On the Road again!

Today is the American Royal Barrel Race, just another barrel race I know but for me it is such an exciting day. It is webcasted and my grandparents have never seen me run barrels ever! They are going to be able to sit in the comfort of their living room and watch me. Wow how exciting!!

My day started out great.. found a match set of bra and underwear.. not that is definitely a good sign!!

NEVER wish bad luck on a Black Cat !!!

Last Friday I was driving home from having breakfast in town with my father-in-law when a stinking black cat ran out in front of me. RIGHT in front of my truck on the road... now he was heading into the yard of a nice sized bull terrier dog so in my internal thoughts I said to myself. "Go Getem Fido" Now let me tell you NEVER to wish back luck on a black cat the week before Halloween. Whether you are superstitious or not.. it just isn't a good idea!!

Because when I got home just seconds later I was greeting by one of our horse with this injury!! YES!! It is horrible! Now if you can not tell this is a right front leg of a nice sized horse. The cut started just past the midpoint of her chest and went all the way around her outer leg to her "arm pit". I go into ACTION mode.. you know that mode, where you become wonder women in a blink of an eye. The trailer jack broke about a week ago and I was really in no hurry to get it fixed, cause every time I hook it up Mike is here and he does it for me so I wasn't in any hurry to get the jack fixed... BAD IDEA! Cause now I had to hook the gooseneck up without a functional jack. NO PROBLEM!! Superwomen can do it with in a blink of an eye!! So I hook the broken jacked 4 horse trailer up, load her up into the trailer.. thank goodness she could still walk on it and make a call to the vet to say "I am on my way with a bad one! " They all know me very well at the vet office and for me to haul a horse to them it MUST be bad. I am just one of those old timers who take care of things on my own and deal with them the old fashion way. NOT this one!!! She needed them and my superwoman powers where not going to help me with this one! ;o)

After 7 packages of sutures.. yes PACKAGES!! ... countless staples, a drain, something called mattress staples on the outside, the vet was able to reconstruct the muscle that the front half was completely torn in two. It took him about 4 hours of patience and tedious suturing, but he did it. It looks amazing absolutely amazing. He expects her to completely recover from the injury. We are post injury day 4 today and we are planning to pull the drain out this evening.

The obviously logical question is what in the world did the horse get hurt on. We don't have crap in our pasture, nothing, no old down fences, no post or fences were even touched. We don't have metal or anything out in our pastures for a horse to get hurt on. SO WE THOUGHT!! There is an old cedar tree down in the pasture that needs to be cut up. Yes, that was the culperate. She had ran a stick from that tree up into her chest and ripped her leg open on it. It seems almost impossible, but that is how she did it. I will post photos of her recovery and anything that I can as far as updates.

As of now she is doing GREAT! Thanks to the vets and SUPERWOMEN :o) Where the heck is she when I need my laundry pile done??? I need her!!

Barrel Racing Mom's are Like Homeland Security Officers-Prepared for everything!!

Deal of the Day:

Free Super Pocket Pro Clipper with the purchase of Wahl KM-2 Clipper
Horse.com Deal of the Month

I am always looking for new deals so if you know of a deal or a equine site that offers deals please email me the information and I can share it with everyone!!


Today's Thought from Cowgirl Mom:


I started rodeoing at pro rodeos when I was 16, back before you had to be 18 to get your PRCA/WPRA permit. I would haul with just about anyone who would take me. I have had some GREAT stories and fond memories of so so many of the people that I went to rodeos with back then. It was such a blessing to have such great people that would take me under their wings and haul me to the rodeos. I always packed two duffel bags to go on my trips. I wanted to make sure that my "stuff" didn't inconvenience whoever was hauling me. So one bag with clothes and personal items and one bag with horse items: hay bag, bridle, brushes, wraps, feed in individual baggies one for each feeding. I would pack a bale of hay, and my saddle. Now picture me standing out in front of my house, two duffel bags, saddle, bale of hay and a horse. I was READY to go for several days to just about anywhere the truck and trailer was going. We hauled from Mankato, MN to Sikeston, MO and everywhere in between in the Great Lakes Circuit.

Now when I pack to go for an hour ride at the local indoor arena it is an amazing feat how much "stuff" it takes to haul a couple of kids along with you. I feel like my horse trailer is a UHAUL! As any of you know that have kids you can't just "throw" them into the truck and head out. NO NO NO, you MUST prepare for ANY possible emergency. I am convinced that the government needs to hire a cowgirl mom for the National Homeland Security Preparedness position.. whatever that position is caused. Cause we have to prepare for everything including acts of terrorist (bully kicking dirt into a kids eyes) and extreme acts of God (how many rodeos have we been to where a tornado sirens went off???) Every time we head out the door with our kids we are prepared for EVERYTHING. You have all been there and you know what I mean!!!

