $700, and transport from LA up to our barn was about $1,200 (including a 2 night layover during the holiday).

The required USDA quarantine was a significant portion as well ($3,000) and the remainder was all the odds and ends (health certificate, random government/airport fees, etc). 

Windsor's actual ticket cost almost exactly the same as a Business Class ticket on the same flight, and I'm pretty sure he had more space than that (something to consider in the future..).  I couldn't have hauled him myself from LA for any cheaper (not even considering the cost of time off, etc) and he arrived in pretty great condition, aside from the few nicks on his heels. 

(I did opt to extend my insurance coverage for the international trip, which at Markel is offered at 0.5% of insured cost.  If you aren't carrying a Mortality Policy with them, they will insure the trip only for 2% (I think).  I had heard some horror stories about shipping fever, or getting kicked or slipping on pavement during transit and felt that there half a percent was well worth the space of mind.. )

So, if you're daydreaming about importing a horse (and looking at how incredible the exchange rate is..) here's what I had to add to the Cost of the Horse, in order to get him home:

PPE in Germany:  $2,600
My Vet Review:       $500
Door-to-Door:     $10,100

Total Purchase/Import Costs: $13,200

Realistically if I had found a horse State-side, I would have been expecting to pay for a PPE and some transport anyway.  So if you're looking for a bargain overseas, expect to pay about $10,000 to get them to the West Coast (a little less to the East Coast). 

Party In the USA (also, we have a name)

::::::::::::::PSA - Gray Brad's flight got moved up a day, and he arrived safe and sound (courtesy of KLM airlines) in Los Angeles yesterday.  So far it looks like he's traveling well and should be on his way north on Wednesday.  He'll enjoy the holiday in Oregon, but should be tucked into our barn on Saturday!!!! Merry Thanksgivingmas indeed! :::::::::::::::::

So with an ETA set, my anxiety over picking a name has only continued to grow.  I'm quite sure that no one else is overly concerned about the naming process for Gray Brad (whaaa??), but every time I'm at the barn and see his future stall with an empty nameplate holder I hyperventilate a little and get back to brainstorming. 

I've literally got a Blank Space _____________

My poor friends have born the brunt of this ongoing question - getting endless text spewing possible names... "How about mr. wompum-pants?  Mark? what about Henri... that's French.. he's French... but I found him in Germany, should his name be German? OOOHHHH FREDERICK. no... not that..."

omg, the endless texts.  Bless them for humoring me.  I really shouldn't be surprised that I have been an indecisive stressball since we had the (exact) same problem naming our daughter...
 
I am not kidding when I say that our "beautiful birth story" involved walking around the deserted hallways of a hospital until 4am literally reading every baby name list online from A-Z out loud with my poor, tired husband.... His patience knows no bounds...
 
Or maybe it does...  He's done a good job of feigning interest in the horse naming process, but this weekend when I finally blurted out an option for Gray Brad that caused him to stop and say "That one. I like that one, that's the winner.  Just name him."
 
a) he's right, I should just name him, and b) if it's the wrong name we'll just change it later.  We are allowed to do that. (it turns out name plates are not what is actually expensive in this process...)
 
The show name was the easy part.  There were only a few final options that we both loved, and the winner gradually rose to the top.  Once it became clear that both sleeping on it and wine (along with lack of wine) didn't change my enthusiasm for it - we made it official with USEF, and you will officially find us in the Hunter Ring showing under "Heir Apparent."
 
Why Heir Apparent?  Well... for a while I was trying to stick with the one-word-adjective style name but was striking out.  I didn't want anything to pretentious like "Perfection" (actually a noun, I know), and it's hard to think of good adjectives that are both inspiring and humble... so I gave up. 
 
Then I enlisted my brother for help brainstorming obscure (or maybe not so obscure) monarchs and military leaders.  He did a great job, and I had a fabulous list of potential names, but none of them seemed to fit perfectly with the refined little Gray that we ended up with.  I loved Churchill, but aside from the fact that there are a bazillion Churchill's already registered with USEF, I feel like Churchill needs to be a large, square, stately horse.  Not a feminine, tidy, little guy....
 
So, then the search widened... I tried to keep to the Royal/Military theme, and stumbled upon Heir Apparent, and it just rang true.  I like that it's still regal in reference.. but it's also aspirational, not declarative.  We are not going to assume that we are/will be some great emperor and conquer the world...  Instead it's more like "someday" we might "maybe" be something cool. 
 
I do believe in the manifest destiny of naming... I think if you name your horse something like "Deadly Hurricane Rage,"  you might get a whiff of that personality.  Pia's name was originally P.I.A. and stood for Pain In (the) Ass.  I'd love to claim that she didn't live up to that.. but... well.... she's a feisty one.
 
So, something slow... something simple... something that implies maybe we'll be awesome.. That's why I like Heir Apparent.
 
Which brings us to his barn name.  My initial intent with Heir Apparent, was to find a cute French Prince to name him after, so that we had a nod to his Selle Francais registration.  My problem started with the fact that there are only like 12 names used (ever) for French Princes.  Not exactly a wide swath of variety (though I knew this going in).   After I weeded out the idiots and assholes., that short list got even shorter.. and the only two names left that I sort of liked, (Louis and Henri) were already taken by horses I know and love. 
 
So once again, the search parameters widened... to regions, other countries, and.... pretty much anything. 
 
Finally, in what is probably a slap in the face to his French heritage, we crossed the pond, and landed on "Windsor" as a barn name.
 
It still ties to his show name, it fits within the maximum two syllables allowed, and most importantly, The Boy gave it his blessing.  I figure this is important since it's his retirement fund I (maybe) spent (a little) of.
 
And so, the great Naming Saga of 2015 comes to a close. 

But never fear!  Brad, Gray Brad, and Bradley are all still totally acceptable.  I'm sure they will stay in the nickname rotation... they just won't be engraved on anything ;)
Ta-Da!

Now the countdown is on for Christmas Saturday and getting this guy all settled in!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Grazy ex(new) Girlfriend: Cyber Stalking Brad

I don't know about you guys, but whenever there is a new horse around, I always (always) cyber stalk the crap out of it. 

(And since Prair is 90 minutes away, and Gray Brad is even farther... I have little to do with my horsey time other than scour the internet for information, and tack sales....)

