Take a breather...

(©2010-2011 by Equimage.com)

Websites take an enormous amount of time to keep up with, especially blog-type websites.  As I grow more and more involved in other projects, I have less and less time to keep up with my sites, let alone seek out advertisers. That's really not what I'm about.

However, as you may have noticed, FLAIR® Equine Nasal Strips is one of my advertisers. I don't aggressively search for advertisers or sponsors because I don't have time (that's an understatement) and I am very particular about what or whom I want to have associated with Eventing Day, WEGcentral or any of my other sites.

I first noticed FLAIR Strips about five or six years ago on the XC course at Rolex.   Shortly thereafter, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with FLAIR inventor owner, Dr. Jim Chiapetta.  Dr. Chiapetta, a veterinarian, explained the concept of this interesting product to me and it made sense. These things should work.  We continued our conversation for several more years, chatting from time to time about the industry in which we both work.

FLAIR struck a cord with me -- a strong one. As a child, my grandfather demonstrated how a horse, specifically my beloved pony Peanuts, could only breath through her nose.  He pinched closed the soft nasal flaps of her nose and my pony promptly panicked -- jerking her head back out of his grasp, with a look of terror in her eyes. I never forgot that moment, the look in her eyes,  and how it seemed to make her (and myself) feel. And unfortunately, I don't believe I ever really forgave my grandfather for his little demo.  It made an indelible impression on a ten-year-old child.  So, when I understood the concept of the FLAIR Strip, all the pieces fell into place.

Over the years, as a photographer I have noticed, in my images, the collapse of the equine nostril as a horse is galloping a XC course, running the marathon, or on the racetrack.  I could line them all up here, crop after crop. The photo above clearly illustrates a small part of my "collection".  I have a file full of images.  Taken at the racetrack, the vet box, on the XC course, in the winner's circle and on that lonely also-ran walk back to the barn after a losing race.  So the way that the nasal strip supports this soft tissue to make it easier for a horse to breath -- it just makes sense to me.

Wait... you may say, she works for FLAIR.  She's biased. She has a vested interest in the product.  Yes, that's all true.  I admit that, as of WEG 2010, I do PR and marketing for FLAIR. Since last year, I've been lucky enough to represent a product that really works, one that does make the life of the animal better, happier, not to mention healthier because FLAIR is scientifically proven to reduce EIPH  -- a whole 'nother reason to use them.  No more panic in the eyes of a horse that, after finishing a race or making it to the vet box at the end of XC, looks white-eyed because it can't quite get enough air into it's lungs because its nostrils are collapsing with every deep breath.

So, I'm guilty.   I work to educate people as to the benefit of this small product that does so much for the horses we all love.  I wish FLAIR® had been around when I was a kid. So, if that's a conflict of interest, I'll take it anytime!

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