HoofPrints Newsletter
May 11, 2011 Issue
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Sorry - I Only Clean Up After My Horse!
| Now ON SALE on a summery T-shirt, and you get to CHOOSE the color!
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Eggplant Lavender Iris Plum Turquoise
The last time we mentioned this design I was a bit alarmist about running out of the wonderful soft sweatshirt we chose to print it on. It has been discontinued, but we were able to get some more so you can rest easy if you're wanting that to wear on chilly summer nights.
However, we had such great response to the nice T-shirt we found for our I Train Horses to Eat Carrots logo, that we decided to try this design out on a T, also. We ordered some samples and had them printed. But they all look so nice I can't choose a favorite. So, for a limited time, you all get to help me choose. The catch is you have to vote with your money (by purchasing the shirt(s) that you like best). Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it when I get lots of feedback when asking everyone's opinions - it's truly very helpful. But I have also discovered that liking something and actually buying it are 2 separate things entirely. Your reward for "voting" is that you get a lovely shirt in the color(s) of your choice for ONLY $9.95 each. To vote (order) click here . Not ready to order right now? Don't despair - I'd still love to know what you think. Tell us on our Facebook page here.
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More Jewelry - now it's easier to find what you're looking for
| We've revamped the jewelry section of our website
|  Shown here are the nine categories that we think all the stuff fits into. OK, so knives and keychains are not jewelry... but you get the idea.
We are starting to look around for new items for the fall catalog, and attention is turning to alternate materials - pewter, copper, gemstones, etc. as silver prices are volatile and continuing to escalate. Many of the sterling silver pieces that we sell are a REAL DEAL, as the cost on them has risen significantly and we've not raised our prices in proportion (yet). So if you have silver jewelry that you've been coveting for a while - please, go ahead and splurge now - I guarantee our price will be higher in the next catalog. To see everything click here. |
Another Dumped Dog - Paws' story
| Last week we talked about the book Don't Dump The Dog and the excerpt
|  inspired many of you to purchase a copy so you could read more. If you missed it, it's here.
Shown at left is my son Jordan with Paws, a stray dog who looks like a Border Collie. Many HoofPrints customers will remember Paws' face from our previous catalogs, pictured paired with the Plato quote: "A dog has the soul of a philosopher".
Like many of our dogs, Paws was unwanted by someone else. The customary procedure in our area is known as "dumping" - folks get tired of a dog (or cat) for whatever reason, take them to the country and drop them off to fend for themselves. After several days of watching this lovely black and white dog waiting faithfully at the corner of our road - for his people to come back for him - it became obvious to us that he'd been dumped. We didn't want or need another dog... but we walked the quarter mile across our hay field to meet him. He followed us back to the house, and never left. He was home.
It didn't take long for us to realize that Paws was no ordinary dog. As time went on, we weren't sure he was even a dog. It seemed he was some mystic in canine form - sent here to teach us, to test us, to observe us... Plato was right... he did have the soul of a philosopher. Read the rest of Paws story here. |
Prayers my dogs have taught me
| DOG PSALMS & MORE DOG PSALMS by Herbert Brokering
|  Conventional devotional books have always felt a little foreign to me. I understand the concept - a springboard for contemplation and worship - but they never felt like the applied to my life, my situation(s). It seemed they addressed trials that (I hope) I never suffer, or trivia that I sometimes feel doesn't deserve the "air time". Maybe I am just dense, or spiritually immature...
Whatever the reason, I can identify with devotions from dog's viewpoint. I am moved by Brokering's poignant depiction of dog's faithfulness, loyalty, and unquestioning love. And I am able to easily grasp the parallels - and realize that this is how we are meant to relate to Him.
In writing Paws' Spotlight feature, I sent a copy to my friend Cheryl paintinghorse.com for comments and suggestions. She replied back, commenting on his impressive (albeit destructive) tenacity - with admiration. She said
"The part that amazes me is his tenacity and focus. Most dogs would give up in search of the rabbit. The lengths he went through to get what he wanted, amazing, nothing short of tearing a house apart. I find it rather inspirational, what would I be willing to 'tear up' to accomplish my goals? (especially at the risk of upsetting someone, or letting them down)"
Then, when I picked up MORE DOG PSALMS - to find an example for this newsletter - it fell open to page 40 -
"I am dog. I prevail. I can hold out, out beg, out smart and out last. Surrender is not my strength. I prevail with my eyes, my bark, a whine, and presence. ... I will scratch a door to open until I have won, and I will pay the consequence. I will run until I am home. Though you tell me a hole is empty, I will dig until I am convinced with my own eyes and nose...."
