Go Cowgirl RN Blog

What do you do when your good barrel horse is at your front porch breathing 50 times a minute… two full hours after you have ridden him?

You panic and call the vet, anxious to know how to help him.  She told me there were 2 things that would make a horse breathe that fast, neither of which I wanted my friend to have.  One was tying up, and the other was anhidrosis.

The heat index in south central Texas has been brutal this summer, and she has seen more horses than usual afflicted with anhidrosis.  Seems the veterinary world doesn’t really know what causes this.

I took him to see Madalyn and she did body work and acupuncture on him every couple of weeks.   In between I did some basic Equine Touch work on him also.  He is on a good nutrition program of Simplexity Essentials and ABC minerals, but she added vitamin C, Chia seeds, daily electrolytes and a dark beer!

The dark beer is interesting.  I had to syringe it into his mouth the first day.  The next day I used 2 buckets, one with all his supplements and some grain, and one had the beer mixed with some grain.  By the third day I was able to mix it all together.  This is a horse that has always dropped grain all over the ground, but with the addition of the beer he puts his nose in the bucket now and doesn’t pick it up til he is done licking the bottom!  My beagle/mix is disappointed, as she made it her mission every morning to clean up what he dropped, and now there isn’t anything to clean up.

I continued to ride the horse lightly, early in the morning, but watched his breathing closely.  I would rinse him off and then scrape the excess water off.  In August there is little to no wind, and without the wind to dry him quickly the water would act like a wet suit and actually keep him hotter.  I also used Sore No More as a brace to cool him.

It took 3-4 weeks for him to start sweating again, but it seemed an eternity.   For now I will continue all his supplements, especially the beer.  My beagle/mix might lose some weight!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Also, holler at me if you want to know how I fund my horse addiction … and you can, too!

Dick Francis is one of my favorite mystery writers for many reasons, not the least of which is that he writes mystery novels about horses. But more importantly, I love his novels because all of his main characters, sleuths, have one thing in common:

Integrity

Sadly, integrity is a quality that most MLM marketers claim to have, but is questionable at best. Why is integrity so hard to come by, especially in online MLM marketing? Because it’s so much harder to be honest and have integrity. Having integrity often means that your business builds slower than the people who have the flashy websites featuring lots of happy people laughing on a yacht or bunches of “promises” highlighted in neon-yellow.

It’s sad. It’s also true. The good news is that you can (and should) build your MLM business online with integrity. It will serve you better in the long run.

Online MLM: Integrity Makes You the Last Man Standing
Talk to any successful MLM marketer who has been in business for 20 years or more, online or offline, and you will find people of integrity. The MLM marketer with integrity is literally the “last man standing.” Why? Because they make promises, and then they make good on their promises. Translated into “MLM  Speak” that means that they promise to train and lead prospects, often through a duplicatable system that has been proven to work, which eventually creates successful MLM business builders who contribute to the MLM marketer’s check … month after month after month.

In short, MLM marketers with integrity often take longer to build their businesses but end up with larger checks, stronger downline networks, and more residual income with less work over time.

And that is exactly how certain main characters in Dick Francis novels “make it” – they do it with integrity. They find that business growth is slower but business keeps getting better over time. For instance, in a recent Dick Francis novel I just read, “Knockdown,” bloodstock agent Jonah Dereham starts out lean and hungry but ends up with more business that he can handle as he becomes notorious for being one of the only honest agents around.

Online MLM: What it Means to Have Integrity
Since “integrity” is one of those vague words that is quicksilver to define, it might be a good idea to get  down to brass tacks and figure out what the word means in the world of online MLM. There are lots of ways to have integrity when promoting your MLM business online. I’ve started a short list here just to get you thinking.

To have integrity in online MLM, you can:

• speak honestly about your own experiences (good, bad, or ugly) – read why a little grunge is sometimes a good thing
• share real experiences and successes from your upline or downline
• be honest about the amount of time and effort that went into creating those successes
• demonstrate your approach to online MLM marketing on a consistent basis, be it daily, weekly, or monthly
• encourage downline members and support them with leadership and training, but be clear that success ultimately resides in the member’s own initiative and efforts
• match downline members with the prospecting and training programs that best fit their needs (i.e., would article marketing be a better fit or social media? Perhaps both?)
• be straightforward with the amount of time and effort you are truly willing to invest in downline business builders
• be honest about your own skills and achievements (just remember that honesty never means that you have to sell yourself short!)

