HoofPrints Newsletter
January 1, 2012 Issue - Year in Review - what will 2012 bring?
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READ THIS FIRST!
| You're about to embark on a journey with us back through 2011.
|  The links in the stories below will take you to various archived newsletters, where you will see the referenced stories, along with a lot of other stuff. You may encounter products that are sold out, sales or offers that have expired, and links that don't take you where expected. Please bear with us on this, as our newsletter hosting service does not allow me to edit content on newsletters after they have been sent.
The quote at left encourages us to move forward to our "next chapter" but I'd like to pay homage to each of the "last ones" as that's what makes all of us what we are today. Enjoy!
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JANUARY ~2011~ Goodbye to Zack
| The best place to bury a dog - is in the heart of his master
|  January saw us saying goodbye to our 11+ year old German Shepherd Zack. He was a dear member of the family and "Chief of Security" for HoofPrints and the Keesling family farm.
You can read the story of his passing with complete verse "The Best Place to Bury A Dog", along with Zack's tribute video and some stories about his life with us is here.
Later in the year, my mom presented me with an impressive concrete statue as a fitting memorial. More about that here.
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FEBRUARY ~2011~ Petfinder celebrates 15 years of pet adoption
| and we celebrated with them here!
|  February saw us sharing the impressive success of Petfinder.com, a website founded to link homeless animals to appropriate families via the internet. The statistics are compelling - 15 years ago experts estimated that 16-20 million (gasp) animals were euthanized in the US annually. Now, they expect that number to come in below 4 million. Still a shockingly horrible number, but an enormous improvement. More details about how they got started and where they're headed in an interview with co-founder Betsy Saul here.
I've used Petfinder.com on numerous occasions for another purpose. Education. Know someone who's dumb enough to think they can make money breeding dogs because they had to pay a few hundred bucks for a puppy of their chosen breed? So they think they could get a pair of the same and make some cash on the side? Use Petfinder's searchable database to show that person just how many dogs of their breed are sitting in shelters, waiting to be put to death, that folks can adopt before they pay hundreds for a backyard-bred puppy. The last time I took our Lucy to the vet for her mystery toe ailment, I had to restrain myself from climbing over the counter and shouting PETFINDER! into the phone as the vet's receptionist took a call from someone looking for a purebred puppy. After checking the clinic's bulletin board, she told the caller "Sorry, we don't have any of those listed for sale on our board." After she hung up, I nonchalantly asked if she'd heard of Petfinder.com. She had, but didn't know what it was all about. That should be required learning for anyone in the industry who's likely to encounter someone looking for a new pet.
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MARCH ~2011~ Temple Grandin Movie wins again
| Positive Psychology News Daily awards this film, based on the real life of
|  a famous professor with autism, its own Oscar.
March saw us celebrating once again when Temple Grandin wins an Oscar for Integration of Different Types of Strengths. Full article here.
Temple Grandin is a movie that paints a picture of a young woman's perseverance and determination while struggling with the challenges of autism. The film chronicles Temple's early diagnosis; her turbulent growth and development during her school years; the enduring support she received from her mother, aunt, her science teacher and her emergence as a woman with an innate sensitivity and understanding of animal behavior.
Gina's note:
I looked forward to seeing this for months - as soon as I heard it was coming out, actually. But I was worried that it might disappoint, as the book was so very good (my review of that is here). This film met my expectations (hopes) and then some. The actors are brilliantly chosen - each perfect for the roles as I imagined them when reading. All the important events in the book are chronicled with incredible visual accuracy. There are heartbreaking moments, and humorous moments, and everything in between, but as the film progresses you will find your heart bursting with pride and admiration for Temple and those who supported her remarkable journey. Her contribution to society has been immeasurable.
Her candid account of how she believes that animals perceive their world is a very good one and it explains a lot about why horses act the way they do in certain situations. One of my favorite analogies she uses (in the book) is this: Imagine that you lived somewhere where you saw people frequently walking down the sidewalk. And one day, you stepped outside your door and saw people walking down the sidewalk.... on their hands. You'd probably freak out (I know I would). This is the type of situation that arises when a horse spooks at a perfectly familiar item - in a context that is unfamiliar. The book and movie are full of thought provoking theories like this - that can really help us understand, and empathize, with our animal friends when they do things that don't make sense.
