July 21, 2008
Volume 4, Number 14

Hello, Friends!

I hope all is well with you and you have been enjoying the summer. I have been really enjoying the summer riding with and watching my two boys ride. I took my son, Brent, to his first MBRA Event a couple of weeks ago. It started at 7:00pm and we got home at 1:00am. Brent had a great time, with his new horse Smokey, competing in barrels, poles, and goat tying. The experience was similar to going to a five hour T-Ball game which means you should only invite your immediate family to watch. The folks in this organization are great and it is so neat to see how they help one another.

Congratulations goes out to the Buck Creek & Lonesome Pine Ranch Rodeo Team. They took home first this past weekend at a WRCA Ranch Rodeo event in Liberal, Kansas. This qualifies the team to compete at this year’s World Finals in Lubbock, Texas this coming November. The team consist of four of the best with Randy Peterson, Bud Higgs, Grady Gibb, and Adrian Vogel. They reside down in the beautiful Flint Hills country near Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.

This past weekend was the Better Horses Radio Show’s debut in Springfield, MO on 92.9 FM Bass Country. We air every Sunday morning at 5:00 am on this station. Check out more about our Radio Show and Events at www.betterhorsesradio.com.

Make sure you mark your calendar for Oct. 23 thru Oct.25th for the PRCA Prairie Circuit Finals to be held at the American Royal in Kansas City. During this weekend Purina and Better Horses Radio will be putting on the first “UNBELIEVABLE HORSE HAPPENING” in Hale Arena at the American Royal. It is a huge Open Horse Show with special classes targeted to the 4-H community. Along with this great event a three-day Trade Show along with clinics going on all day will be held. If you are interested in setting up a booth at this 3 day Trade Show, contact me or Pat Mead at the American Royal. Her number is 816/221-9800. Featured at this Unbelievable Horse Happening will be a clinic by equine clinician, Craig Cameron. Craig will also be hosting the Extreme Youth 4-H Trail Class on Friday afternoon. The bottom line is for these three days at the Royal there will be 4 PRCA RODEOS including the Finals on Saturday night, along with a MEGA OPEN HORSE SHOW, CLINICS & A GREAT TRADE SHOW. If you love horses and rodeos, plan to be there that weekend. Check out more about the Unbelievable Horse Happening by going to www.betterhorsesnetwork.com.

Don’t forget to sign up and join us for our 9th Annual Dream Ride In The Flint Hills, this Sept. 27, 28, & 29th at the Flying W Ranch near Cottonwood Falls. This is a great time and we would love to have you join us. Call me or Suzan Barnes at the Grand Central Hotel. Her number is 620/273-6763.

My deadline for advertising in the Better Horses Network Fall Issue is Aug.15th. If interested in running an ad, give my wife, Connie, a call at 785/418-2615 or call me at 785/418-6047.

I want to thank those of you who are feeding the Purina Program. For those of you who are not we would love to show you what the Checkerboard can do for you. Our Strategy Trial program is available for those that would like to see how Purina can make the difference. With the trial program it takes the risk out of trying it. In today’s economic climate, it is more important than ever to feed as efficient as possible. When you look at cost/head/day and top performance, Purina’s Premium lines of horse feeds are the way to go. Give us a call today, and let us show you what Purina can do for you.

I hope to see you soon and let me know if I can ever be of a help to you. Enjoy the summer!

Happy Trails!

Ernie

Calendar of Events:

The Better Horses Radio Show

            Tune in to one of the stations airing our show:
              
                Saturday    9:00am - 10:00am         KMDO 1600 am - Fort Scott, KS
                Saturday    4:00pm - 5:00pm          KFRM   550 am - Clay Center/Salina/Wichita, KS
                Sunday      5:00am - 6:00am           KOMG  92.9 fm - Bass Country, Ozark, MO
                Sunday      6:00am - 7:00am           KTPK   106.9 am - (Country Legends) Topeka, KS
                Sunday      6:30am - 7:30am           KFEQ   680 am - St. Joe, MO
                Sunday      9:00am - 10:00am         KDKD  95.3 fm - Clinton, MO
                Sunday      4:00pm - 5:00pm           KOFO  1220 am - Ottawa, KS
                Sunday      4:00pm - 5:00pm           KTJJ    98.5 fm - Farmington, MO

PLUS . . . we've gone cross-country with the Better Horses Network!
  WOCA - Ocala, FL       WLEG - Lexington, KY  
 

             

For rates and placement information, please click here.		For rates and placement information, please click here

New Classified Ad Listing!  Check out our "Real Estate - Rental" section for some nice horse property for rent just south of Kansas City, MO!
(Click on Classified Ads logo above)

LISTING EVENTS IN OUR NEWSLETTER -- If you are an organization or business who would like to list your event in our Calendar Section, click on the Event Listings box above for rates.  Then contact Jo Ann Riggs at e-mail address listed with your request.

CLASSIFIED AD LISTING --  If you are interested in a Classified Ad listing, click on the Classified Ad box above.  Rates and placement information is located directly below the box.  Simply click on "please click here."  Be sure to check our Classifieds each newsletter as ads are changing all the time.

NEW CATEGORY FOR WEBSITES -- Due to many requests for website listings, we have a new section in our Classified Ads called WEB LINKS.  Check this section from time to time as we add website links that may be of interest to you.  Enter our Classified Ads and click on Web Links, then click on the name listed and you will be taken directly to that party's website. 