I hope this short list gives you some ideas of how integrity might look in an online MLM business. There are lots of ways to exercise integrity when you promote your business online and as you support your downline. The goal is to find ways of working your business that are principled yet still allow you to work your MLM business in a way that suits your personality.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Or contact me if you want to join our MLM team. We are teaching people to dive into online MLM head first … successfully! Find out how to work with me. I’m holding out for a few good people. Really.

Guest Post: Madalyn Ward DVM

With over 170,000 unwanted horses in the United States, according to the American Horse Council, the number of horses showing up at horse sales and horse rescues, or simply “turned loose on the range,” is increasing.

As a result, the number of malnourished and skinny horses is also on the rise. Luckily, some of these horses are being adopted or rescued by good Samaritans. The trouble is that many good Samaritans have no idea how to feed skinny horses to restore them to health.

Three Steps for Feeding the Thin Horse
If you are one of these good Samaritans then you know the temptation to “feed up” the skinny horse in attempt to restore him to his proper weight. Unfortunately, simply shoving tons of food in front of a skinny horse is unlikely to produce the results you want, since a thin horse is often unable to digest or process huge amounts of food due to
a weakened digestive system. Instead of dumping tons of feed over the stall door, follow these three steps for feeding the thin horse.

Step #1: Fix the Cause of the Problem
Skinny horses tend to suffer from one or more health problems, so the first step to restoring the skinny horse is to discover those issues.  Health problems that are common among skinny horses include:

- teeth in need of floating
- parasites or worms
- lack of good horse feed and nutrition (malnourishment)
- stress, injury, or pain

The first three causes are fairly simple to address and understand, but the fourth is less straightforward. A horse that has been stressed, injured, or is in pain may lose quite a bit of weight, because these conditions can cause the formation of ulcers or may cause digestive upset. For these horses, it is a good idea to address digestive problems with products such as Stomach Soother, SUCCEED, or KAM Ulcer Formula (KAM UF).

Whatever the cause, once you have determined the health issues from which the horse may be suffering, the first step is to address those issues. For instance, if the horse has bad or broken teeth, you need to have his teeth floated before feeding him tons of food, otherwise he won’t be able to chew a single bite of that food.

Step #2: Horse Feed for the Skinny Horse
Once you have addressed any health issues that are causing the horse to lose weight, the next step is to create a diet that will nourish him but not create further digestive issues. Contrary to popular opinion, skinny horses do not need super rich, high fat meals in large quantity. Most skinny horses have such poor digestive tracts that they cannot process these kinds of meals.

Instead, focus on feeding the thin horse small, frequent meals that are easily digestible. If the horse has low energy, you can gradually increase up to one-and-a-half pounds of grain or pelleted feed per 100 pounds of body weight. Adding some oil or rice bran to the diet can also help. Alfalfa can help the horse put on weight, especially if he
is a picky eater or has ulcers, which makes him avoid grain.

If the horse has high energy, it is best to feed less grain and more hay. Adding some vegetable oil or rice bran to the grain can also encourage weight gain. Soaked beet pulp also helps the high-energy skinny horse gain weight.

Step #3: Supplements for Skinny Horses
Once you have created a diet suitable for your skinny horse, you may want to consider digestive supplements that can help your horse better digest his food. For instance, enzymes can help a horse get the most out of his feed. I have found that the SBG Zymes Plus from Simplexity Health support the digestive system along with having a warming effect, which is useful for thin horses.

Probiotics also help with digestion, along with healing the gut and boosting the horse’s immune system. Excellent sources of probiotics include acidophilus and bifidus from Simplexity Health, Fastrack from Conklin, PreProbiotics from Equilite/Arenus, and Pro-Bi from ABC.

For horses who have been stressed or traumatized, the herbal product Eleviv from XanGo is an excellent supplement which restores these horses to their natural, healing, parasympathetic nervous system.  Omega Sun blue-green algae from Simplexity Health is a good source of nutrition for these horses, providing dense nutrition without generating a lot of nervous energy.

For general, broad-spectrum nutrition, the Simplexity Essentials are both convenient and cost-effective. These daily packs contain two forms of blue-green algae (with and without the cell wall), probiotics, and enzymes. Thin horses thrive on 1-2 packs daily.

Finally, you may want to consider digestive herbs such as marshmallow root, slippery elm, or aloe vera to give your horse’s digestive system a boost.

Caring for the Skinny Horse
Bringing a skinny horse from the brink of malnourishment back to glowing good health can be a long trek, depending on how many health issues you have to address. Luckily, a solid nutritional foundation can do wonders for skinny horses, once the major health issues have been addressed. For more information on feeding, nutrition, and holistic care of horses, skinny or otherwise, check out the Holistic Horsekeeping book.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Also, holler at me if you want to know how I fund my horse addiction … and you can, too!

