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HoofPrints Newsletter
March 8, 2011 Issue
I TRAIN HORSES... To Eat Carrots
Now on a T-shirt! We've had many requests for this and frankly, I'd been
Carrot orange t-shirt

dragging my feet. Finding good ladies shirts at wholesale pricing in ORANGE is a taller order than most would suspect. My own wardrobe is chock full of all manner of ladies t-shirts that I've gotten in as samples over the years. None of them passed my tests with flying colors. Either they were cut way too small, or were too short, or the sleeves were too tight (I HATE that - being restricted around the armpits). The ones that passed my "comfort test" were not very feminine - they just looked like men's shirts with skinnier collars and smaller sizing. It really was quite a dilemma. The ones I liked the most had limited color selection - and orange was out of the question, unless I wanted "safety orange" which is too gaudy for the effect I was trying to achieve.

Then, as luck would have it, I got a spring catalog from a vendor who we'd previously not purchased from - their styles are very fashionable - young and hip - but most are in junior (read: TINY) sizes that we normal women can't hope to fit into. But this time was different - they have this wonderful heathered ORANGE t-shirt - feminine cut, comfortable AND in sensible WOMENS sizes! I could hardly believe our good fortune. The fabric is soft, fashionable heathered orange - AND it launders great with no special care (I tested it myself). It's a cotton/poly blend that comes out of the dryer the same size it was when it went in! (can you tell I am excited?) The only downside is that it's a limited edition color and once these are gone we won't be able to get any more once these are sold. It's a great price at just $14.95 each - or get some for your friends and pay only $39.00 for 3!
To order click here.

The Cowgirl's Cookbook
If Eve had been a ranch woman, she would have never tempted Adam with an apple. She would have ordered him to make his meal himself!
Cowgirls CookbookThe above quote by Anthony Trollope (1862) is from page 70, which also features (rather appropriately) Raw Apple Cake.

The Cowgirl's Cookbook is only $12.95 and it features recipes for your home on the range. It's softcover, 98 pages and profusely illustrated throughout with black and white photos, art and drawings.

You'll learn all about historical cowgirls and ranch women. Including some unexpected details about Georgia O'Keefe, Fannie Sperry Steele (World Champion Bronc Rider), Connie Reeves (oldest Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee at 101!) and more

You'll learn to make delicious Cinnamon Sugar Muffins, Cajun Meat Loaf, Kentucky Corn Pudding, and Cowgirl Fudge. And in case it's ever necessary, you'll know how to cook Rattlesnake, Rocky Mountain Oysters, and Hen's Arms. Yum.

Try this recipe:

Rio Brazos Salad

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (16 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup seeded and chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup seeded and chopped green bell pepper

4 scallions chopped (including the tops) or 1 small sweet onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

1 (4 oz) can black olives, chopped

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons tomato salsa

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Sour cream

 

In a large bowl, combine beans, corn, peppers, scallions, celery and olives.

In another bowl, stir together lemon juice, salsa, and olive oil. Combine the salsa mixture and bean mixture. Add more salsa to taste. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Top salad with dollops of sour cream

from The Cowgirl's Cookbook page 41


This is just the best little cookbook. Along with the expected delicious recipes, it's full of wonderful cowgirl facts, photos, trivia, anecdotes and more. Every page has a recipe, along with all this extra stuff to make it fun and interesting. To order click here

  

Celebrating the Spirit of Horses
Unbridled Beauty - with paintings by Chris Cummings
Unbridled Beauty BookThis book is a great one to pick up when you need a little inspiration. Cummings' beautiful horse paintings on each page are paired with several thoughtful quotes - many from the Bible, some from famous authors, others from horsemen and women.

Each time I look at it, something different jumps out at me - something relevant for the challenge of that day.

Also makes a great gift - the inside front has a space to write the recipient's name, the presenter's name, and the occasion - for an added special touch.

