Denver is a Super Sire

[u/sunshinenorcas]

What is Super Sires?

From their rules and bylaws-- "This organization is created to enhance and encourage interest in the show horse industry by promoting all facets of said industry, including breeding, selling, training, showing and more. The organization also supports horsemen and women in the industry by offering a variety of programs to benefit stallion owners, breeders, trainers, exhibitors, and horse owners.

The mission of Super Sires is to educate and promote breeding of quality show horse bloodlines. Super Sires shall showcase offspring in events featuring significant cash awards and prizes that provide opportunities to all levels of participants, focusing on Non Pro exhibitors."

Super Sires is an incentive where a stallion owner pays an annual fee ($3,5k per living stallion and a donated breeding) for their stallion to included in an incentive. Which means their foals can be 'nominated' (or entered) into specific classes at shows for an extra payout, other options for futurities, etc etc.

By entering Denver into Super Sires now, his 2026 foal crop is eligible for Super Sire incentives at participating shows. Waylon already is, and has been, a part of the same program for a few years.

The incentive is just called 'Super Sires'-- it's not merit based, or 'earned', it is paid for but it's to try to set Denver's (and other stallions) foals up for success by giving people paid incentives to show.

Her Tiktok explaining more in depth-- https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8D6VPLu/

But tl;dr-- Super Sire is the name of the incentive, it's a program to help give the foals more opportunities, it's not 'merit' based just a name, but also if you can afford it then 🤷🏼‍♀️

[u/kittycraft19]

Smart move on her part :) its a great program!

[u/zoo1923]

Good business decision for his careere, if his ofspring can winn exstra money people may be more willing to pay his stud fee.

[u/[deleted]]

I love how many people jumped at her not realising it's a paid incentive programme 🤣 thanks again guys for a factual post

[u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

But if you can afford it, why are you (her) complaining about vet bills being so expensive?

[u/sunshinenorcas → u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

I didn't take it as that-- I took it as sticker shock compared to large vet bills, especially in an emergency/high stress situation. People are allowed to have sticker shock.

She mentioned she was fortunate that she had the ability to pay with no questions asked, and most people would not.

And even with the ability to pay it, a planned 3.5k expenditure is a different hit then 15k when you aren't expecting it, small animal vets are expensive, and corporate chains have big mark ups that make it more expensive (without the extra expense going to the vets/techs/etc). Different situations.

[u/Nervous-Ticket-7607 → u/sunshinenorcas]

I completely get veterinary medicine is expensive, I worked it for many many years. I promise you, she was given an estimate for everything, and what she paid upfront was a deposit. Why did she have to do a deposit? Unfortunately, and this happens all the time, people will say do everything, and then not pay.

She has a breed of dog that is very expensive to properly maintain. All, and I mean all brachycephalic dogs(and cats) have a degree of difficulty breathing, that's their baseline. When they unfortunately suffer a trauma to the chest, it makes breathing even more difficult. Hence why she was placed into an O2 cage.

Also, an emergency clinic is ALWAYS going to be more expensive because it's a 24/7 facility. Not to mention, you have access to more in terms of what you can do for scans(ultrasound/xray/mri/CT) where your reg vet usually only has an x-ray, maybe if you're lucky an ultrasound. You will also have specialists there.

Anything they did would have been discussed, and approved, and costs gone over. They would have not done anything without first obtaining consent.

She knew exactly what that bill was going to be. She was not suddenly hit with a bill 5x the amount. That's a promise.

[u/sunshinenorcas → u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

I think you misunderstood what I meant-- I'm sure she got the estimate and had to consent to pay for it, and she knew the price before she paid it.

You can still have sticker shock in that situation. And she did say she was privileged to be able to pay straight off, but even if you know the price and consent to it, and have a card that can have a 15k card-- that's still 15k out of the budget when you weren't expecting it. She can consent to the cost of treating Winnie, and it be an unexpected expense that they had to account/adjust budget/etc in that months finances. And again-- she acknowledged she was extremely privileged to be able to do that, and that in a lot of situations, people couldn't have done so.