Depression…Stress…Strokes…is there a connection?

I am inclined to think there may be one.  I don’t have any double- blind scientific studies to corroborate my findings, just some anecdotal incidences from my own life to talk about.

Stress and Strokes:

My dad has suffered from un-diagnosed depression for many years.  He has 5 stents in his heart, and one in his right carotid artery.  He is a Type A personality, and his life has not gone as planned.  He’s had several businesses fail even though he worked hard at them.  God and the nutritional support from Xango juice are the only reasons he never suffered a stroke, as his right carotid artery was 95% blocked when they put the stent in.

My uncle recently passed away from his 2nd major stroke in one month.  He was younger than my dad by 3 years, and his life was even more stress-packed than my dad’s.   He suffered from depression most of his life; alcohol was his drug of choice.

A good friend from work lost her son this past January, and is in the throes of grief.  She is mad at God, her son, and at times everyone else.  This is part of grief.  She suffered a mild stroke this week.  Her stress level was high before she lost her son; her job at work is the most stressful one here.  Her blood pressure was high before the death of her son, and this week it went off the charts.

Stress and Depression:

I am the laid-back child of overachievers, and have never quite lived up to expectations.  I have lost a husband to death and in the process lost 2 step-children, 2 step- grandchildren and my way of life.

I have lived with a lot of stress throughout my life, and know that depression has played a part in it at times.   I just accepted this as normal…I mean, isn’t everyone these days stressed out?

Healing:

The day we learned of my uncle’s death my dad asked me why…why didn’t my uncle get better, why my uncle and not him.  The only answer I could give my dad was that God intervened in my dad’s life.   That and the fact that I have him on some holistic supplements that I truly believe have been instrumental in keeping him healthy.  I take the same supplements; Xango juice and Eleviv.  The juice has anti-inflammatory properties equivalent to some steroids, and the Eleviv reduces Cortisol levels which in turn reduce stress and level your moods.

Stress is inevitable in today’s society, but armed with prayer, good nutrition and  supplements, it’s more than manageable.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.  Also, holler at me if you want to know how I fund my horse addiction … and you can, too!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alancleaver/ / CC BY 2.0

I have started down this blogging journey with a few friends and business associates, and I’m really enjoying it, or should I say most of it.

I spent several hours the last few days writing a blog that to me was ground breaking news coming out of the established medical field.  I was so excited when I read the e-mail containing the information, that I took it at face value and converted the article to a blog.  I had pictures and key words and everything!  I published it late Monday night to arrive in my blog early Tues morning.  I wondered at the time why I just didn’t publish it right then, and now I know.

We all have that small voice somewhere inside of us that comments occasionally and I am learning to listen to it more these days.  Unfortunately I didn’t listen soon enough this time.  The information in the e-mail supposedly came from Johns Hopkins, about cancer, chemotherapy and radiation.

I have been on the natural medicine path for several years now, and this article was saying all the things I have been learning all these years.  Finally, I thought the medical field, which I work in every day, was “getting it”.

So, after I got the blog published, (think putting a crying baby finally to bed!) I re-read the blog, and the small voice said go to the internet and look up the article for verification.  I have already made the mistake of guest hosting a blog and not giving proper credit, so I looked it up.

I got uneasy when the article title came up so readily on Google, and sure enough, there was the article with a rebuttal from Johns Hopkins.  I was disappointed for 2 reasons:  I wanted the article to be true, and I had just spent several hours getting the blog posted.  I had to hit the TRASH button, and that was hard!

Long story short is – due diligence in the beginning keeps the trash man away!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.  Also, holler at me if you are interested in getting on the natural medicine path yourself, and learn how to get paid doing it.
Photo Credit:

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I live in a country that I love dearly.  I grew up in a democratic society, but we are having socialism forced down our throats under the guise of “political correctness”.  If you study recent history, you’ll see that socialism never works for the people, just the elect few that force it down your throat and take away your freedoms.  It’s time for the “silent majority” to speak up.   The words and sentiments below are from Andy Rooney, spoken on CBS’s 60 Minutes a few weeks ago.  I totally agree with him, and he says it better than I can.

I don’t think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America and see what happens…Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.

Guns do not make you a killer.  I think killing makes you a killer.  You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.

I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, which is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts!

I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.

I have the right ‘NOT’ to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off.

When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling; it is the Law of Probability.

I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English!  As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American citizen, you should have to speak English!

My father and grandfather didn’t die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.

I think the police should have every right to shoot you if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can’t understand the word ‘freeze’ or ’stop’ in English, see the above lines.