The movie shows these moments as if you're looking through Temple's eyes. Which is really cool - because she was there during the making - to help them create the most accurate portrayal of her life. This one is a must-see for everyone. It's 109 minutes long, and also includes special features about the making of the movie with commentary by Dr Grandin. To order click here.
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APRIL ~2011~ A True Story with a Happy Ending
| When a situation catches our attention, and speaks to our heart, it is important
|  that we honor our impulse to help and take the action that feels right for us.
April saw HoofPrints' owner Gina Keesling grieving with her old friend Anna over the loss of her little dog Remmington.
Then she (Gina) sets foot into the world that shelter workers encounter every day - that of playing matchmaker between unfamiliar dogs and unfamiliar families. On a deadline. (what a terrible pun)
Read what happens next here.
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MAY ~2011~ Farriers: Folks are WATCHING you!!!
| Sorry to creep you out, but it's true.
|  May saw us commenting on farriers being discussed on the internet. With all the hubbub these days about privacy, huge measures are being taken to manage what businesses are allowed to do with a person's personal information. As a marketer who uses this information to help make decisions about products & promotions, it is very valuable to me in terms of being profitable to be able to accurately target folks who are likely to be interested in what we have to offer.
But there's a whole 'nother privacy thing that can come under the microscope when you work for the public. Like a farrier does. Every day, all across the world farriers make appearances at various folks' farms to do their work. And they're being observed. Folks form an opinion about what they see. If it's interesting enough, they tell their friends. With the advent of the internet, they can tell a LOT of friends. You can read the rest of this story here.
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JUNE~2011~ Blacksmith Calendars help with TV commercial
| Antique blacksmith images - you never know when you might need them...
|  June saw us sharing the unlikely story of being contacted by a Hollywood set designer looking for historically accurate blacksmith pictures. Details about that encounter are here.
Months later, we saw the results of the endeavor - Kraft Cheesy Skillets commercials - that are, well, cheesy. The NY Times press release for the campaign is here. The commercials I found on youtube are here, here, and here*. *Farriers will get a kick out of this one. Enjoy!
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JULY~2011~ We add a whole new category of books
| written by people with issues and about people and animals with issues...
|  This was a big step for us. After all, who wants to spend money for a book that's written by someone who is admitting that they screwed up their life. Don't most of us want to spend our time poring over material written by "experts" in hopes that we'll learn a thing or two? Well, it turns out, there is as much to be learned (maybe more) from those who have NOT mastered their lives as there are from those who have. Our introduction of the new titles is here.
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AUGUST ~2011~ Thoughts on Courage
| courage doesn't always roar. sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end
|  of the day saying, "i will try again tomorrow."
August saw us introduce a lovely pink & white mug imprinted with these powerful words by Mary Anne Radmacher here.
I made mention of a dear friend who has served as an inspiration to me throughout a tough battle with cancer here. She continues to inspire, albeit through interesting (and sad) circumstances. Several weeks ago, her husband called me. He told me that my friend was at her end; doctors said not much longer, and she was no longer conscious/lucid. He did not want me to read of her passing on facebook, so called to prepare me for the inevitable. We cried together and he explained that he had many other calls to make to other folks like me (friends from all over), to share the sad news. I think all of us were revisiting fond memories those days, and many took the time to share them on my friend's facebook page, along with pictures of the time(s) she'd made a child's day with a ride on her horse, or the time(s) she helped a friend through a riding or training challenge. It was all very poignant, as we knew she'd never see the prayers and words of gratitude.
The doctors, it turned out, were wrong. Even with the cessation of treatment, my friend made a dramatic turnaround. She remains hospitalized, and is still very sick, but she was able to take in all the lovely things folks wrote about her. She's continuing to fight her battle with the pluck and courage that we all love her for - has charmed her nurses and caretakers - so much so that they looked the other way the day someone brought a PONY into the facility and to her room to visit. Wow.
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SEPTEMBER ~2011~ Tits to the sky!
| HoofPrints Boobies Newsletter raises more than a few eyebrows.
|  September saw us getting a scolding, a chuckle, and everything in between as we sent a newsletter talking about nudity, posture and breast cancer awareness. That newsletter still holds records in multiple tracking statistics areas. It was by far the most blocked by ISPs, so many folks never got to read it. It had the highest open rate that we'd seen in months. And probably the highest click rate ever. So this tells me that even if folks were disapproving of the subject line (Tits to the sky!), they still clicked on it to see what it was all about. And the unsubscribe/ spam complaint rates did NOT increase from previous editions, so it's safe to assume that once folks got to the actual newsletter, they did not find it offensive enough to request that we stop sending subsequent issues. Interesting stuff. And thanks to everyone who sent their comments - both positive and negative. In case you missed it, it's here.