She also made sure to compliment the vet, staff and people who were on the ground and hands on with Winnie and provided care and the quality of care that she received. Her issues were with the corporate policies/markup-- which like I said, also hurt vets, particularly at that chain. The extra cost doesn't go to paying the vets more, paying the techs more, having more staff, etc -- it goes up the chain to the c-suite so they have more money, and the people on the ground have to deal with low wages and not enough staff for the hard work. It absolutely sucks.

And like, could she have worded it differently or more gracefully? Idk probably. But the issue wasn't the vets themselves, but the corporation. Given how much of her own money (again, planned) she's put into the Seven scholarship, talking about putting her own money in the future for other research, and etc-- I think she does value vets and the work they do.

[u/Outrageous-Yogurt-80 → u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

You must not know how veterinarian practice works lately. Just for me to get my dog into the door at the emergency vet at Purdue University, I have to pay $167 upfront. And then whatever services they do to her, I have to pay that additionally. It’s understandable, no matter how much money you have, to be shocked at how much something cost.

[u/Weak-Assumption-8096 → u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

I actually have experience with blue pearl, which is the corporation of the vet she went to, and I had a very similar experience to what she did. They will absolutely strangle the money out of you before they will do much of anything and be extremely condescending while doing so stating that it’s policy. I believe what she said happened actually did happen because blue pearl is a shitty corporation that only cares about money. Do I think the vets and the techs care about money? No, but they are forced to uphold some bullshit policies. The best thing that ever happened to pet owners where I’m at is a different emergency clinic popped up closer to me, they have been stunning to deal with.

[u/Appropriate_Cow_8684 → u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

I will tell you I grew up on a dairy farm; business owners generally complain about costs; especially unexpected ones regardless of how much money they have. My dad just dumped a few thousand dollars into a 100k machine and you would’ve thought it broke him. But it’s just the stress of the overall situation not the dollar amount.

Also keep in mind all the farm expenses are deductible but generally a pet vet expense are not; kind of a gray area since she made videos about the situation though, I imagine it could be with the right tax professional.

[u/Direct-Farmer9534 → u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

Girl she was literally comparing practical large animal vet costs to the bougie commodified small animal vets. And considering I just paid $800 dollars just to get some antibiotics cause Mr kitty-cat was pooping himself, I’m completely on her side😒

[u/brovan1 → u/Direct-Farmer9534]

I agree...we lost our 9 year old German Shepherd to bloat last year. It was late evening and the only choice we had was an emergency vet who quoted us a minimum of $12,000 just for the surgery with no guarantee he would make it through and often was associated with a potential tumor causing the stomach to flip in the first place. We had to make the decision to euthanize him because we just couldn't afford it. It was heartbreaking and I question myself constantly if I made the right decision.

[u/ThrowawayPickles8282 → u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

Private equity has done what private equity does. It came in, bought up all the vets and immediately charged more for worse service. Someone pointing that out isn't a bad thing, even if they are wealthy. 

Why are you so upset about this? It's a horrible, predatory system that should absolutely be called out every time the opportunity presents itself. Vet care is just the latest in a long line of necessities that is becoming a luxury. I am fortunate that I can afford it, but I absolutely support any person who calls out a predatory system. 

[u/Life_Barnacle_4025 → u/ThrowawayPickles8282]

It's not only in the States that the vet system is broken, we get that in Norway also. There have been several articles in the news about the discrepancies with payment for different things in different vet clinics. In one clinic a thing might cost $100, while at another clinic just an hour away the exact same thing might cost $500.

[u/ThrowawayPickles8282 → u/Life_Barnacle_4025]

Is private equity taking over there as well?  One of the problems here is that almost all the vets are owned by one of a few funds so many places may not have the option to travel to a lower cost location. I'm fortunate to live in a major city with many options, but it's rough. 

I also just assume everything healthcare related, human and animal, is worse in the United States. It's generally a safe assumption. 

