Leg 1

(Boots, bubbles and a precious mileage seat up front)

Well, it didn't take long to get off plan. Our broker in Germany thought we were arriving a day earlier, and upon realizing we wouldn't hit the ground until Tuesday afternoon declared, "oh.... Hmmm.... No problem! Long nights, but don't worry, we have good coffee."

Ah.

Good wine too I hope..

Only other snafu is that my carefully planned 4 hours of sleep (aided by exactly half an ambien) didn't happen either. Instead I zombied out in my seat and watched the sort of movies I can't con The Boy into at home (cough, cough Pitch Perfect 2, cough)



Side note- Magic Mike XXL was an option that I chose not to select. Even in the relative privacy of my mini "suite" it seemed like an awkward selection for passerbys to notice.... And in fact there were others that seemed even less appropriate - though I'm not sure when I turned into such a prude!

Anyway, flight to London was easy and lovely, as was the layover and meeting up with the other client also shopping on this

As a side note- traveling in my boots was not as difficult as I thought. They're probably the most comfortable shoes I own, and they are a nice warm layer in chilly airports...

Note taken.



Our flight into Germany was slightly delayed so we didn't hit the ground until an hour after we were supposed to and by the time we rented a car (hilarity, omg). And got going we were square in rush hour traffic coming through Hmaburg.

But we made it! I chickened out and made N drive the stick shift. I can drive one (and take pride in the ability), but foreign country + no idea where I was going + rush hour + signs I can't read? Yeah no. I grabbed my Adult Ammy flag and pleaded for mercy much like I do during lessons with the crazy good juniors.

The "quick 35 minutes" to our first barn crawled into an hour + and I was starting to question the organization and sales skills of the guy we were there to shop with.

He's a new contact and more the hours stretched on the louder a tiny voice got in my head that we were flying somewhat solo into the unknown...

But, fears were put at immediate rest when we finally pulled into the farm and found our way to him and the first two prospects.

A 5 year old Quaterback and a 3 year old... Something. Both geldings. Both, not that impressive standing in the crossties.

However our initial conversation was encouraging. I like how he introduced the horses and the background he gave on them.

Plus, when we headed to the indoor ring, they were exactly what he said they were.

Which is to say the 3 year old was Dead. Quiet. In the face of a jammed indoor full of jumpers and a course initially set for 1.30m or so.



He just walked around like a dude, pricked his ears at the froth-mouthed jumpers scampering by, but didn't scoot or get nervous or anything. He hacked out on a nice loose rein - and while not the most impressive mover, cute enough and a very balanced and soft way of going. Jumped ok. Nothing huge since he's... Three, but definitely an Ammy friendly brain and a cute face to go with.

The 5 year old didn't interest me at all. Not flashy, not a careful jumper and his breeder (who rode him for us) was so irritated that we were late in arriving that it showed.

The surprise of the evening was a 5 year old gray that our guy had, but wasn't for sale yet. HOLY CUTE JUMP. I mean, wow. (He's in the blurry pic)

His change is still a little sticky to the right, and for that reason he won't even consider letting him sell yet, but man that thing was adorable.

We walked away from the first barn with a good sense of how he evaluated the first three horses. And he had a better idea of what we were ultimately looking for.

We followed him a short ways to our cute hotel (I think we are in Hanstedt?) and shared dinner in the small restaurant downstairs. (And wine, duh). While discussing horses, the US market, other industry people etc.

Gossip is gossip is gossip, but I have to say it's a great way to feel out how someone fits into the industry and how they work. I was pleased to see that while he has relationships with lots of BNT, his way of doing business and his style has limited which of those he will actually work with. My little opinion doesn't matter much with regard to what BNTs do, but it was reassuring to hear who he stays away from and who he works well with.

After much chatting (and not that much wine) we poured ourselves into bed to be ready for a full day of visits. Brad #1 is on the roster for Wednesday (squee!) along with done others that I'm excited to see... Stay tuned!

Here Bradley, Bradley, Bradley!!!


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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!

Mementos - Etsy Style

The other day I was sitting on the couch scrolling through Insta drooling over lots of feeds ripe with gorgeous shots of Indoors, when a cool digital design caught my eye. 

I clicked through and found Designs by Isabel Wild, where for a small fee (though her prices are going up!) your favorite snapshots are posterized in quite a classy manner.

Ever since I mentally committed to retiring Prair from jumping (regardless of her rehab), I've been dreaming up fun ways to commemorate some of our accomplishments in a slightly more organized fashion than the garage Ribbon Wall.  (though I assure you the garage ribbon wall is totally and completely indexed across several different data points.)

When I saw what Isabel was doing, I immediately loved the idea of having a trio of images done (in tri-color hues), then somehow framing them with one or two of our circuit awards...

Knowing me and my total-lack-of-crafting skills, it's unlikely that I'll actually execute that plan anytime soon - But in the meantime I can thoroughly enjoy these images, one of which has obviously already become my wallpaper on both my phone and computer. 

If you're looking for a great way to stylize some of your favorite shots, I highly recommend giving this a try - that is, assuming you aren't already a photoshop ninja capable of doing it yourself ;)

 

 

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.