Thanks to the ever increasing depths and online presence of the Horse World, often there are wonderful, endless click-holes that you can just fall into and pretty soon you're looking at 20 year old wedding photos of a horse's breeder... Which... isn't creepy at all...

Fortunately for me, since Gray Brad was born in 2008, most of his life is online, including his auction sale, stallion approval, and apparently some showjumping rounds (if I want to pay for the download...).  Even Prair, who is a 2005 model, has almost no online record from her time in Germany.  Amazing what a difference a few years can make...

We'll start with what I know.  Gray Brad was born April 16, 2008.  His first internet hit is his sale at auction for 9,000 euro in October of 2008.  (for the record that actually seems like quite a lot for a 6 month old? am I crazy?). 

I think this is his foal video from that auction, but I can't figure out how to embed it, so you'll have to click through if you want to see baby Gray Brad in a pasture... he's just starting to show that he'll gray out, but otherwise looks like a gangly, goofy baby.  If there's one thing I fully acknowledge I have no ability to do, it's detect future prowess and ability in a foal. 

I have no shot of being able to tell who will have springs in their legs, or move like a freak, (or anything, really) by watching a baby.  My eye has no idea what to look at.  I get way too distracted by cute baby fluff and those impossibly long legs... so I remain mystified by those who are able to see greatness in babies.

After his 2008 sale, it's pretty much radio silence until 2011, when webstallions.com has this video, which I think is from stallion approvals, but could just be his inspection.  I can't tell.




Then there is another big gap while baby horse grows up a little more, gets started under saddle and finally starts FEI competition 2014 at a 6 year old.  There might be other, local results, but I haven't stumbled onto those pages yet...

He started in the 1.20m FEI classes, where he stayed (for the most part) as a 6 year old.  A few larger classes at 1.30 toward the end of the year (which might be what the WCYH class is at?)

2015 saw him move up to 1.35 and 1.40, with his biggest accomplishment to date being a qualification for the World Championships, and making it to the final round of that competition. 

Again, I'm not a jumper, and I'm definitely not an FEI jumper - so I don't really know what this means.  I was told that about 3,000 horses attempt to qualify, with 300 getting a bid to compete, and that whittles down to about 60 for the final.  I'm sure of those 300, lots choose not to make the trip to Belgium, so I'm sure that actual numbers at the competition are smaller than that.  But still, top 60?  I think that's pretty good.  I might have to educate myself on the selection process.  But with my cross multiplying skills, I know that getting to the finals puts him in the top 2% of 7 year olds who are competing internationally at that height... so that's pretty damn cool.

There are lots of random website hits for this name in 2014, and 2015 which all seem to equate to show results and entry lists of the various shows he attended.  Not much else to add, aside from a couple of blurry photos.  Usually I won't screen grab a professional photo, but I made a moral exception in this case and captured what I could for archival purposes.  There are only two images that I think are actually him (there is a horse competing under a VERY similar name and their images and videos both return on searches..). 



Blurry, and there was no option to buy/photographer to credit... SORRY INTERNET

The only other fun fact I've been able to scrape up (so far) is that he has (at least) one baby on the ground that was born in June of 2014.  She's a filly, registered Belgian, and has one competition on record from 2015.. I'm assuming some sort of breeding class?

So, that's what's I've learned.  It's the horsey equivalent of digging into someone's facebook and looking at all their ex-girlfriends, and vacation photos and family pictures from Thanksgiving of 2003.  Except with horse-stalking you don't have to worry about your clumsy fingers accidentally liking a photo from 6 years ago....

Eating Ramen: and other cheap things to do after wiring all your money away...

Title is self explanatory I think.  We are officially one step closer to bringing New Gray Horse home.

Good thing we actually like ramen??!?

The money (all.of.it) has been sent. 

But as I've just sent a mysterious and large amount of money into Brussels (to an ex-pat) in the middle of a white-hot hunt for suspicious activity... I'm a tad nervous that I've been flagged onto some international watch list.

I informed The Boy that if we now always get pulled for "random searches" as TSA, I might know why...

Regardless, we are inching closer to actually bringing this horse into the barn.  So I should obviously get back to important things like naming the puppy, tack ho-ing for a new horse, and well... daydreaming.

FAQs:

Q: When will Gray Brad arrive?

A:  His flight is booked for the 24th, which means he should just be clearing quarantine about the time Thanksgiving happens, so I'm not sure how much that will delay him getting on a truck from LAX to Seattle... I'm sort of expecting him right around the 1st of the month.. maybe a tad sooner.

Q: Is Gray Brad going to be named Brad??

A:  Not sure.  Since I cannot pronounce either his current show name or his barn name, he is certainly in need of both.  I have a few show names on a short list and since there's a USHJA discount if you renew your membership before Dec 1... you can bet I'm going to decide that pretty soon.  I'm torn as to whether or not I should try to pick his barn name before he arrives.  On one hand I like getting to know a horse and letting their name be a natural fit.  On the other hand, sometimes that is how I end up with a terrible name.

Q:How much did all of this cost?

A: I am compiling my import costs, and will definitely craft a post when I have everything finalized.  So far, aside from the actual cost of Gray Brad (flying-money-emoji) this is all running about what I expected... maybe a tad less.  Though even thinking those words is a sure fire way to get blindsided by something..

Q: How much of Prair's stuff can you use on Gray Brad?

A: Uh... hopefully at least some of it.  There's no shot in hell that her saddle will fit, I'm hoping her nice CWD bridle will... I know I have enough girths in inventory that something will work... not sure about the martingale.  For sure her blankets won't work.. I don't know what size Gray Brad wears, but I'm pretty sure it's not "brontosaurus."  I'm hoping that I can eBay some of the larger items in my collection and seed a small "tack fund" for Gray Brad.  His plane ticket pretty much wiped out his tack fund for a while I think...

So that's the update.  A name will be forthcoming, so will a USEF number... And if all goes well, there should be a Gray horse in the barn by December!!!!

Vetting - aka Horsey Land Purgatory

I'm pretty sure that the process of vetting a potential horse is one of the most stress inducing aspects of horse ownership.  Not because we don't make bigger, more important (potentially even more expensive) decisions once they are ours, but because the big, presumably smart Adult part of our brains have to go to war with the twelve year old girl who is jumping up and down shouting "pony! pony! pony!!!!" 