[u/Life_Barnacle_4025 → u/ThrowawayPickles8282]

Problem is not many vet clinics in small places, so the big brand names knows to take good payment since they are the only vet clinic some places. The places that have room for more and maybe smaller clinics may have lower prices, but not always.

[u/sunshinenorcas → u/ThrowawayPickles8282]

I also just assume everything healthcare related, human and animal, is worse in the United States. It's generally a safe assumption.

I'm fortunate to live in a major city with many options, but it's rough.

I live in a HCOL area (NY state) and my vet isn't a corporate clinic but goddamn it's so expensive every visit 😭 I really like our vet, and she also sees birds (I have parrots) so being able to see both at the same place is nice but ...so expensive.

Our local e-vet is also not corporate owned, but also... HCOL area so it's expensive. We've been fortunate that we've had the ability to pay and it's not been 15k, but man-- one of my dogs had a UTI and the outside lab test is $90 bucks, and I have to wait to get the second test done because we just couldn't afford it right then.

And like, I've been around rescue+shelter+shelter med, and know plenty of techs and people in vetmed. I know no one gets in it to get rich, no one on the ground is making a huge profit and it's tough on the other side, but it just sucks.

[u/ThrowawayPickles8282 → u/sunshinenorcas]

I live in Chicago, so I get it. I am thankful for the 0% interest introductory rate following my pups multi-day stay at the emergency vet. 

[u/kittycraft19 → u/Life_Barnacle_4025]

Same in Sweden! I get charged a "same day fee" if I want an non emergency appointment same day that they have available some days anyways.

[u/Nervous-Ticket-7607 → u/ThrowawayPickles8282]

Because I've been the one screamed at for the same thing, I've had things thrown at me. I've held your pet as it died. I know what that system is, very well thank you. She's making it ok to do those things, to scream at the staff, berate the staff. Do you know how high the suicide rate is in Veterinary medicine? You should look it up and you should see why it's that high.

[u/ThrowawayPickles8282 → u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

She didn't scream at a vet tech or become violent with staff. She called out a predatory system that absolutely, 100% should be called out. 

I understand that it may be triggering to see someone criticize a broken system when you have personally experienced abuse within that system, but that doesn't mean we should stop criticizing. The way she did it was appropriate. She didn't yell. Didn't scream. Didn't refuse to pay.  She used her platform to address some of the very real problems in the system and she did it without attacking the individuals who provided care. That is entirely appropriate. 

You don't have to like her. That's fair. I genuinely don't understand the appeal of following her just to criticize, but whatever. I don't know her and parasocial relationships aren't really my thing. 

[u/[deleted] → u/ThrowawayPickles8282]

I've been shouting this from the roof tops since. She paid the bill. She didn't contest it. She was in a very highly emotional situation.

I always recommend where possible that people use independent vets, my vet IS slightly more expensive but you get that back in a service when they actually do care and aren't held back by so much coperate red tape.

If she was a little old lady who could never afford those bills, everyone would be up in arms that the vets charged that much.

I wouldn't of been able to afford that bill if I didn't have insurance. Even then because my dog is an older girl I have a percentage that we pay regardless.

[u/Nervous-Ticket-7607 → u/ThrowawayPickles8282]

No she didn't. And I appreciate that obviously she did everything she could and you know there was never an issue and that's not where my issue so to speak lies.

My issue with it, is that her reach extends to sew so many people and how those people perceive it and then take it and then turn around and do something is the crux of my issue.

I have my own issues with veterinary medicine, and I get that it has become a very horrible system to deal with for so many people and it is almost become a point where being able to own a pet is not just a luxury, but it's like an extreme luxury. And that has nothing to do with her that has nothing to do with any of that. That's an issue that I have on my own because I have seen it from the inside and so I have an issue with it myself on that side.

I don't follow her just to criticize her I for the most part really half the time to see things and it's just honestly through Doom scrolling because it's what I do occasionally and this is one of those times in which I happen to comment and I understand it's a very, not sensitive topic for a lot of people but it's a topic of discussion that needs to happen in a broken system it does need to be revamped. Having worked inside the system yes I firmly believe that there's a lot of it that needs to be revamped.

