No regrets....I would do it all over again

Last week someone who knows me well asked me about my decision to save Suki. "Knowing that you basically have a 'special needs' horse would you do it again?" Her question was without malice, and I understand where the question came from. Although Suki has fully recovered, she requires maintenance that "regular" horses do not. There is no hair across her back and this requires daily moisturizing. Granted there are days here and there that I skip, but for the most part it is a daily regimine. And the skipping of full treatment days has only begun in the past several months. So yes, there are responsibilities that are time consuming and necessary. I try to spend equal time with both girls, which when I am able to ride is easy, but sometimes I feel like Nikki gets short changed with grooming.

Early on during recovery, twice daily visits were required to make sure that the areas that were still healing did not get infected. Then, of course there was the whole bandage issue to keep the last section from getting raw and infected. Finally some progress after the skin graft, but even that was a struggle until we had a special garment made to keep the aggressively rolling Suki from damaging the amazing work of Dr. Fugaro and Team Suki at Centenary College! Now that everything has completely healed there is just routine grooming plus the moisturizing.

I will admit, all of that care has altered my riding career a bit, with Suki's care being so time consuming plus child, husband and demanding career! As disappointing as that has been,I would do it all over again. Many people thought that I was crazy to take on a young horse with everything required to care for Suki. Mentally, emotionally and physically, Nikki was exactly what I needed to help me get through all of it, and I absolutely love her! From a practical standpoint, I agree that the timing was not optimum, and while Nikki is not as far along as she should be in her training, she is smart and talented and I am confident that 2013 will be a turning point for both of us. So keep your eye out for us in the dressage arena!

In spite of ALL of that, yes, I would still choose to save Suki and allow her to recover. I have learned a lot about myself in the process and have met wonderful people. Most of all, I have my beautiful girl and she is happy and healthy. When I look into Suki's eyes every day I know the decision was the right one for all of us. She inspires people and in some cases just makes them smile. Suki's new career is a noble one, and I hope to increase her exposure in 2013-2014 by having the book published, doing visits and hopefully performing in-hand musical freestyle at a variety of venues. So 2013 brings with it some lofty goals for me and my girls, but we are up for the challenge!

On Wednesday (January 30) I made a quick stop at the barn to drop off something. It was too warm to change the girls into heavier clothing for the night, and Deb and Toby were going to take care of that later in the day in addition to grooming the girls. Because of the mud the horses had been turnd out in shifts in the paddocks just outside the barn. I am sure they weere happy to get out!! Nikki was in her stall when I arrived so I was talking to to her and giving her treats. All of a sudden I heard angry nickering and stomping coming from outside. The back door of the barn was closed because some of the horses (Suki and Banker) were in the paddock just behind it. When I opened the door, a very angry Suki stuck her head right in the door at me. She could hear me talking to Nikki and was not happy about the delay! Once Suki was able to touch me she was fine. When Suki was at Centenary for her skin graft I was only able to visit once a week, since it is almost 2 hours from my house. Not to worry....Suki was seriously spoiled while she was at Centenary! On the occasion that I would encounter someone prior to entering the barn Suki could hear me talking. The girls told me that as soon as she heard my voice she whipped her head up from eating hay and nicker softly. I find that to be the most heartwarming sound. I absolutely love when my girls talk to me!

Writing this in the early morning, the snow is once again falling lightly over the mountains. The gazebo bird feeder is very active with numerous pairs of cardinals and doves plus a variety of other birds. They scatter quickly as a family of deer walk through. Once their meal is finished they continue on their way and the birds come back. It was VERY cold when I filled the bird feeders this morning making me feel good about the decision to add a layer to Suki and Nikki's clothing. The barn owner thinks that I worry about this far to much, but I just laugh. I can't help it! It is better for their health to be appropriately clothed since over blanketing and making them sweat and get colder.

There is one thing that I would not do again. The farm where the fire occured had insurance money available to horses injured in a barn fire. Up to $10,000 per horse or $40,000 total for all horses qualifying. Needless to say the insurance company turned us down without any real reason. I consulted an attorney about contacting the insurance company, because as the policy is written I was entitled to some money. $10,000 would not even begin to cover all of the expenses but it certainly would have helped. Foolishly, although I did not completely agree with how it was going to be handled I thought the end result would get the insurance company to turn over some money. I don't want something that I am not entitled to, but that policy indicated that I was supposed to receive payment. Back and forth they went, with a lot of dollars spent. They refused to settle and wanted to go to court. I have decided not to pursue it further. I still owe attorney fees and do not want to incur more, including paying expert witnesses, court fees, etc. It angers me that they won. So the thing that I would NOT do again would be trying to obtain insurance money through an attorney. Now I have fees from that and the insurance company will not be paying out to me even though the policy states that it should. Lesson learned. I have my beautiful Suki, and that is what matters the most.