Hardcover, 48 pages and only $17.95! To order click here
It's MUCKING FABULOUS... this sweatshirt
the WORST thing about it is - we can't get any more :-(
Mucking Fabulous logoWhen ever we find a wonderful product that's produced by another company, we know there is a risk involved. If they decide to stop making it, then we are at their mercy. And that's the case with this one.  DAV is famous for their high fashion brightly colored / patterned rubber boots. They've only recently been "discovered" by horsewomen wanting to make a statement while keeping their feet dry in the rain, mud and manure. We're tickled that they've come up with this jaunty pony-tailed gal and her manure fork, screenprinted on the back of a sweatshirt with the words "Mucking Fabulous". For all of us who think mud and manure is, well, fabulous. This slate grey, 100% cotton french terry zippered hoodie is a lighter weight fabric that's perfect for chilly days. We only have size SMALL & LARGE left - so if you've been wanting one of these, don't wait to order. To see it click here.
 MORE New Farriers Business Cards added to the directory
I belong to several online horse groups, and nearly every day someone is
march business card composite looking for a farrier. There are many reasons for this - and I think we are quick to assume the worst when the "I can't find a farrier..." scenario comes up. Sometimes there's a reason that owners can't get a farrier to come, (bad working conditions, slow to pay, etc) or sometimes it's the farrier (won't show up on time, is rough with the horse(s), etc.) and we tend to gravitate toward that kind of thinking. But the fact is, there are lots of reasons farriers and owners need to "shop around" until they find a good fit. And they aren't all negative. For every story I hear about a farrier that won't keep appointments, or an owner who has unruly horses, I also hear stories about wonderful relationships between owners, farriers and their horses. If you take the time to get it right, hoof care can be a whole lot less of a headache for everybody involved.

Since I started listing the business cards on our Facebook page

(as well as in the directory) I am delighted that our followers frequently take the time to chime in a kind word about their farrier. So, it's in that spirit that I list below our first batch of 2011 directory additions. (The cards shown here are for illustration purposes, were randomly chosen and are in no particular order.) Click on the state to view details for each farrier listed below.


Arizona - Merrill E. Telleen
Canada - Vince Holland
Connecticut - Matt Trask
Delaware - Abner Hershberger
Florida - Jeff Klepinger
Georgia - Benjamin Flanagan, Shane Stephens
Iowa - Randy Hensley
Idaho - Jim Mason
Illinois - Steve Hedges, Midwest Forge & Horseshoeing School
Kansas - Brent Blomberg
Louisiana - Marie Daniels
Massachusetts- Tim O'Brien, Donna Watson
Maine - Martin Fahey
Mississippi - Clay Loftis
North Carolina - Roy Barnes, Aaron Wheeler
New Hampshire - Lester Barthelemy, Brendan Short
Ohio - Kyle Foreman, Steven J. Marko
Pennsylvania - Aaron Cox
Texas - Tyson Poindexter, Terry Whitman
Utah - John R. Fitch
Virginia - Zach Williams

There you have it, at least for now. We will feature the next batch of cards once we get some accumulated. If you're a farrier (or other equine professional) and are interested in ordering custom business cards, we have dozens of lovely full color logos to choose from here. To make your promotion even more effective, consider adding our magnetic business card CALENDAR - which is currently on sale for HALF PRICE here (while supplies last)

Recap - From the last newsletter...
Here's what we talked about last time:
Horses In The Yard CoverHorses in the Yard book here, excerpt here
Same Sh*t, Different Day mug here
Puppy's Breath Candle here
HALF PRICE
Greeting Card Assortment here
Lipizzan Cut Coin Necklace here
GOOD NEWS from Petfinder here
Staying Warm by the Fire
Deerhound print here
Linda Kohanov's Riding Between The Worlds here
HoofPrints embroidered farrier caps are NOT free here
Support Dog rescue through our ebay auctions here
More Amazing Dog Facts & Trivia here
Pharaoh's Horses Print new includes informative article here
Cowboy Boot Slippers on sale here

PAST NEWSLETTERS - See what you missed! Click HERE to catch up on the news.
More about HoofPrints
Be sure to check out the "GOOD STUFF" links at the bottom of this section 
Rob shoeing RockyABOUT THE COMPANY
Farriers Greeting Cards was started by Gina Keesling in 1986 (in a very small way) to provide helpful promotional materials for her farrier husband Rob.

 ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
It's written by Gina Keesling, and emailed to subscribers a few times a month, depending on how often I have something to share. Watch for special sales, interesting stories, uplifting quotes and maybe some personal stuff. Let me know if you like it, and if you don't. We aim to please.