I don’t think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business.

We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document and open to their interpretations.

I don’t hate the rich; I don’t pity the poor.

I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn’t stop you from watching them.

I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more.  If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that’s better, and put your name on the building.

It doesn’t take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid and say ‘NO!’ when necessary.

I think tattoos and piercings are fine if you want them, but please don’t pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals. I don’t want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me French fries!

I am sick of ‘Political Correctness.’ I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa, so how can they be ‘African-Americans’?  Besides, Africa is a continent. I don’t go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was from Europe.  I am proud to be from America and nowhere else.

And if you don’t like my point of view, tough…

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD,

INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a problem in having ‘In God We Trust’ on our money and having “God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.  Why don’t we just tell the 14% to BE QUIET!!!

Guest Post: Why structure is your friend
Molly Gordon

Two years ago my mastermind buddy, Mark Silver suggested we meet daily in an online forum to post our intentions and goals. The idea was that we could help each other be accountable.

I gagged.

But I set up the forum anyway, and played with setting monthly goals and daily actions.

Mostly what I actually did deviated quite a bit from what I said I would do. I’d spend an afternoon doing “research” on the Internet instead of writing an article. Or I’d begin writing a new ebook instead of writing the landing page for an existing one.

After a few months I got something that I kind of knew in the first place: I’m a highly distractible human being.

Like I said, I already knew that. But keeping track of how that played out on a daily basis showed me the cost of not following a system. It also gave me the practice I needed to be more structured.

Activity isn’t action.  Activity is bustle and busyness. It can as easily mean running in circles as creating a result. And activity can keep you busy as all get out with little or nothing to show for it.
Activity stimulates your nervous system. It feeds on adrenaline, which can make you feel like you’re getting a lot done. It’s addictive, in its way, even when it isn’t particularly pleasurable.

Action, on the other hand, is taking a specific step, moving systematically toward a stated goal. Even when you aren’t completely certain about what action to take, deciding on the next step and taking it will move you forward. But a single action may not feel immediately rewarding. It generally takes a sequence of actions to generate pleasurable momentum.

Momentum is worth short-term restlessness.
One of the chief excuses for free associating instead of planning is that choosing and following through on specific actions seems rather boring, even unnatural-especially when it means resisting the siren call of bright shiny objects.

But restlessness is a short-term response to the modest stimulation of small actions. When you repeat enough small actions toward a single goal, momentum starts to build. Once you experience this momentum, the restlessness goes away.

Momentum means deferred gratification.
Sticking with small actions until momentum starts to build means deferring gratification. And one of the myths of self-employment is that it ought to be gratifying. After all, few people quit their day jobs so they can do what they don’t particularly want to do.

So it’s natural that you might prefer to free associate your tasks rather that structure them and follow a plan. You might even think this is your right as an Accidental Entrepreneur.
But building momentum toward a result means doing the scut work along with the engaging pieces. And it means staying on task for a sustained period, otherwise you end up with a bunch of partly completed projects. (Which is one way to keep yourself from generating income. It’s hard to sell what isn’t complete.)

Gratification does come.
Fortunately, deferred gratification doesn’t mean no gratification. Once momentum kicks in, the rewards are many, not least increased confidence, a sense of purpose, and a complete work product.

And then there’s self-knowledge.
It’s remarkable how much you can learn about yourself if you stay awake while you transition to structured action.

Know thyself, be more whole, and earn more money
You might not automatically associate self-knowledge and wholeness with a bigger income. But the three go together when you’re self-employed.

Your mileage may vary, and here’s a sampling of things I learned about myself as I moved toward a more structured way of working.
Not feeling like doing something has nothing to do with whether or not I can do it, and do it well.
This was a revelation. I discovered that I could step through writing an article or an entire workbook whether or not I felt like it. And the work was as good, if not better, when I felt some resistance.

Distractibility is directly related to fear of failure.
When I’m stumped or lacking confidence, it’s a lot easier to chase a bright shiny object than to stick with what’s in front of me. I learned that fear of failure is not terminal. I can work when I’m afraid as well as when I’m not, so long as I remain aware and patient with myself.

Productivity is profitable, and that feels good.
Who knew that being productive could make earning a profit feel so good? And I don’t mean only in the sense that it’s nice to make money. I mean that there is a relationship between creating and earning that feels generative and right.

The results are worth the learning curve
Focus and structured action don’t need to come naturally. You can develop these skills by practicing and noticing your process. Don’t beat yourself up for deviating from the path, just notice what’s going on and be curious about that. Keep setting goals and defining the steps. Keep noticing what happens. You will get the hang of it.