 Our subscriber list has grown to over 8,600+ recipients -- almost entirely horse-owning households! 
 Our ad and event services are a great way to reach those people!

Horse Management Tip

Breeding/Health/Vaccination Records

If you own one mare or one hundred and one mares, an excellent tool to keep you on top of breeding dates, health records, vaccination reminders, etc., etc. is Intervet’s www.foalcare.com . It is a great tool and easy to use. The other great feature of this website is it is totally free!

Thank you, Intervet, for taking the horse owner’s horse experience to a higher level.

                                                                                                                            - Ernie Rodina
 

Horsey Treat Recipe 

Got a special birthday coming up sometime soon for your favorite horse?  Celebrate the occasion with . . .

My Horse's Birthday Cake

    1 plastic bowl (Cool Whip bowl will work fine)
    2-3 large carrots, chopped up lengthwise
    1 large apple, chopped up
    molasses
    brown sugar
    white sugar cubes

Take part of carrots and put them in bottom of bowl.  Add apples, then do one more layer of carrots.  Pack the top with some brown sugar.  Then take some molasses and drip it over the top.  Add a few sugar cubes over the top for decoration.

Now invite some of your horse's friends over for a birthday party (as this may be a little too much for just one horse)!  Have fun with your special pal!

Thoughts To Ponder
      By Charley Green

Obstacles

Many of those obstacles in our path can be considered cow paddies.  Sometimes those cow paddies show up out of the blue; however, most of them we manage to put there ourselves.  Everyone encounters cow paddies on their ride through life; and if we make the effort to step around or over them, life would be a whole lot less challenging and our boots a whole lot cleaner.

When it comes to making foolish choices and stepping in it (been there, done that), that kind of decision making is called "The Cow Paddy Quickstep," i.e., zigging when you should have zagged.

Folks should follow The Cow Paddy Golden Rule:  "Look before you step, and don't try boot scooting a chow chip out of your path on a hot Kansas day."  By following this rule, it's a good way to avoid winding up with a B.S. degree in CPE (Cow Paddy Education).

To read a little more about Charley, Click Here. or visit Charley's website at www.willrogersandcharley.com.       
       

"Add-A-Friend" to receive the Better Horses Network . .

Remember, if you have a friend or neighbor who would enjoy receiving our  twice-a-month Better Horses Network electronic newsletter . . . sign them up on the registration form provided on the Better Horses Network web-site.

(Click here for detailed instructions)      - OR -      (Click here to go directly to Registration Form)

Timely Reminder

                                            If you have any horses with any special needs issue, Purina’s NEW WellSolve™ Diets are now available. 

As always, let me know if we can be of any help to you and your horse operation.  When it comes to Equine Research, Purina Mills is the company that can say . . .

“WE FEED OUR FEED TO OUR HORSES, BEFORE WE ASK YOU TO FEED IT TO YOURS!”

Useful Websites For Horse Owners:    (For direct link to any of the useful websites listed below, Click Here)

Questions & Comments:

We at Better Horses Network would love to hear any questions, comments or suggestions you might have, and we are always looking for items to add to this publication.  To contact us, please send an e-mail to Ernie.Rodina@agbusinessmail.net.

For placement of stallions in the Stallion Corral section, please contact Connie at the following e-mail address: Connie.Rodina@agbusinessmail.net.   For Classified Ad placement, please send an e-mail to JoAnn at JoAnn.Riggs@agbusinessmail.net .

Be sure that you don't miss a single issue of the Better Horses Network E-Newsletter!  Please add Ernie.Rodina@agbusinessmail.net to your address book, especially if you are a Yahoo!, America Online or Hotmail user.  This will help ensure you'll receive all deliveries from us in a timely and consistent manner.

All past issues of the Better Horses Network and all associated event flyers can be viewed on-line by clicking here.

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Contact Information:

To submit any information you would like us to consider for publication on our website, in the printed publication or on this newsletter, e-mail your information to associate editor, Joann.Riggs@agbusinessmail.net .  Also, we are always interested in hearing your ideas about the value of this newsletter or whether you have any problems downloading or viewing this document.

If you are not currently receiving our printed publication of Better Horses Network and would like to be on our mailing list, please send your check in the amount of $10.00 payable to Better Horses Network and mail to Better Horses Network, PO Box 722, Ottawa, KS   66067.  OR . . . go to our website at BetterHorsesNetwork.com and click on "Registration Center."  You will be guided through the easy process of paying for your subscription on-line through PayPal.  Either way, you will be a subscriber and will receive five issues of our Better Horses Network magazine mailed directly to your home. ( If you don't want to receive it in the mail, you can always pick up a free copy at your local participating Purina Dealer or other distribution points, but your subscription will assure timely delivery directly to your home.)

Remember, if you have additional e-mail addresses of friends or contacts that you would like to add to our electronic newsletter subscriber list, see section above entitled "Add-A-Friend" to get them on our e-mail mailing list -- or you can always contact Ernie.Rodina@agbusinessmail.net or surface mail to:

Better Horses Network
10715 Kahlmeyer Dr.
St. Louis, MO  63132

Happy Trails Everyone!

Ernie Rodina