I have no photos for this post, but this 6 month old St Bernard lives at Gray Brad's barn and is cute.

Any number of things could pop up on a PPE, and if you're Twelve Year Old self gets too much control you'll end up adopting (or god forbid paying for) lamey-mc-lamerson because you've already fallen in love and you'll love him forever even if he only has three legs, half of his colon, and maybe one good eyeball... And when that happens, you my friend, are screwed.

Trying to force oneself to Adult in these scenarios is hard.  I've mostly decided that this is why you pay Trainers a commission.  It's not to necessarily unearth the last unicorn and bring it to you on a platter, it's really more to keep you from blindly writing checks for pretty- but useless, Brads.

Now, I'd like to think I've gotten the hang of this internal war, and I think I can even maintain a semblance of self control - at least for a couple of days. 

But vetting Gray Brad has taken  a week.

A WHOLE GOD DAMN WEEK. 

Part of this is due to the fact that while we were flying home on a 40 minute layover (which translates to a full sprint through Heathrow's Terminal 5...) we found out that Gray Brad's owner didn't really want to sell him. 

Or maybe she did.

Well, maybe for a different price

Or maybe just if I paid her commission...

Or maybe not.

I dunno....

Aside from nearly dying of heartbreak (the Twelve Year Old self might have had the upper hand there for a while..) I was furious, and we opted to postpone the vetting while we figured out if we did or didn't have a deal.

We were finally able to move forward with a PPE on Monday, which Gray Brad appeared to pass with flying colors.  But nothing really passes until our really picky lameness vet takes a really good look at everything. 

Everything means videos of everything, x-rays of everything, ultrasounds of everything.  Everythings of everything.

Everything.

And, as you may imagine, transferring all of those files didn't exactly go smoothly.  Attachments bounced.  Some videos came fragmented, while some came through fine.  There was even a (rather surprising) series of endoscopy photos.  (Something I've never done on a PPE), but between the language barrier and a 9 hour time change it was really hard to get my vet to figure out what she was missing with enough time to get the German vet notice while his clinic was still open.

Therefore my poor, little, underdeveloped Adult brain had to wage war for five whole days. 

This is not easily done.

Fortunately Gray Brad (somehow) has the world's cleanest films for a seven year old who's been busy leaping over huge jumps. His ultrasounds also looked remarkably clean.  And the endoscopy (?) was also normal...

uhhh, normal I guess?

So.  My friends.  GRAY BRAD HAS CLEARED THE VETTING. 

I'd be popping the champagne and letting my Twelve Year Old self run wild with Pixie Stix or whatever she likes aside from ponies - but the slight shenanigans that delayed the vetting still have me slightly on guard. 

I'm not sure I'll allow myself full celebration  until I hear that all four hooves are locked and loaded on a plane bound for LAX....

But, for now... things are moving forward, I'm just not uncrossing any fingers or toes quite yet.

Thursday (The Gray's Return)

Thursday was another early morning (a theme for the trip) that would start a day of "second looks".  The offer on Gray Brad (1.40m Brad) was accepted, so we opted to return for a second visit to decide if we loved him, or were over him.  The other client had her offer accepted on pretty Bay Brad, and we had a vetting lined up for that afternoon which meant she could be present for any findings. 

But we started the day with a return to see the cute unflappable 3 year old we had seen the first evening.  He wasn't a fit for either of us, but Trainer was hoping to get a better sense of him and see if he might work for anyone else in the barn. 

He was once again, unflappable. and cute.  Great little mover and calm to the fences.  He'd make a great move-up horse for a kid, or a smaller Ammy I think.  Such a sweet personality - he deserves a good, happy home. 

Then we were back on the road and off to see the Gray again.  (squee squee squee).  The resident trainer had to leave for a show, so we were sort of on our own, which was nice.  We had asked for him to be left in his stall in the morning, no turnout, no time on the walker, etc. 

cute pony face

Going into it I figured when I legged up for the second ride I would either love him forever or be sorta over it. 

My trainer got on first, and I had asked her to ride him like she would at home.  Lots of lateral work, lots of transitions, lots of chill time, etc. The concern was that he'd be a bit more "up" in his work without having his turnout, or being ridden first by his own trainer.  But the reality was that he was calmer. (perhaps because he hadn't gotten excited about big jumps?)

Then it was my turn and I took my time.  Got a bit of a mini lesson instead of just trit-trotting around on my own.  When we started jumping, I was immediately more comfortable letting him lock on to his Hunter-Gap-ish distance and I didn't pick at the distances as much. 

Worked up to a small line, which was very easy.  The big challenge came when I tried to take the line off the short approach.  There wasn't enough space for me to wait in the corner and see a distance, and I was still tentative about carrying pace through the turn... so there were a few comedic misses, but bless the horse, he didn't hold it against me and still just trucked right back up to it. 



The fences got put up a bit, and I got more and more confident.

Finally, I remembered I wanted to hack him outside and see how he was in the open, on his own, so we walked around the farm, and up to a (lovely) outdoor.

 

He was totally chill.  He flicked an ear at some of the people walking up the path beneath us, but he settled right down and I never had to pick up the reins.  We played a bit, then took a few videos under saddle for my vet to see since it was obvious I really wanted to name the puppy and take it home. 

He's a cool guy.  The time spent on the ground and just milling around cemented my opinion that his brain is good as gold (I hope).  He seems like a solid citizen, and like he'll take to a Hunter job quite naturally. So.... we parted ways and headed off to watch Bay Brad get vetted...

Bay Brad was also a rock star.  In spite of the fact that he's four.  and a stallion, and it was dark, and raining and we were lighting the flexion videos with headlights from parked cars.... he was a chill dude. 

He's going to be a really, really cool horse too I think.

After a long, slow vet process, we finally packed back into the car and got back to the hotel in time to snag a bowl of delicious pumpkin soup at the restaurant before turning in for a couple hours of sleep before we headed back to the airport for the long ride home. 

A long ride home made longer by watching videos on repeat and making small offerings to the lameness gods for a clean vetting...

I hate waiting for vets.

The Grays Continue

Our next stop was... somewhere.   (next time we go I'll do a better job of mapping my trip out.. but I can say with certainty that we were an hour away from the last place.. wherever that was).

