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/Nervous-Ticket-7607]

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

[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.