Passion

Passion is what the equestrian industry is all about. You typically don't get involved with horses and the equestrian world without first having a deep love and passion for the animal. It doesn't matter what discipline you do, it's the way it is.

Maintaining our horses alone is an extremely costly venture, which people outside of the horse world can't understand why we do what we do and spend what we spend. All I can say is that when you pay your feed bill over your own grocery bill, you know you've got passion behind your decisions and a sense of responsibility, love, and care for your equine partner.

I've been around horse people all of my life, and not only are they passionate, but they are some of the bravest, compassionate, and most generous people in the world. Not to mention they tend to have a great sense of humor--I think if you don't have a sense of humor as a horseperson, you're going to wind up in trouble somewhere along the way because horses know how to make sure and play 'the joke on you,' game.

I love hearing stories about how people celebrate their horses.

Take Anissa who works in accounting here at Professional's Choice. She raises a handful of miniatures and has her old gelding who just celebrated his 32nd birthday. For his birthday, her family dressed him in a birthday hat and gave him an extra bucket of treats. My own trainer Terri plans to give her horse Pete next month when he turns 21 a Guinness mash. Yes--I suppose you could add to the list of what makes up a horse person--CRAZY. But crazy in a good way.

Oh and did I mention that most horse folks are quite opinionated--every one has an opinion it would seem, and every one thinks their opinion is the right one. I think most of us gently agree to disagree on many things in our opinionated world. However, the one thing I do believe we can all agree on is that we are all passionate individuals when it comes to the love of our horses.

We'd love to hear your stories and thoughts. In what way are you crazy, passionate, opinionated, etc for your horse(s)?

Have a great weekend.

Happy Trails!

Michele Scott

Talk to the Animals

I have a question for you...Has anyone ever used an equine communicator? I have actually had a gal "talk," with our pony Monty and it was a pretty amazing "discussion."


Monty came into our family about a year and a half ago. He was fabulous. For seven months Monty was fabulous. My daughter took lessons from a wonderful teacher who is also a dear friend, but who is also a school teacher, so when she had to go back to her day job, she let us know that she had to back off of lessons and working with Monty. She was still able to do a couple of days a week, but I knew that with Monty being a new guy with us and with my daughter being small and although she'd been riding for a few years--she needed that extra attention. There was another trainer where we were at, at the time and I had watched him with some of the kids and thought he was pretty good with them, so I approached him.

Long story short--pony didn't like this guy. It wasn't long after they started working together that Monty had his first bout of colic, then Monty began to colic about every 3 weeks. Then he started doing things like bolting with his kid, and acting like a nervous wreck inside his stall. I started scratching my head wondering what the heck had happened to our fabulous pony?!?

My gut began talking to me, and my gut was saying there's something really wrong here. Monty colicked again, and at that point my vet looked at me and said, "Get him out of here, change everything about his program, or you might lose him."

There is so much more to the story, but it would be about ten pages long, so this is the short version.

Needless to say, I called up Terri (where we'd gotten Monty from, and she'd told me if there was ever any issue to bring him back and we'd figure it out). I told her the problem and within twenty-four hours we had the horses at her place.

Monty and my mare Krissy have now been at Terri's for a year--and guess what? Not one colic, no silly pony shenanigans to really pique the fear factor for the kid or me.

So back to the equine communicator. This gal came to "talk" to the horses not long after we got up to Terri's. She had no prior knowledge of Monty and the issues. We told her we were concerned that Monty had had a tendency to get fast with his kid. That was it.

She wrapped her arms around the pony and after a few minutes looked at us and asked, "Who else rides him besides the little girl and Terri?" We said that I did and occasionally another working student (a young woman). The communicator said, "No. The man, who is the man?" She looked right at me and a shiver went down my spine. "You know who I'm talking about," she said. I nodded. "Yeah well, the pony doesn't like him and is afraid of him, and he has reasons to be." Now--there is still a lot more to this but for time sakes, I'll keep to the short version. Then she wrapped her arms back around him and asked all of us (my vet included here) to send him light and love and let him know how much he's loved. All of a sudden this lady begins sobbing. I mean--totally sobbing. We were all looking at each other... She apologized and explained that this happens about once a month with a horse. She told us that he had just let go of a ton of grief. That Monty never understood that he was anything more than a commodity. He never understood that he could be or was loved. Now maybe this sounds crazy to you, but this is what I can tell you happened afterward:

Up to this point Monty was never affectionate. He did his job but he never seemed happy. He didn't seem to care if his kid was there or not. He just did what he was supposed to do and that was that. The communicator told us to constantly talk to him and tell him how much he is loved and that he is now a part of a family and will always be a part of our family, because he had a fear that we weren't going to keep him. I did this with him for a week straight, and the most amazing thing happened after that week. I was in the barn with him by myself and I took him off the cross-ties, and removed his halter to put the bridle on. All of a sudden, Monty just placed his head right in my chest and stomach. He just stayed like this with me for at least a minute or longer. Then he very gently (not pushy at all) rubbed his face on me--it was like when a cat rubs on you, not when my silly mare pushes me all over the place. I scratched him between his ears and told him hown special he is. And I swear he sighed. It was like this moment of true understanding for him--as if--"I get it. I'm part of the family." Since that day, as soon as he sees his kid or me, he jogs on over, he lets out a little nicker, he paws on the ground until we make it over to him, and it's obvious he feels like he is loved.

Both Monty and his kid are thriving together. He has been off his ulcer meds for four months now. He's fat and happy (maybe a little too fat), and he's settled.

Now I don't know your feelings on people who communicate with animals but I have to say that I am a total believer. I really believe that the lady who came and talked to Monty helped him and us a great deal, and I am really grateful for that.

Call me crazy or tell me if you've ever had anyone "talk" to or with your horse(s), and if so, what was the experience like? What was the outcome?

Cheers!
Michele Scott
Vice President
Professional's Choice

What Horse do for Us Humans

Horses provide us humans with so very much. They are our companions. They try hard to understand us. They usually want to please, and at the end of the day they bring a sense of peace into our lives. At least this has been my experience. I can remember being a kid who had a big space between my teeth, lots of freckels and to put it bluntly, I doubt anyone ever called me-cute. I was pretty scrawny and also shy, so friendships didn't come easily for me until I got older. However, I always had a friend in my pony Charlie. Charlie was on the ornery side. He enjoyed taking off with me. Bucking me off seemed to be a frequently decent idea to him as well, but off his back we were the best of friends. Over time, I learned to stay on his back and our friendship grew deeper. When I was upset, afraid or angry at other kids, myself, the world, parents, etc., my pony had my back. He listened. He was a good friend and I had him for fifteen years until he passed away at 30. He's buried at my parents' house along with all of the horses I grew up with--all of them my friends.

I now have a new group of equine friends, and at the end of a busy day, my favorite thing to do is to just go and spend a few minutes of quiet time with each one. I make my rounds with a handful of cookie treats for them. Each horse at the barn has its own unique personality. Every one of them provides respite for me. At the end of the day, after it's been busy at work, hopefully I get time to ride before I have to make dinner for my family, I take my timeout. I give each one a treat, a pat, a kiss and say, "Goodnight." I feel I owe them at least that much after all they do for me/us.

How about you--in what ways do you find that your horse(s) have enhanced your life? We would love to hear your horse stories, so please comment!

This is a photo of one of my best friends--my mare Krissy.

Cheers,

Michele Scott
Vice President
                                                                                                                    

Professional's Choice Works Hand in Hand with Dr. Joleen Elston

We are extremely pleased to have a new member on board with The Professional’s Choice team. Dr. Jolene Elston is now our veterinarian consultant. Dr. Elston is going to be working with our team to help with research and development, testing of products and also helping to explain how and why Professional’s Choice products work with your horse. Dr. Elston will answer questions and concerns you may have regarding your horse, and you can e-mail her at Vet@profchoice.com. Please be aware that because Dr. Elston will not be able to have a hands on consultation with your horse that her responses will be in terms of generalities and to the best of her ability without viewing the animal itself.

At Professional's Choice we are always working to find ways in making sure our products are the best out there for your horses. By having Dr. Elston on board with us, we will have the constant input of someone who lives her life working to better the lives of our equine partners, which is directly in line with our continual goals and philosophy.


In her own words, Dr. Elston states, “I am so excited to be working in conjunction with Professional’s Choice. I’ve used their products since I was about ten-years-old and rode with Pony Club. I’ve never stopped using their products and I recommend them to all of my clients. The Elite Sports Medicine Boots are not simply a rehabilitative leg care product. That’s a misnomer I find out in the field. These boots are simply by far the best preventative maintenance leg care system available. I don’t care what discipline you ride--be it for pleasure and trail riding, eventing, cutting, roping, etc—whatever you do, your horse needs to be in these boots. They prevent the injury before it happens.”