Another huge farm, though it was dark when we pulled in so I didn't get to oogle giant jump fields or gorgeous grounds quite as much...

The trainer at this place was definitely tall, definitely German, and definitely traditional in his approach.  We later found out that he actually works for the State trainer the horses at one of the big studs (Holsteiner I think?), then trains/sells his own string before and after hours. 

He had two (gray) stallions to show us.  The first was five and actively showing at 1.20m.  I kept thinking it was a mare because he had Such a pretty head and neck, but, that didn't change that he was a stallion. 

Watching him warm up I got the impression that this one was going to have a bit too much blood for the Hunters, but it was by far the best mover we had seen so naturally my interest was piqued. 

The jump was unimpressive, but with a price that was literally 1/5th of the Gray we had just seen I was adamant that we suss it out a bit more.

When my trainer got on, I was really encouraged by how the horse responded.  Much lighter, floatier movement, and over fences it looked like a totally different horse.



Sadly, it still looked a touch hot for the hunters, but still... intriguing. 

I hopped on and definitely felt more comfortable on this one than anything else yet -  think mostly because it more closely matched Prair's movement and way of going. 



I opted not to jump since it didn't look like the easiest horse to manage (particularly in a circa 1974 Stubben that was slick as ice), but mostly because I could tell this one didn't pass my Trainer's smell test.

Still a fun ride though :)

The second Gray was also 5 (I think) but much greener.  Personally owned by the Trainer, I think his greenness was one of those "cobbler's-kid-has-no-shoes scenarios and he often got skipped when time was in short supply 

I first saw this guy standing in his stall, and while I was 99% sure he was too small for me, OMG THE CUTENESS.  Total pony face, with a huge cresty, adorable neck that looked ideal for snuggling.



Under saddle he didn't look super suitable, so none of us even legged up, but since we saw him, our broker guy has gone back and scooped him up.  He sent a few initial pics of him riding, and the potential is definitely there.  He won't be ready for a while, but I definitely want to see him when he is!!!

what a difference one ride can make...

I really like this one

After that, we turned for home.  But almost immediately we got a tip on a newly listed (gray, lol) gelding on our way.  With nothing else on the agenda (aside from sleep) we opted for the slight detour and the possibility of a diamond in the rough.

As it turns out we were definitely in the rough.  The barn looked a tad shabby relative to everything else we had been to (so... it looked American?) and the guys who met us there definitely didn't radiate professionalism.

The gray was tacked in the cross ties, and aside from a subtle roach in it's back, it looked remarkably like all the others. 

Under saddle it was clear it was a tad on the green side, and maybe forward.  but it had a nice way of going, and maybe could be an Eq prospect.  That's exactly what my trainer and I and the other client were chattering about when all hell broke loose at the sight of a small cross rail. 

The horse inverted (I mean, literally curled back into itself) and exploded to the other side.  Each leg appeared to go in a different direction and organized on the other side only to start launching some serious bucks. 

As he was getting taken for a ride, our lovely broker (who I had grown rather fond of and didn't want to see splattered on a wall) shouted "THIS IS NO HUNTER!!!!"

To which the two young "trainers" mumbled back "no?" and then seemed to continue to negotiate the point in German.  I couldn't pick up a word but eventually I picked up on a simple question:

"Equitation?"

They managed to ask this just as the horse came back around and repeated it's performance over the cross rail again.

"no."

definitely not.

This, our broker explained, is why he never plans stops for horses he hasn't tried himself at least three times.  He was busy apologizing profusely for wasting our time (but we were all wildly entertained), and simultaneously lambasting the guys about marketing a video of a quiet, broke hunter, when the reality looked a bit more gruesome. 

The horse himself had a sweet eyeball, but the terror and anxiety he displayed had a story to tell, I'm just not sure what it was.  He wasn't confused about his job, he was terrified of it. 

There was a glimmer of salvation though, when our Trainer inquired about the (dark) shed row of (adorable) tiny ponies and asked if there was anything for sale that would be suitable for her daughter.  The guys nodded enthusiastically and said there was one for sale "perfect" for a young kid.

Out of the darkness came a very cute, very furry..... 16 hand horse.

In all honestly, I'm not sure if would have measured as a Small Junior Hunter, let alone a large pony. 

When we tried to explain that PONIES in the US had to be under 14.2... and this kid probably needed something drastically smaller than that.... they just blinked in general confusion.

While not our most productive stop of the day, it was rather entertaining, and possibly left us with the best story of the trip (I'm 100% sure I'm not telling it well). 

By that time it was about 11pm, and all (reasonable) restaurants in the area had closed.  So we stopped at a McD's at a gas station and after a few more minutes of discussion - we put the offer in for the 1.40m Gray. 

Gulp.

Wednesday in the German Countryside

Wednesday was our first full day of shopping, and it started early.  Truthfully I have no idea where we went, I just know we drove for about an hour (or so) and then another hour, then two, then one, and then we were home.  Some of the trip was on major highways, but so much of it was on smaller country roads that refuse to be straight, requiring me to give up on maintaining a sense of direction almost immediately. 

literally no idea where this is

 Brad #1's barn was our first stop of the day, which I was excited about, because... well I REALLY WANTED TO SEE THAT STALLION, but for more practical reasons, if we loved him, I had time to vet him in person, and if we didn't, I could write him off early in the search process. 

I really can't express how gorgeous these farms are compared to what we see in the PNW.  I think our home facility is one of the lovelier show barns in the area, but nothing can compare with these huge, sprawling farms with charming barns dotted about and jump fields and indoors with stadium seating and guest cottages...

(the only non-horse, non-scenery picture of the trip)

Turns out we had three horses to see at the first stop.  Brad #1, a 4 year old Eq type prospect and another 4 year old stallion intended for the other client. 

The Eq horse came out first and had amazing presence.  He didn't have the movement for the Hunter Ring, but he was stunning, and calm, and certainly had the look of eagles in his stoic, stunning eyeballs. It's amazing how comfortable these trainers are putting the fences up for these youngsters.  They don't work them overly hard, but I wouldn't DREAM of popping a 4 year old over a 4' anything - and in fact a significant portion of our car ride conversations centered around the differing philosophies of bringing along young horses. 