We've paired Dog Psalms and More Dog Psalms into a money saving set. To order click here. |
Recap - From the last newsletter...
| Here's what we talked about last time:
|  FREE excerpt from Don't Dump the Dog - WARNING - if you read it you will have to buy the book! details here
Great Horses personalized framed memorial verse here
HoofPrints vendors earn Hall of Fame recognition here
Life is a Bag of Frozen Peas inspirational story here
Mother's Day Tribute to my mom here
Select Farrier Prints HALF PRICE here
Woman is proud to train horse to eat carrots - her story here
Passion for Horses True stories of lives lived loving horses here
Remembering Zack here
San Francisco in 1906 - old movie with horses here
Ladies Caps for hair control here
Naked Liberty horse training book by Carolyn Resnick here
Help your dog live longer - Gina's rant about fat dogs here
100 Years from now Fathers Day gift idea ON SALE here
Women Riders Who Could, and Did here
Excerpt on preserving memories from Beautiful Jim Key here
Horsey Scrapbook kits (for preserving memories) here
PAST NEWSLETTERS - See what you missed! Click HERE to catch up on the news.
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| More about HoofPrints | | Be sure to check out the "GOOD STUFF" links at the bottom of this section |  ABOUT 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 comes from Abraham Hicks publications: "Whatever you're thinking about is literally like planning a future event. When you're worrying, you are planning. When you are appreciating, you are planning...What are you planning?" You can sign up for their daily emails (quotes like this) here
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Thanks everyone, for reading!
Gina Keesling, owner
Contact Information
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GOOD STUFF: Spiders, webs and more
| I get lots of comments on the stories that I share. Many times folks tell me that
|  a particular story had a message that arrived to them at the exact time that they needed it. I have a large file of stories and links that I have saved for many years. They are in no order whatsoever - appearing to be a jumbled mess. But the right thing always comes to the front - and this time it's spider webs.
The picture here is a dreamcatcher that I had woven from the hair of a dog that we loved for many years. Paws' story is above. Be sure to click on the link that goes to his page so you can read about how the dog hair dreamcatcher came to be.
Then I found a story I had saved: God & The Spider's Web about a young soldier saved from certain death by the web of a spider.
After that, the perfect story to sum it up and tie it all together, thanks to Joseph J. Mazzella:
Dream Catchers
On the wall above my bed, there are two very beautiful dream catchers that my wife bought. They are red and brown willow hoops decorated with feathers, horse hair, and beads. They have a wonderfully delicate, spider web design in the middle of them. At the very center of the web, in the very middle of the dream catcher, there is a round hole. The Native American Lakota Tribe believes the dream catchers represent the web of life. Their people believe that hanging them above your bed or in your house will sift your dreams and visions. The good in your dreams will be caught in the web and carried with you, but the evil in your dreams will pass through the hole and no longer be a part of your life.
I enjoy looking at these lovely dream catchers, because they always remind me of what I want to do in my own life. I want to catch only the good within myself. I want to capture only the highest, wisest, best, most loving, most giving, and most joyous part of myself and let the rest fade away. I want to become the person God meant for me to be and live the way God meant for me to live. I want to become a wonderful part of the web of life and share only love and joy with others and the world.
The glorious truth is that you, I, and everyone else in this world can do this too. God loves us all so much and God gives us the strength and ability to become our highest selves. We can choose to be the person God meant for us to be. We can fill ourselves with love, joy, and light and then share them with the world. We can capture the angel within and allow the worst parts of ourselves to fade away. We can live as a true Child of God sending smiles, giving love, offering joy, scattering sunshine, and creating laughter wherever we go. We can catch the dream of the person we always wanted to be and make it a reality.
Here are some more spider / web links:
Some very scary pictures of a HUGE spider that was hiding in some papers ON MY DESK (eek!), along with some less scary pictures of millions of spider webs in the morning dew are on our Facebook page here
Another version of the dreamcatcher story that portrays the spider as a Grandmother! here
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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) |
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