Carla's Blog

Well, having my little mare now for a little over 3 months now I can say that she is mine.  All mine and I feel connected to her like she is the horse God has had in store for me.   She is so precious to me!   We have had a few hurdles to get over since she arrived.  An injured leg and pelvis from getting hurt on the trip from TX to CA.  The stress of the haul, trip to Davis, meds and bute….well, she developed a pretty good case of ulcers. She had a pretty sore neck so there’s been body work and short term stall rest.   Not knowing her too well yet, I was starting to doubt my choice.  She became so resistant to going forward, over reactive to my leg, and just plain fractious.   No matter what I did, she just got worse during the ride. We were clearly not making any progress.   Two days on the ulcer meds and I had a new horse.  Literally two days!  So, now I know.

Now that her tummy feels better, she is such a doll again.    I look forward to our training sessions and lessons and cant wait to show Mark, my trainer our weekly progress.  I am such a proud owner!!!  It’s nice to have something I look forward to riding again and not stressing about injuries, sore knees and rehabbing.  I just feel so blessed and lucky.  It’s weird how uplifted I feel since Sugar has come into my life.  I just love riding her.   I love riding reiners!

Sugar has a home for life with me now.  She’s my special girl and the horse I am supposed to have. Funny how God gives us the horses we are meant to have.  They all have something to teach us at a particular place in our lives.  Sugar has given me my horse life back and healing for my heart.

signing off, gratefully and humble~Carla

I want to thank you for your personalized help and such a wonderful product. My Belgian/ QH mare has been on MagRestore for 3 weeks now and there is such a difference in her overall demeanor. She is more relaxed in general and is no longer twitchy when groomed and saddled. Under saddle she is much more willing and has a much better attention span. I am uncertain if this is related, but after about 5 days on the supplement she suddenly stopped worrying about my gelding finishing his grain and checking his bucket once they were turned out. She used fret and vulture waiting to see if he was done. I could right a short novel on the many small differences in her, I am truly amazed that one supplement could do so much.
I just placed an order for the combo of the MagRestore and Focus. I am hoping to see even more improvement from both products. Especially when we are away at competitions. I will follow up and let you know.
I have recommended your products to friends who have horses with similar issues to mine. I hope they try it out.

We have hit a milestone, my husband and I.  Friday night was my husbands retirement party after 30 years of distinguished service as a law enforcement officer and the last ten, as Chief of Police.    This retirement was not part of the grand plan….the grand plan is what you hope for before real life takes over.     2 years ago, Matt was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s disease.   At age 50,  this has been a blow to Matt and our whole family.  BUT  prior to the diagnosis, when faced with a possible life threatening brain tumor, the diagnosis of PD was better than brain tumor!   Funny how God sets us up to grateful in the face of a crap storm!

This post is dedicated to Matt.   We are so proud of you and everything you have done, stood for and everyone you stood up for!   You never participated in cliques or the brat packs.  You always maintained your integrity and were a cops cop, stood up for your men and you were fair.  To Everyone!

Thank you Toni Archer and Dan Fink for the amazing celebration of Matt’s career and the amazing night for him.   I have never been to anyone’s retirement that was so well attended and went on so long. 

As we go down this road of retirement. and the second half of our life together, just know I have your back.  I am totally devoted to you and love you more today than ever before.  You are my man, my friend and you have my heart.  We have some scary stuff to face but we will face it together with courage and faith in God.    Thank you for taking such good care of our family.   You did the right things early on in your career for such a time as this…and we will be ok.

Thank you to my friends who have been my angels and my rocks during my darkest and saddest days.   You have made me laugh through my tears and lifted me up when I could not do it for myself.   Dina, Trish, Liza, Molly, Corrina-   my sisters in this life.   I love you.  You are my family and I am so grateful to have such a strong group of  REAL women around me.   How lucky am I to have so many great besties!   You are all the best.  Thank you for sharing our night and for your strength and support.  I would have been a puddle under that dinner table without you all there.  And a trip out to the parking lot for some puppy breath is always the best remedy for a sad heart!

Matt and Walt Costa taking the 'official retirement oath"

Matt- Thank you for understanding that I need a horse to ride and show to be sane.  Thank you for never ever giving me any grief about the horses.

Keep fighting honey…we wont let this stop us, it may slow us down some days but we will still have a great life and there is still much joy to be had.  I love you

Buny

I am back on a reiner!  I loved cutting but not enough to switch completely over and give up all my reiner gear and go cutter.

Plus, you cant train your own cutter….well you can if you have your own cows, cattle shoots, round corral and all that stuff…which I don’t so it means full time training.  A reiner, I can work on myself at home and with lessons.     My new little horse is so sweet.  I am totally smitten with her so far…trying to stay on an even keel but it’s hard.   I am just so dang glad to have a sound horse to ride and a horse future with goals and purpose.   I feel like my barn is no longer a horsey rehab facility!   I actually have one that i can ride.  YAY!   Thank you Dina for talking me through the decision to ‘just buy her’ .  Thank you Haverty Ranch for jumping through hoops to get her vetted, over to the futurity and on Kim’s trailer bound for California.   Thank you God for my new lease on riding.   It’s all good.