On one hand the Germans start them so much sooner, but on the other - their lives are so balanced.  Time with the herd... short work sessions, lots of variety in their life.. a few months on, a few months off... it's incredible.

Second horse out was the four year old stallion by Stalypso.  At first I wasn't totally wowed by this guy, but the more I re-watched his videos and the more time we spent with him, the cooler he got.  He is very green (a few months under saddle), but totally chill and relaxed in his work.  Some construction was going on outside the arena causing all sorts of bangs and crashes and grinding sounds and he just jogged around the ring like there were no monsters to be feared.  His strength is definitely his canter which has such a strong rhythm, you can't disrupt it if you try.

He was darling over fences, and offered the same ride for the 6'3" German Man as he did for the ammy.  Our broker had him brought to the farm by his breeder, so this was a 4 year old, green, baby boy who has been in this ring for less than a week and tootled around on the buckle like it a total dude. 

Wouldn't kick him out of the barn!!

Finally it was Brad #1's turn.  I was so stoked just to see him and have the chance to sit on him.  I heard his clip clopping hooves coming down the aisle before he finally appeared through the (draped curtain) entrance and...... I was totally disappointed.

For one thing, he's not so big.  He is a true16.2, and he is only three (initially we thought he was 4 almost 5..) so there is growing to be done.... but he's very compact and realistically, not a great fit for me. 

After that initial observation, it got worse.  He was pretty sulky in his expression, never wore his ears forward, and his movement looked a tad choppier than it had in the videos.



I tried to remember that he's only been under saddle for 2 months.  The jump video I shared earlier showed his first jumps ever, so he really is absurdly green.  These riders do a insanely good job of covering that up, but when I got on it felt like I was trying to keep water from pouring through my hands... he was just all over the place.

And also sort of bitchy.

He didn't want to go forward, wouldn't fill my reins, balked and swished his tail... in general just sort of a twit.  I finally asked for some spurs and was festooned with the HUGE ROWELS the tall German Man had been using. 

Now, I don't know about you guys, but I'm twitchy enough on a three year old stallion that I don't know, without having huge, spurs that essentially act like tasers strapped to my leg. 

When he was still grumpy about moving out, both our broker and the resident Trainer were shouting "KICK HIM! GIVE HIM A PONY KICK, MAKE HIM LISTEN!!!!"

Yeah, NOPE. 

Not doing it. 

I am a fragile Adult Ammy.  I am not used to hopping on greenbroke anything and immediately adjusting to their needs and giving them good rides.  And given that, I am sure as shit not going to dig into a baby stallion's side and demand obedience. 

So, I packed in my ego, got off and politely handed (the still very attractive) stallion back to the trainer.

And that, is how my short lived love affair with Brad #1 came to an end. 

The next stop was a bit of a debate.  He really wanted to show us a gorgeous gray that he had sent some video of.  I hadn't been that impressed with the initial video, and I was even less impressed when I had heard the price that was attached, and knowing neither of us clients could afford him, it seemed like a waste of a stop.

But our guy was insistent that we should trust him, that the price was probably negotiable (hopefully by a factor of like TEN) and that it would be helpful for him to see if he was correct in thinking it would be a great fit.

Okay FINE, let's go to the gorgeous farm and try the gorgeous pony and see what we're missing out on.

So we were off, another hour through the countryside and we finally pulled up to a charming farm nestled into a hillside with a god-damn-castle perched on the hilltop.  It's nice when it's absolutely impossible to forget where you are.  There was no mistaking the setting for anything in the states, let alone the rain-swamp-forests surrounding Seattle.

In all fairness the Gray was a lovely horse.  Like some of the others, not necessarily impressive in the cross ties (why are all these horses so skinny?) but a beautiful picture under saddle. He was soft and light and had a lovely expression (which caught my eye after Brad #1 looked like such a jerk). 

So we took the bait.  What's his story again?

7 year old Selle Francais.  Formerly a licensed stallion, gelded within the last year, trucks around the 1.40m with a (questionable) amateur and has made appearances at both the 6 and 7 year old World Championships.  I still don't really know what that means, but it sounds like its moderately impressive. 

The jumps got huge (by my standard) and the Gray just loped around like nbd.  When our trainer got on, she let him carry a fairly light contact and unlike some of the other greenbeans, he was much more comfortable carrying himself (which at 7, he should be).  Whether that was because his German Man was less.... German (in his style) or because he was old enough to actually balance himself better, I couldn't really tell.  Probably some of both.



Anyway, I slowly fell a tad in love, so when offered the chance, I crawled up on his back. 

As an Ammy that's used to riding predominately one horse, every horse feels *weird* to me the first time.  And this guy was no exception. 

Prair has such a low back and a long neck that no matter how on her forehand she is, there is still so much horse up in front of you, you feel really secure.  Pretty much everything else I've sat on since her has felt like a narrow, skinny, small TB. 

And that feeling makes me ride a tad.. conservative.  It took me a few laps to get comfy, but once I figured out his balance and how to still communicate without shouting as him, we did just fine. 



I tentatively popped over a cross rail, then vertical, then a figure eight of a couple jumps, then some oxers.... all without disaster. 

In fact it was more than not a disaster, it was really easy.  Where I'm nervous, this horse isn't, and where he needed help, I am confident.  He was a really, really easy ride, but still wildly out of the budget. 

So we hopped in the car and started talking numbers.  Trainer loved his suitability for me, I loved how cute he was over fences and the idea of a horse that could take me to the 3'6" and maybe do the big derbies (how FUN). 

So I texted The Boy about blowing the budget, and he (politely) responded that "we live in a great school district, so buy the damn horse."

We discussed numbers a bit, came to what I thought was a borderline offensively low offer, and we tucked it in our back pockets as an option.

Then we headed off for two more stops (with three more grays..), which I'll dive into in another post.  The days were so long I can't even cram them into one post!

SO MANY BRADS. 

FINAL COUNTDOWN

Germany.  On MONDAY.  I'm so excited I can't stand it. 

I really should have made one of those elementary school paper chains so I at least could have been snipping one off every day.  Instead my countdown has more closely resembled a prisoner marking days passing. 

twenty three more boring-non-horsey days until GERMANY. 

three. more. sleeps.

(can we say a quick word f thanks for the new emoji? I've used the champagne bottle like 400 times already, and between that and the taco - I hardly need to use words anymore.)

