So why buy horse insurance in the first place? Medical bills can be costly, very costly indeed. If a horse is getting older you can expect for illness to result in large vet bills and you can plan for this. However owning a young horse does not garentee health, and one can never plan for accidents and injuries. Not having insurance could mean the difference of being able to afford to save your horse and having to have the animal put down.

It's really important to read the small print when buying your insurance. Some times the cheepest quote provides such little cover it is hardly worth paying for it in the forst place.

If you are going to buy insurance, I advise you spend the money and get the right level of cover for you. This does not mean going for the most expensive - lord no! Just look at what is being offeres before you buy.

Some key things to look out for are:

What percentage of the medical bill will the insurance cover? If it is 50% or less I would think twice, some policies cover 100%.

Is there an upper limit on the ammount, and what is the maximum you can claim?

Does it cover emergency treatment?

Is there a maximum ammount of times you can claim?

Will the policy pay out on the death of your animal? Many will, some won't.

Most policies will not cover an exisiting medical condition, though a few will. If your horse is already suffering something that the policy won't cover you should think about either paying the extra to someone who will cover it, or not having insurance at all.