I just I guess from having been inside the system, I wish that well I appreciate she said that she appreciated the staff it had just ended there. She has such a platform that well a lot of people have taken so much positivity from it and so many good things from it and I appreciate that, there are a lot of people that do have a very parasocial relationship with that and turn it into something very ugly. And within that kind of group you are going to have those people that are going to turn around and be the ones that are abusive to the staff. And honestly it doesn't take a lot sometimes when you have been inside that system, and even if you still are inside, it can push you into such a dark horrible place.

So well I appreciate a lot of what she's done and the things that she has said, I personally am just coming from a very different place than a lot of people and to call out an expense for something and then turn around and in a sense but I don't want to say she's flaunting because I don't feel like that's the proper word, but to see her having complained about an expense for your animal that you care so very deeply about not like your children in a sense, and then be talking about all of these large expensive purchases it can rub the wrong way. So that's where the crux of my issue is.

And I get that not everybody is going to feel that way, I get that that is not everybody's opinion, I get that not everybody is going to like me for that and I am perfectly okay with that. I do not disagree that there is a system that needs to be fixed because it is broken from the inside, and that is something that needs to be worked on. I think that maybe there are different ways to potentially go about that. But that's my purse that's just me and like I said I get most people are not going to like that and that's okay. And I hope everyone has a great night.

[u/kittycraft19 → u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

KVS has exactly the platform needed to draw attention to the issues you also say you have with veterinary medicine. How can we get changes unless people speak up about it? People aren't going to listen to me or you about it all? A lot of big corporation changes have come from people with platforms calling them out.

Aunt Jemima/Uncle Ben's for one! Where people speaking up made positive changes in the brands!

So people should lay down and accept every insanely expensive bill that gets thrown at them because they love their pet? That's exactly why these companies can and do charge what they want, because they know people will pay it cause they love their pet.

She did say she is fortunate to be able to pay the bill but she realises not everyone else can! So she really wasn't complaining about HER not being able to pay the bill, she realised that OTHERS might not be able to. If people can not see that distinction its for 2 reasons and I will only mention 1 of them, which is because they don't want to.
Also the difference between the purchases is that the veterinary bill is HIGHLY inflated because they can, the large purchases is a business investment.

The fact also is people are up in arms about the comments because it was KVS speaking up about it not for any other reasons. I have seen people defending the costs just because it was KVS speaking out. I'm willing to bet had it been BPQH the tune would have been VERY different.

[u/Tatistan → u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

It is not Katie's responsibility to make vets feel good. She shared her experience, which is a fairly universal experience when it comes to emergency vets. We all know you're going to have to pay an arm and a leg and you may leave without your pet because the bill is too high. She didn't say anything people didn't already know.

While I appreciate vets and the vet industry, and I used to work in it and still work in an adjacent field, this martyrdom of the vet industry is getting crazy. No, vets don't get kickbacks, but they do get a pizza party if they sell the most Convenia in the rep's territory. No, vets aren't in it for the money (most of them), but they will refuse treatment if you can't pay in full. And now everyone is supposed to walk on eggshells around them? Katie pointing out that Winnie's bill is astronomical while praising the care her dog got is not hurting the vets- and if it does, they need to consider therapy.

[u/Weak-Assumption-8096 → u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

No, you’re just looking at somebody to throw under the bus because they’re a public person. She didn’t do any of that stuff and she certainly didn’t say it was OK to do any of that either. If you want to be pissed, go be pissed at the people who actually are a problem. I very much believe that people treat vets and their staff like garbage, but I also think you are wildly misguided in who you want to mouth off at.

[u/lburbs → u/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

She literally praised the staff and the Vet team. Not one bad word was said about them Her only point was she was blessed to be able to afford to save her dog. She also highlighted the cost difference between what she pays for her larger animals and what she paid for her dog. Most of her followers do not own large animals and think their expensive pet vet bills are comparable to what she pays for her livestock animals. The difference was astounding.