I fully acknowledge that my life does not resemble jail in any way shape or form, BUT OMG, the WAITING.  Especially when it's consumed by obsessively checking for new videos of Brads, or re-watching the olds ones over and over again.. That's a mental prison of it own I suppose..

At least the waiting is almost over. 

You guys should know that aside from being horse crazy and tack obsessed, I'm also a huge travel nerd.  I secretly enjoy long haul flights, and get a tad OCD about trying to learn everything I should expect about service levels, airports and routes I'm unfamiliar with.  I acknowledge this is a really weird thing to be a geek about, but there you have it.  And when I say "travel" I don't mean "oooh I want to go to Thailand," (although I do.. want to go to Thailand).

I mean, travel an in the act of traveling.  Like the process of getting from point A to point B. 

I can assure you that the blog presence on this topic is EPIC.  You can google any airline, or airport or train or whatever and get serious play-by-play posts on just about everything. 

It's amazing.

For a nerd anyway.

So when BA started sending me my "get ready for your trips, oh, and btw did you book your complimentary spa appointments?" 

excuse, me, wha??  How did I miss this detail??

Somehow I managed to snag a mileage ticket for our trip over in First Class, and apparently that comes with spa treatments. 

I usually make an extra effort to upgrade to business class when flying to Asia or Europe, because- sleep.

But since most airlines offer flat beds in business (and booze.  Let's be honest I'm also concerned about booze), I've never seen a reason to travel First Class internationally.  It's always seemed like an unnecessary use of extra miles. 

But for this trip, there was no availability in Business, so on to First it was.  And apparently with British, that means a facial and massage during our layover at Heathrow.  I'd be lying if I wasn't sort of excited. 

Plus, when we're going to be surgically in and out of Germany in only four total days.... I'm looking forward to enjoying a new travel class and fun experience for the first 10 hours of the trip :)

Other things I'm nerding out about?  Packing. 

I am an obsessive carry-onner and take pride in rarely having to check bags (unless I'm traveling for more than 3 weeks). 

Ski trips? CARRY ON (wear your coat and rent the damn skis)

Week long weddings that require 8 costume changes and 11 pairs of shoes? CARRY ON

Thermal for 3 weeks with a baby:? CARRY ON (though I cheated and sent some stuff with my parents)..

So I will be dammed if I will check a bag for what is functionally three days on the ground.  Even if that means I have to wear my boots and helmet through security. 

I'm sure the Kardashians have worn weirder crap through LAX.

So the organization is well under way.  There are small piles in my bedroom of riding clothes, a few shirts just in case we make it out to a meal, and lots of warm layers. 

Oh, and a new Alessandro Albanese coat I obviously justified for the trip because my love for outerwear is fueled by the fact that tack ho-ing without a horse to... tack, is pointless. 

Gametime!

Insurance, Part Dos

I was going to do a post script in the comments of my last post, but after an illuminating discussion with the agent, I thought I should just spread the wealth (if a modest amount of information - from a salesmen - can be considered wealth).  If nothing else, I suppose it's interesting...

Thank you to everyone who commented on the last post, it's amazing how much I rely on the hive mind of experience when approaching something I have little to no experience with in horsey land.  Oftentimes anecdotal evidence is all I've got.

It's clear to me that if you ask a herd of horse people "should I get Loss of Use coverage?"  You could simplify their answers into one, dull roar of "NO."

And I understand that.  I really do. 

It makes sense,  it makes sense that its hard to prove a claim for payout, that the vet exams are crazy and that it's hideously expensive for not that great a benefit...

But there was just something in the back of my brain that was still intrigued by it...

So with full acknowledgement that I am (somewhat) looking for an answer that reinforces what I want to hear... after a bit more digging - here's what I've found out.

Loss of Use as a category of coverage, has changed pretty dramatically in recent years.  The traditional coverage, (and as I recall it from my Junior years), was extremely expensive, with premiums that surpassed the cost of mortality and medical, usually averaging around 6-12% of insured value, depending on the declared "use." 

Once established, Loss of Use would pay out (usually 80-90%) for anything that ended a horse's career.  Arthritis, soft tissue, trailer accident, old age, you name it.  The product was aimed at the top competitive sport horses (really those competing at international levels).  Meaning that both the realistic insured value, and the cost of campaigning such a horse was well beyond the expenditures of the average mortality/medical purchaser. 

Because "cause" was so broadly defined, and included "internal" issues such as arthritis, the initial vet exams were extensive, often significantly past what a normal PPE would require (though maybe not if you were investing in an International Grand Prix star...).  This makes sense when I think about the insurance companies needing to know if there were any signs of degeneration or hints of conformation issues that would lead to joint issues/breakdown/etc. 

Additionally, the high payout values meant that paying a claim was a very expensive decision for underwriters, so often there were second opinions needed, affidavits signed, etc. 

Basically, everything about traditional Loss of Use was in line with the horror stories I've heard from both vets and other owners. 

But

It seems as though the product itself is rather different these days.  I'm not certain, but I don't think that any company offers the old Loss of Use product I've just described anymore. 

Instead, it has evolved into an "external" Loss of Use coverage, that will not pay for things like arthritis, or kissing spine, or any degenerative condition.  What it does cover is any "accident" or sports medicine injury.  You horse falls in pasture, your horse whacks it's leg on a fence, your horse flips over trying to load in the trailer, you horse contracts a respiratory virus that leaves permanent damage... Basically anything that happens to your horse, is (in theory) covered.  Because those internal, degenerative issues are no longer covered, the extensive initial vet exams also disappear.  They don't need squeaky clean x-rays, because.. well, they doesn't impact their liability.

My immediate question about the new coverage was Prairie: Soft Tissue injury, but without a discernable "accident"... more of a slow sprain or overuse injury.  Is that covered? How long do you wait to pay a claim, how do you even make a claim?

Essentially, she is my litmus test.  Would Loss of Use pay out on Prairie if I had it. If no, I don't want it for any horses going forward... if yes... that's interesting.

It appears, given my description of Prairie's scenario, that Loss of Use would likely have paid out on her current injury (in addition to medical also having covered the diagnostics and treatments... facepalm). 

Spa days like these would have been more affordable...