This Friday I went a few miles away from the house to ride for two hours. Now you would think I would be able throw a couple of kids in the truck and head out.... nope. We must prepare for any upcoming "snack "attacks, then if we have snacks it is a MUST we have drinks to accompany them! My trailer is always packed with a slew of toys.. heck I haul a complete Barbie Dream house along with her car, horse, truck and trailer and all the accessories with me everywhere... hey it is a GREAT tip, they are plastic, wash easily and fold up to an easy traveling size!! I have to pack, gloves, hats, changes of clothes, everything one could imagine for any possible issue that arise in the short amount of time. I have a complete first aid kid for humans and horses. It is just amazing if I listed everything not only would you be bored but my blog would take me all afternoon to finish!!

My point of all this is that when you are a mom and you are following your dreams... sometimes the dream seems to be much harder to pursue. There are so many other people that you have to think about other than your self. On the other hand nothing makes a cowgirl mom feel better than to hear one of their daughters yell out during the run... "outside leg MOM,  make him finish that turn!!!!!" Does a heart proud!!

Winning Cowgirls Don't have Muffin Tops

I have to admit I am a glass half empty person. If the weather man says that it is going to be a 50% chance of rain... I will tell my husband better make sure you plan for rain today. I don't mean to be negative, pessimistic, I just see a 50% chance of showers as a pretty darn good indication it is going to rain today :o)

So that said I look at winning barrel racers for what they do and don't have. I have observed that most are young, thin, long haired, rich, married..thinking that is their sugar daddies paying for it all ...  no children and they have the world by the reins.  I look hard every time I watch a major barrel race or read about a winning barrel racer to see if they have children, jobs and some of the responsiblities that I feel sometimes hold me back. Those girls going to the NFR with 3 children and a full time job are pretty much non-existent. Just to be clear my aspirations don't include the NFR anytime soon, but I think the juggling of my responsibilities and my horses is tough so I truly look for those girls that have winning careers and families to see how they balance it all.

I need to take those positives that I find in winning cowgirls and place them in my life.  I need to not just look at the positives that they have but realize that they might have some hidden negatives. Maybe they only have 2 children, but they don't have an awesome supportive husband like I do. Maybe they are a master organizer, but not nearly as good of a cook as me. Maybe they are richer in money but don't have 3 awesome kids who love them to the moon and back!

Now to the real problem! :o) I have always been a very thin small framed person. Since I have had three kids the muffin top skin of three pregnancies just doesn't always tuck into my jeans.  So instead of blaming my kids or my responsibilities for my inability to go as much as I want and win as much as I want... I am blaming the muffin top!!!!

Winning Cowgirls Don't have Muffin Tops

Mom's Dreams SHOULD come FIRST

So many mothers put their lives on hold while they raise their children, to me this is a mistake. Yes I love my children, and yes they make me smile and joyful. BUT they are not my everything, I know that will turn so many people off but my children just are not my everything. When I grew up all I ever wanted to be was a barrel racer I didn't dream of weddings, children, jobs.... just barrel racing. I wanted people to say "This Little Girls Dreams ALL Come TRUE!"

I LOVE horses and barrel racing almost as much as I love my husband and my kids. Call it wrong.. I don't care- it is MY truth, MY reality.  But for me to be able to continue this sport I love, I need to find a balance of it and my family. I have a super supportive husband that will work his butt off all week to support us then haul with me to the rodeos or jackpots. Dealing with diapers and dollies, he even says he enjoys it. Whether he really does or not I don't know, but he says he does.  I have 3 great kids who LOVE to watch me and ride with me.  I have a modest home and I am currently returning to school to further my education.  I have an awesome solid rodeo gelding who could take me to any rodeo I want to go to and give them a run for their money. I have a nice younger backup horse to bring alone as is needed. I have the knowledge, the talent and the ablitity. YES I do, I have it ALL!! I need to to find a way to balance it all. To find a nitch of time for each of the WANTS and the HAVE TO DOs.


That is why I am writing this. I hope to post a little bit every few days of my journey of "Having It ALL".  It is a way for me to have accountablity for the HAVE TO DOs and the WANT TO DOs. I HAVE TO DO the laundry, the cooking, the shopping, the taking care of sick kids, the running them to and from school, the volunteering for school activities the list goes on and on.  But also make sure that somewhere amoungst all this I find time for the WANT TO DOs. The riding a few times a week, the entering of barrel races and rodeos and all the things that make ME happy. Because even though I am a mom of three, full time student, wife and homemaker, I am still a barrel racer and that job NEEDS to be very bit as important as the other ones I listed. Because it is that job that makes ME the most happy. And If MOMMA AINT HAPPY.. AINT NOBODY HAPPY :o)