“I feel fortunate also to be involved with Professional’s Choice because it is a family business with core family values. Through fate, I met Michele Scott on New Year’s Day a few years ago on an emergency call when one of her horses colicked. Since then, Michele has been a client and I treat all of her horses. Through our friendship, she discovered I was a Professional’s Choice customer/huge fan and she inquired if I would have an interest in coming on board as the resident vet. Of course, I accepted. I look forward to working with the team, and also hearing from customers about their horses.”

Here’s a little info about Dr. Elston:

She is a native San Diegan with a lifelong passion for horses. She started riding before the age of five and acquired her first pony when she was eight. She hosts an impressive riding resume that includes accomplishments in the United States Pony Club, achieving her Silver and Bronze medals in the United States Dressage Federation and competing as an alternate on the Region 7 Young Riders Team. Dr. Elston has set her focus on dedicating her life to the equine performance world. Other organizations she’s participated in include the 4-H and Future Farmers of America.

In her teens Dr. Elston became a technician at a small animal hospital and moved on to a five year technician at the renowned San Luis Rey Equine Hospital. She completed her bachelor degree at Washington State in Biology and Zoology. She received her doctorate from Washington State University Veterinary School. Following her doctorate she accepted an internship position at the highly acclaimed Pioneer Equine Hospital in Oakdale, California. In 2007, Dr. Elston joined the practice of Large Animal Veterinary Associates in San Diego, California where she continues to practice. Dr. Elston has specific interest in lameness issues and performance horse medicine. She is a wonderful attribute to her community and we know she will be a wonderful attribute to Professional’s Choice!

Be sure to check back this Friday on the blog when we link to Stable Scoop on http://www. horseradionetwork.com, where both Dr. Elston and I discuss equine leg care and injury prevention. It’s a great talk and one you don’t want to miss.

Cheers!

Michele Scott

Vice President

Professional's Choice Welcomes Gina Miles

Celebrities have proven to us all too many times that fame and fortune do not always bring out the best in people. The pressure, the attention, the fans… living in the limelight brings with it a great amount of responsibility. Unfortunately, more often than not, these celebrities give in to the pressure and allow the fame to change their values.

However, very rarely we come across those truly great individuals who refuse to allow fame to change the core of who they are. They utilize it to touch the lives of others and expand the good that first made them famous. I have the privilege of knowing one of these great individuals. She is an exceptional horse woman, and compassionate mother, and Individual Silver Medalist at the Beijing Games—Gina Miles.

Now, I have to admit before my first introduction to Gina, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I mean this is someone who has done something that so few will ever accomplish in their life time that it kind of blows the mind. My guess was that this feat would go to more than a few people’s heads. Not Gina. Gina Miles is one of the most down to Earth, delightful, magnetic personalities you could ever want to meet. She’s funny, witty, intelligent and caring. To see her with her kids is to see kind of mom who makes certain that her kids know how much they mean to her.

This past weekend, I watched Gina give a clinic to a group of riders, ranging from beginners to advanced riders and everything in between. I haven’t come across many clinicians who handle that full scale the way she did—with patience, graciousness and with a capacity to make the most out of her hour with each student. Not to mention, Gina was the one in the arena busting out and moving jumps around. In fact, one of the first times I met her at a show, she bathed her own horses, cleaned her own tack, and made her own meals. There were no grooms around to do it for her. Not one. She maintains a connection to her horses that I believe helps to make someone of Gina’s caliber into a real winner who works hard in every aspect of her life.

Obviously, I think pretty highly of this lady, and so it really pleases me to announce that Gina has come on board with Professional’s Choice as an endorsee. We are working closely with her to develop some new products geared toward eventers. I’m super excited about this venture and can’t wait to share our new creations—and as with everything we create it’s always about the horse. At Professional’s Choice we don’t make a product just because it might look good or make a few bucks. We make products that we believe in, that are thoroughly researched and tested, that we truly feel will provide a more comfortable life for animals who give us all so very much.

Gina agrees with this philosophy, which is why she is a perfect endorsement partner for Professional’s Choice.

Cheers!

Michele Scott Vice President

Professional's Choice Sports Medicine Products 2025 Gillespie Way, Suite 106, El Cajon, CA 92020 1.800.331.9421 Toll Free http://www.profchoice.com