One of my concerns was the argument that a soft tissue injury could be possibly attributed to conformation and not considered a sports injury... But the agent said that she's never heard of such a thing. 

In exploring the issue of making a claim further, she clarified that second opinions are no longer part of the process, it's simply a matter of the treating veterinarian declaring "horse not sound." 

In Prairie's case, my vet would need to send a letter accompanied by a record of treatment and diagnostics performed.  Prair would probably need another ultrasound so show that there is still damage to her suspensory, but that's it.

But what about injuries that just take 4 years to heal? Do claims have to wait a certain amount of time??

Maybe.  She said she hasn't seen a claim (with the current product) ever ask for more than six months of rehab before paying out.  Which means we would just being coming up on the long end of that time frame...

Certainly something to think about. 

Also important to remember that payouts have been reduced to 60% of insured value... so you don't get full replacement cost... but I heard one other owner describe the payout not as shopping money for the next horse, but $$ toward the happy retirement of the one who lost their job - an interpretation that resonates with me from a planning perspective.

So, for my purposes (peace of mind), the newer Loss of Use product is still very intriguing to me.

As a parting thought, the agent offered one more thing to think about - which is that she's seen a lot of owners choose to add Loss of Use for the first year or two with a new horse (especially imports they may or may not have seen in person...) while they evaluate how "sound" of an animal it is.

Again, maybe I'm looking for reasons to pull the trigger, but especially when I think about the notion of a horse who is (maybe) younger, and (maybe) doesn't have an established show record to suggest prolonged soundness at a certain level of work... It doesn't seem all bad...

So that's my update on Loss of Use.  Reduced coverage and reduced payouts have simplified the process of obtaining it, and also claiming it.  Those changes also allow insurance companies to offer this type of policy at a much more affordable rate than the original policies that were really designed for only the really expensive, really elite athletes in our sport.

In the end I think my decision as to whether or not I add a Loss of Use policy to Mortality and Medical coverage will depend on who the new horse is and what they've done. 

Food for thought. 

The Insurance Question

The Germany trip is getting closer, and my to-do list is (slowly) getting checked off.  Some things are easy (get new gloves that don't smell like dead rats).  Some things are harder (get a haircut).  Why scheduling and actually getting a haircut is an insurmountable task for me, I don't know.  but it is.

Also on that list is getting my ducks in a row for an insurance policy that's ready to bind asap.

In all likelihood, even if we find a magical unicorn beast that we love, the deal will probably not be finalized until I'm back in the states. But if it is.... I want to have an insurance policy ready to bind.  Immediately.

Looming in the back of my mind is a friend bought a spectacular horse overseas only to have her arrive with a career ending suspensory injury.  Whether it occurred before or during transit, she'll never know, but the horse wasn't insured during travel and everyone was sad. 

You might remember that Prairie is also not insured.  Not ideal when dealing with soft tissue injuries... but formerly my "herd" was large enough that I consistently beat the annual premiums by paying my own vet bills and I have always carried a "rainy day vet fund" for emergencies.

Now, with a diminished herd of one, a potentially expensive horse purchase, and the taste of freshly written checks to the vet in my mouth - the new horse will for sure be insured. 

The question is - for what and how much.



How do I love thee, let me count the ways.... in dollars.

For those who haven't dabbled in the insurance realm, most horse owners are primarily concerned with acquiring major medical coverage.  Insurance companies are smart, and know that there is NO MONEY to be made betting on the chance that horses might stay sound (hahahahahaha), so medical coverage is only offered (to my knowledge) on top of mortality coverage.  So mortality becomes your primary policy, and medical is a box to check on top of it. 

Mortality seems to have a fairly standard going rate of 3.5% of insured value for a competitive sport horse (or $3,500 for a $100k horse). I'm using a $100k valuation because math is really easy that way. 

Medical is relatively cheap, and seems to vary from $400-$1000 depending on your state, co-pay and annual limit options.  in Washington, for a $100k horse, no co-pay, higher deductible and a $15,000 limit it is about $500.

However, since lots of owners seem to use mortality as a stepping stone to medical, many choose to under-value their horse in order to lower annual premiums.  Many I've spoken to operate under the assumption that while an accident resulting in death is not that likely.... budget crippling vet bills are almost a certainty.

So, why would you want to properly represent your horse's market value?  Well, if you are adding "Loss of Use" coverage, which exists to reimburse (part) of your horse's value if something happens prevents them from doing their job (let's say jumping) but doesn't kill them (like, let's say a soft tissue injury...). 

The ins and outs of Loss of Use vary from agency to agency, but typically they cost between 2% and 4% of insured value and most pay out between 50% and 65% of your horse's insured value if the claim is honored.  Some have clauses that allow the insurance company to become the legal owner of the horse, and others offer a lower payout that doesn't require you turn over your horse....

I have heard wildly different stories about Loss of Use claims.  Some say the policies are a money pit and it's nearly impossible to get the insurance companies to pay out (which I understand..) and others say that it has been what's allowed them to retire beloved partners while still providing some shopping money for a replacement...

I have a personal friend who got the Loss of Use payout on her eventer - only to have him return to competition soundness (several) years later and enjoy a second career at the lower levels...

I have also heard stories where horses were NOT sound for their upper level jobs, but could still perform at 2'6" so the insurance companies declined claims stating the horse was still a "jumper."  (this makes sense to me).

So it's all a matter of how you like to spend your money and where your anxiety rests at night. 

In general, my family LOVES insurance.  We insure everything, sometimes more than once!  We certainly aren't good enough to use it as an investment strategy, but we mostly operate under the assumption that you should buy as much insurance as you can possibly stand. 

So, to take this back to horses... let's look at what that might be. 

A dreamy $100k pony comes home with a $3,500 mortality policy, with an extra $500 for a medical policy... The company I'm currently thinking I will go with offers limited Loss of Use at a 2% rate, which is another $2,000 annually (providing a $60k payout).  That's $6,000 a year for fairly extensive coverage - a check that makes me choke a little bit to think about writing.  (of course, the total cost for a $50k horse drops to $3,250, a $20k horse to $1,800...)

But let's pretend you have a magical horse who never gets hurt and so you hardly utilize your medical coverage on a regular basis.  (if you find this horse, please tell me).  Even assuming no benefit from the medical coverage, you'd still have to pay 10 years of premiums, before you had put more in than you would potentially get out in a Loss of Use claim. (and that assumes 10 years of no career ending injuries).