You just never know about getting a new horse!  The anticipation, the hope of your next superstar…will it be all you hope for?  You just can’t know!  It’s like getting married and then getting to know the person.  They look good, come from a good family,  good brothers and sisters and  have nice manners and so you jump in.   Then you get them home and start riding them and getting to know them.  Some stuff you just cant know about a horse till you get them home, live with them and get your butt in the saddle.   And so the marriage begins.  You figure out your new horse’s strengths and weak areas.  You hope that all parties involved had your best interest as well as the horses and told your everything you need to know.  You pray you got a good vet on the vet check.    All things look good.  You say a little prayer and send off the check.   The journey now begins.  Friends flock to the barn to see your new addition.  She’s welcomed by all and seems to love all the attention.      I don’t know just yet if Sugar will be my forever horse or my horse for now.   So far, she’s a good girl.  Of course, she needs finishing and customizing. Of course, I am rusty and confidence is not what it used to be but I have a pretty horse to ride and she has some ability.  Whether I am able to get her to the show pen remains to be seen but I am a firm believer that God gives you the horse you are supposed to have.    I am on the road, putting one foot in front of the other, open to each days lessons.    More to come………….stay tuned.

Who Whiz CC- 5 yr old mare

Many people miss the journey that the relationship of a good horse will take us on.  Without my first horse, I would not have learned self reliance, determination, courage or that I really could get from point A to B with my truck, trailer and horse intact!  Chelsey taught me that if you hang in there long enough, you will achieve your goals. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually, you

Lucy- my reward for putting up with Holly!

will get there.   How to handle disappointment and success.  The ribbons I won on that horse are faded and dusty.  The buckles sit on a shelf…useless really.   At one time, I held them in such esteem.  But, it is who I have become on the back of that horse, the places I went, the DEAR DEAR friends I have made and the life lessons I learned are what matters now.  That horse changed me by means that only a horse could have.   This is what people miss if they make owning a horse all about them.  The REAL journey is an inner one.  If you stay open to it, your horse will show you were your weakness’s are, your strengths, insecurities and hangups.  I believe we all get the horse we are supposed to to teach us lessons about ourselves.  That’s how God speaks to us.

Lately, we have been getting calls from owners with horses in pretty desperate condition.    This month, a 500k dressage horse with spectacular movement, looks and everything.   However, he’s so dangerous, spooky, unwilling and hard to handle, the owner literally wants to give him to the trainer.   Give him away!   She is heart sick but in good conscience, can’t sell him. The trainer doesn’t even want him he’s so dangerous and a huge liability.  This horse is trained to the upper levels of dressage, the horse of her dreams. What happened?  Top vets have checked him out from top to bottom and no expense has been spared. Money is not and issue here. I believe his magnesium levels are so low that every system in his body is suffering.  I asked my usual list of questions.    He hates to be touched, brushed, bathed, stalled without his buddy, can barely be lead out the pasture.  He pulls back, rears, bolts, strikes, cant stand still in his stall.   The trainer, who is diligent and hard working, cannot ride him any longer.  He’s explosive and dangerous.    This didn’t come on all at once but rather little by little. This horse, on a scale of 1 to 10 is a 20! He has every magnesium deficiency symptom and he’s off the charts in sensitivity.
So, we have him going on our Magnesium Therapy Program. I will keep you all posted. My heart goes out to the people in this horses life. They are doing everything they know to do to no avail. I sure hope our products help this animal recover and return to greatness.

This month we have three horses with severe symptoms.  I’ll keep you posted.

Carla ~ Performance Equine USA

If you know me, you hear me say this all the time. I love this saying because it’s simple, doable and doesn’t project too far into the future. Just one step at a time, and that will take you were you are supposed to go. One thing I know is that everyone has their challenges to overcome in life. No escapes this fact. You are either struggling with a troubled childhood, troubled children, addiction, fear or illness…everyone has something to overcome or learn to cope with. As my family struggles through my husbands illness, I am touched by the outpouring of kindness coming our way. You really do reap what you sow in life and Matt has sown seeds of kindness, compassion, service and loyalty. I am proud to be his wife. Super proud. It’s not going to get any easier but we will be able to put one foot in front of the other with God’s help and the support of our dear friends. Our angels God has sent to watch over us and help us when we need it. I am so grateful. Thank you to these dear people. You know who you are and I love you.
Carla

When you feel prompted to offer a kind word to a stranger, don’t let embarrassment or shyness stop you. You never know what your kindness may mean to someone in that moment. God uses simple acts of kindness to speak to us. That’s how He lets us know he hears and answers our prayers. God works through us on behalf of others and visa versa. You may never know what your kindness meant to someone at that moment your offer it.
They may feel, lonely, sad or hopeless and your smile and encouragement maybe what it takes to help them face their fears or get over a disappointment.
It doesn’t have to be monumental. “you look pretty in that color” “I love your haircut” “wow, you have pretty skin” “great ride” “you really looked great on your horse in the show pen today”
Just one act of kindness a day, that’s all we ask.