How Much.....With a Difference.

if the prognosis was that there was a good recovery chance for a pain free existence with a reasonable quality of life then I'd go 5k over the insurance limit (which is 10k therefore) - even if the horse was a paddock ornament - so long as it was a happy, healthy, paddock ornament.

if the prognosis was poor or not going to give the horse a reasonable quality of life then I'd goto the insurance limit and then maybe 1k over to enable if poss a month of rest and chill time with friends without being 'poked and prodded' by vet and then pts.

I reckon that the insurance isn't only to 'cure' the horse - obviously if it can be cured within the insurance limit - it's to enable a prognosis to be formed on top of a proper diagnosis.

I'd never be happy to pts unless I know I'd explored all reasonable avenues to identify what was wrong and/or provide treatment/cure.
 
I'd hate to be in that position, but if my insurance wouldn't cover it I'd have to be realistic and look at what I could reasonably afford at the time. It would also depend on the likely outcome as I wouldn't want to spend money to be left with a horse I couldn't ride.
 
I'm completely with Weezy on this. Mine are just insured for death, not for vet fees, it would be far too expensive for my lot. If I only had one pride and joy, then I would have vet cover. I'm also very lucky that my vet is also a best mate and he is able to do most things as foreigners; anything needing a surgery/horspital, would have to be thought about with the priority being would horse recover or end up being a field ornament; after all, mine are mostly mares and youngsters; if a mare could not be bred from again that would be a 'no' (I'm talking about illness, not a normal retirement) and if the youngster would be permanently lame, that would be another 'no'. I'm not a hard cow, just realistic but I do appreciate how you feel if it is your one and only.
However, I always say, it is the quality of life the horse can lead after any treatment that should be the deciding factor in all cases.
 
I cant really say without being faced with the situation as I guess if something like this happend then emotions would be all over the place.

Ideally no more than a few thousand. I simply dont have the money to spend on a horse when there is no guarantee it could be ridden again, as there is no way I could afford another horse. If I knew that spending the money would allow him to spend the rest of his days pain free then I may consider spending more. I love my horse more than life itself but could not put myself into thousands of pounds worth of debt for treatment that might not even work.
 
Well I spent £2,000 out of my own pocket on Mac and he' now a field ornament.

Kind of got that back via LOU though.

I think £2,000 is about my extra limitthis inculdes my paying the excess fees that you get with every policy.
 
Hmm, tough one. Horrible as it sounds it would for me depend which horse it was! For my older mare, I probably wouldn't go over the inurance as she has a list of problems already - all soundness related, nothing that affects her actual health! If she could be brought hack to being a happy field ornament within the insurance limit, then fine - although I'm not sure I'd go down the line of colic surgery etc, or anything involving months and months of box rest as she would hate it plus it would cause problems with arthritis etc.
For OH's mare we have just spent about £1000 of our own money getting a diagnosis (trip to Newmarket, MRI etc) but I felt we had to do that for our own peace of mind. We won't be spending much more - ie if rest doesn't get her sound, she will become a happy hacker/possible broodmare (its an injury to her deep digital flexor tendon).
However, my boy is a different proposition - I would, if I am totally honest , spend every last penny I had trying to get him sound if I had to. As long as the prognosis of a recovery, if not to 100% soundness, at least to good health, was reasonable, I'd do whatever necessary, as he is a) my horse of a lifetime, and b) generally a healthy, happy individual.
I do think it depends on the individual though, as ours are pets first and foremost. I've got plenty of friends who would be much more pragmatic than me!
 
My mare was diagnosed with a keratoma, offered surgery at an estimated cost of 3,000. No vet bill insurance plus she was 23 and retired so had PTS. I just couldn't put my family in the position of being in debt for her despite how much I loved her. That was 3 years ago and I still have a little weep for her now and again.
 
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Gosh these questions are really getting my head in a confused mess! Probably a limit of £10,000, because I could justify that by saying I wouldn't go on holiday etc for so many years (a waste of money imo). I'm not even sure it would come down to money for me. If they said Chex had to be boxrested for 6 months or a year then I don't think I could do that too him, when he's not got many years left and he'd hate to spend that long stuck in a stable
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. Same goes for complex surgery with a painful recovery - whats the point in spending months in pain when you only have a few years left!

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My horse was 15 when he went through colic surgery and was put on box rest for 2 months, limited turnout for 2 months (by that i mean like a stable really but outside) and then had normal turnout gradually introduced for 4 weeks then i could ride him again which is what i am doing do you think this was wrong of me to put him through this surgery?

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Yours is a youngster compared to Chex
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. If your horse is happy then of course you made the right choice
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. Every situation is different, what is wrong for Chex could be perfectly alright for another horse.
 
For Bloss i wouldnt go over her insurance value (which is only £1000 now).

For Archie its a different story - i would spend as much as i could afford, which isnt that much!!!
 
I'd probably pay for fairly routine/minor surgery but if she colicked and the vet opened her up and it required significant repair, she'd have to be PTS.
So realistically I suppose I'd spend about 1k, maybe slightly more if the prognosis was excellent.
 
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I am a skinflint - would rather put the money into another horse than be left with a field ornament
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Totally agree. Bruce is not insured for his worth - I would let the insurance go to the max £5k - and then stop. I would not start forking out - logic would say if it is any more than that then it is unlikely the horse could be the horse it was anyway.
 
I know my probable limit having reached it with William.. £1700 for a foal worth less than that.. totally uneconomic but when you see a sick foal your judgement tends to disappear...
My husband said if anymore foals got ill they had to be pts...
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Mine is insured and has cover of £5000 per incident, I could probably borrow another couple of grand if I needed to so, £7500. My ponios are part of the family, I'd have trouble living with the guilt if I had them PTS knowing they probably would have got better.
 
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