TEN YEARS.

I know there are horses out there who manage careers much longer than that, but sadly I haven't had one of those since my pony back in middle school. 

So I'd love to hear if anyone has had any good or bad experiences with Loss of Use.  I'm still very much on the fence as to whether or not it's something that will offer peace of mind or if it's unlikely to ever be utilized...

No one said it would be easy...

In fact, most people seem to agree that horse shopping is hard.  Frankly, on the list of things that I "think I love, but am totally sick of after 3 months" Shopping for a horse just barely nudges out shopping for a saddle to grab the top spot. 

Both things I love.  Both things I drool over incessantly and am quite proficient at daydreaming about. 

But both things are completely and utterly frustrating to look for after all of the "easy" options don't work out.

In fairness, this round of horsey shopping hasn't been horrible (yet). 

I'm only $300 in to my vet, and no hearts have been broken.  But as I mentioned a while back, I have been struggling with how my to blog about the process, and I still don't know what the correct answer is - but I have definitely identified a wrong one. 

In trying to keep the blog as a (small) outlet for excitement and progress, I have bamboozled myself.  Because, well- you guys are smart and you guys have opinions and my self-imposed limitations on how much info to share makes it totally impossible to respond to them. 

For a while I toyed with the idea of giving discretion and etiquette a big middle finger and just blogging everything, but then the wine worked its way out of my system and I came back to my senses. 

So, I will probably be going a tad radio silent until we have an end result.

And not because my feelings are hurt that not everyone loves MY BRAD (I totally admit he has flaws).  But more because I'm so frustrated that I can't provide more info and go into more of a dialogue.  I can't show you the other videos, or commentary, or give you more of a history because I don't think it's 100% appropriate at this juncture.  Particularly now that there is a Capital B. Capital N. Capital T. BNT involved.  (much to my chagrin). 

Anyway, so consider this my preemptive apology for (continued) boringess on the blog.  it's my sincere hope that this trip to in three weeks (omg it's never going to get heeeeeerrrrre) will provide some decent content - whether its from a fabulous Brad to bring home, or some massive fails.

Onward we go!

And Now, We Wait

So, the weekend was a mad scramble of vets and visa cards and trying to explain to my bank that yes I was in Seattle (buying beer at a football game), but please approve the veterinary charge in Germany...

I could hear the absurdity of that statement even as I was saying it, and the raised eyebrow from The Boy was a subtle "if it sounds crazy to them, and it sounds crazy to you, maybe just maybe it is... crazy." 

But bless him, instead he feigns interest and at every text or buzz on my phone he politely asked "have you heard anything back yet?"

Frankly, I'm a tad impressed things have worked as quickly as they have.  In fact, I might have preferred a slightly slower response rate from everyone so I could eat up some of this wait time for the next 30 days...

But, instead we've gotten the green light to keep pursuing this guy. 

There is still a big question mark - which is what explains his use (or lack thereof) of his hind end over jumps.  I will confess I didn't notice it the first four hundred times I watched his videos - but when you look for it, you can tell that he really doesn't flex his hind end nearly as much as his front end over the fences.  We took spinal xrays, (because they are so easy to get) in order to rule out things like kissing spine or fused vertebrae.. but there are plenty of other things that could cause it - Some alarming, and some not at all.

blurry brad

It's possible he's just green and his hind end isn't very strong, or perhaps its sore from his first few weeks working over fences...  It's possible he's not impressed by the height and doesn't have to pick up his hind legs.  It's also possible something hurts or will hurt and it's easier to just leave them hanging out behind.

Anyone else notice this? or have any experience with a horse that did or does this?  I don't think he looks sore or stiff behind on the flat.. but I'm sure it's more subtle there...

I will say, that having a few questions to explore makes me grateful for the extra time before we go, so we can explore, ask questions, get more videos or even vet work (if necessary) before we arrive. 

In the mean time.... MORE BRADS.

Eligible Bachelor #1...

I can't emphasize how strange this process is.  There are moments when I'm texting with my trainer, or vet, or whoever that I stand back and think about the chain of communication between me and some, lovely horse somewhere in Germany.  (whaaaaaa???)

If there's one thing I've learned over the years with horses it's that one should trust the experts that you've surrounded yourself with.  You're with them for a reason, and they (likely) know way more and have done everything more times that I can ever hope.

But the other thing I've learned over the year with horse, is that I have to always, (always, always) trust my gut. 

Ideally, these things line up, but sometimes, either because of ignorance (on my part) or opinion - they don't. 

I've had a few instances with this (because I've never shopped for a horse abroad) where what I think the right next step is... isn't necessarily part of the normal etiquette or protocol. 

Since we decided to go to Germany, I've been vibrating at a relatively high stress level.  I think it's more akin to "omgomgomgomg I'm so excited to go to a horse show," than it is to "omgomgomg I've got a huge test coming up and might vomit." 

So it's a good, stress.  but it's stress all the same and I've been trying to minimize it as much as possible.

The first bought of stress came from seeing videos of the most beautiful horse I've ever seen (maybe I had some beer goggles on, but still).  The next wave of stress came from freaking out that someone else would buy him before we get to try him in a month.  Then I got stressed over wanting to get some vetting done so that if something came up, I could forget about (beautiful, beautiful) Brad and move on.  Then I got all stressed out over trying to coordinate vet services with a 9 hour time change and (significant) language barrier.

Essentially, I'm not sure it's normal protocol to initiate PPE procedures without having seen the horse in person/sat on it's back yet... but that's where I had to go with my gut.  My gut said I needed to start getting information on this guy, and give myself as much time to get follow-up information if need be.

Frankly, now I'm glad we did since there are a few question marks that warrant some follow-up and maybe will affect our ultimate decision. 

Finally, since I've officially spent some money evaluating this guy, I wanted to share a sneak peak.  He's lovely.  He's 4, he's been under saddle for a couple of months (significantly greener than we were initially looking for), and he just really caught my eye.  I'm really hoping that after all the evaluations, he's still a strong candidate (subject to us loving him in person).  So cross all your fingers and toes!!!



Waiting for some updates from my vet, but I will keep ya'll posted!