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This week's quote is a youtube video:

Everything's Amazing & Nobody's Happy  

Nothing to do with horses, but very funny - you can watch it here

 

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Thanks everyone, for reading!
Gina Keesling, owner  

 

 Contact Information

GOOD STUFF: More blogs
I've talked about blogs before... here are some more that I've discovered
Sneaky Hate Spiral cartoonWouldn't it be nice if you could choose the news that comes to you? Personally, I am weary of hearing about all the woes in the world today. Most of which I have no control over. All it does is make me feel bad. So, instead I have a handful of blogs that I read every few days. These bloggers are my chosen "reporters" and I appreciate their insight, wit, and passion. And it's not all "happy stuff" that lets  me wallow in denial that all is well in the world. But at least it lets me see that one person can make a difference, whether it be sharing news, teaching, or just making us laugh - for example:
Shown above is the first cartoon from Allie Brosh's "Sneaky Hate Spiral" blog entry. It's the funniest real-life account of grouchiness that I have ever read. Her cartoons are brilliant. And in case the song lyrics in the picture are not familiar to you... click here. There. Now that will be in your head all day.

Here's another new one that I love:
The Pioneer Woman - Plowing through life in the country...One calf nut at a time.

Here's another horsey one: Horse & Man - this entry is titled Rearing, Bucking, Pawing... all that bad stuff can make a great Trick Horse!

Saddleback Leather Co - this entry is a tribute to his dog, Blue.

Draw the Dog - if you subscribe, you get a dog cartoon in your inbox each day - you get to watch as it draws itself. Funds from the sale of prints of cartoons from this site go to dog rescue groups.

There I Fixed it - Epic Kludges and Jury Rigs  

These I have talked about before, but they merit mentioning again:


Fugly Horse Blog is dedicated to outing horse abuse and neglect. The blog owner is gutsy and articulate: her readership is huge. The amount of influence she's had on the life of horses is inestimable. Ever wish you could publicly humiliate the stupid neighbor who neglects his animals? Or let the world know that the award winning "trainer" they all are idolizing uses abusive methods to win? Well this gal does it - and she names names. Just like the National Inquirer - only horsey - and TRUE!

Need to lighten up AND get your sugar fix at the same time? The CakeWrecks Blog takes a hilarious look at confections gone wrong.

Check out all the weird stuff on Oddee.com - I love the way they've got it categorized. (Warning - some of this stuff you may wish  you'd never seen... but still worth it because there's so much good.) As you wade through pictures of bad tattoos, and rock formations that look like human body parts - you also get to see 8 of the World's Most Inspirational People. Such as Nick Vujicic - he came to my teenage son's school here in Alexandria, Indiana and spoke a few years ago - what an amazing young man...

Share our emails
Viral marketing... it sounds bad, doesn't it?
You can ask my husband - a frequent topic around here is that of forwarded emails - and the psychology behind them - just WHAT prompts people to decide; "I am going to send this to everyone I know!".

We receive a lot of them. Some are pretty good, and others are dumb. Dumb in a myriad of ways...  Alarmist email rumors that have been around forever - that folks keep sending "just in case it's true" Pictures of someone's butt (or worse) - don't even get me started about the firecracker butt - but at least that one was timely when it showed up around July 4. Christian messages that are uplifting - until you get to the end and you're threatened "if you're not ashamed that you love Jesus, forward this - if you are, then delete." Pictures of cute puppies and kittens (awww)

I enjoy writing these newsletters - and sharing all this stuff with you all. But the fact is, it's also a way to help us stay connected with customers and sell products during the time between catalog mailings (which is only once a year) So I really, really like it when someone new stumbles upon the newsletter and is excited to "discover" our company and the products we offer.

In all my efforts to make the newsletter interesting and forward-worthy - it never occurred to me to JUST ASK you all to send it! Duh. Sometimes the obvious is elusive, I guess. So here goes - my request to ask you to forward our email newsletter to your horsey friends.  All we ask is that you please be judicious and only send to folks who might be interested. Otherwise we are no better than the "firecracker butt". Click the Forward email link below to get started. (please note - using this form does NOT subscribe anyone to our list - it is a one-time only forward)