You’ve heard the saying, “if Mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy.” But for one team roper, keeping Mama happy, means keeping her healthy, and that health starts inside with a healthy gut. You see, “Mama” is the 14-year-old mare that Ozark Region Collegiate Champion Team Roper, Strand Barricklow ropes on. He depends on Mama to help him make speedy times – in fact, times fast enough that he and his roping partner, Britt Driggers, qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo in June in Casper, Wyo.
Barricklow, from Lebanon, Ind., attends Southern Arkansas University on rodeo scholarships where in addition to team roping, he also calf ropes. He is going into his senior year and majors in Ag Business. Barricklow has been roping off Mama for two years, and about six months into their competing together, Mama showed signs of ulcers. That is when Barricklow started her on Vitalize® Equine products.
“My heading horse started acting like she was getting ulcers, so I started her on Vitalize® Equine High Performance Pellets, and she seemed to be in less pain not reacting to the ulcer symptoms,” Barricklow said, “Then I started feeding her Vitalize® Equine Digest More® Plus, and she started eating more of her hay, filled out better, and has had no issues with Colic or ulcers since she’s been on the products.”
Vitalize products include Amaferm®, a natural prebiotic designed to maximize the nutritional value of feed. It is research-proven to significantly increase digestion and improve gut health.
Barricklow said both he and Mama made the 18-hour trip to Casper to the CNFR without any glitches. Mama stayed fresh and felt really good when she got to Wyoming for the rodeo. The team from Southern Arkansas University placed seventh in the second round, and already have their sights set on competing well enough next year to qualify again for collegiate finals.
But in the short-term, Barricklow is going to keep traveling, roping in rodeos with the goal to qualify for the IFR. He’ll be busy keeping Mama happy, along with his two other horses. With the help of Vitalize, keeping his trio of horses happy and healthy just got a little easier.