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OCTOBER ~2011~ Deceptive Marketing Newsletter backfires
| It started out as a clever way (I thought) to call folks attention to products
|  that had ended up differently than represented in our print catalog. Some minor mistakes in pricing, some delays in delivery times, photos that didn't exactly match the real thing, etc. A relatively boring laundry list of things that folks needed to know about, but likely wouldn't find very interesting. So I decided to shake things up a bit by lightheartedly using the word "deception" to describe the discrepancies.
I was not prepared for what happened next, when I received multiple emails from folks who were concerned about the business ethics of this company, worried if they'd ever receive their order, and/or wondering if they should take a chance on our "questionably described" products. It's still a major head scratcher for me, as I didn't think the newsletter I sent was anything but honest and informative for the products/issues at hand. If you want to be the judge of that, you can read this one here.
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NOVEMBER ~2011~ Gina brags about her success with positive training
| then struggles to clarify that she's not incompetent by posting 1970's photos
|  It seemed like a good idea at the time - to tell about my personal successes with my own horses using positive training techniques, at the same time promoting related products that we sell. I did that here.
Then, after I sent it, and went back and reviewed, I realized that the successes I was touting were quite unremarkable - and my descriptions of my horses made them sound like lawless brats. I could feel my credibility as a representative for this whole host of products and books fading away... So I did what any sensible person would do - I went looking for proof that I wasn't a total incompetent. I had to go pretty far back to find it, too. Back to the days of John Travolta and Dorothy Hamil. There's a larger photo, and the rest of the story for your amusement here.
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DECEMBER ~2011~ Horses & Hope Calendar is an amazing success
| It all started with this one person saying "I can do this to help"
|  Taking a step back, I first want to say that the unwanted horse problem is a very big one, and nearly everyone in the industry has an opinion about how it should be solved. Unfortunately, many folks' ideas involve mostly what they think OTHER folks should be doing to solve the problem. This "armchair quarterback" style of addressing problems works fine (for them) meanwhile unwanted horses continue to lose their lives in Canadian/Mexican slaughterhouses. The decision makers (and the folks trying to influence them) continue to debate the issues and options.
It's such a big problem that it's easy to think one person could not possibly make a difference. But there are many of these such "one person"s all over the country doing just that. Making a difference. They bring their respective skills to the table, and use them to help find a home for one - dozens - maybe hundreds of horses each week. This calendar features the work of one woman who stepped up to the plate and said "I can do this to help." Sarah K. Andrew is a professional photographer. She works by day for the Thoroughbred Daily News. They pay her to go on site and document the world's racing elite, horses that can cost/earn more than most of us paid for our homes.
Once a week (details here) she steps out of that role and uses her skills with a camera to document a different kind of horse. The unwanted horse whose sale price at the auction was not even enough to outbid the meat buyers. The photos are uploaded to the Camelot Horse Weekly Facebook page, along with the best descriptions & training evaluations that the volunteers can muster. When Sarah asked me if I'd be interested in having HoofPrints produce and market a calendar featuring her auction horse images, with 100% of the profits going to a charity, I was intrigued by the idea. Based on my estimation, factoring numbers from previous calendar sales, I told her we could likely to expect to sell a couple hundred calendars. Happily, I was very, very wrong in my prediction. A couple THOUSAND calendars later, they are still selling strong.
 Early in December, Sarah presented a check from the calendar sales to One Horse At A Time. We kept the actual number a SECRET, because we wanted it to be a surprise, and it was. Shown here is calendar photographer Sarah K. Andrew, Penny Austin of One Horse At A Time and her horse Charm (an auction rescue). In their hands is the check Sarah presented to Penny. That check totaled over $26,000!!! Needless to say, Penny was very surprised - you can read her account of the moment here.
Since then the calendar orders have continued to roll in. At the time of this newsletter, we have another $7,000+ earmarked for One Horse At A Time. All because of hundreds of regular folks, believing that even with a seemingly insurmountable problem, everyone pitching in their little bit to help can make a change for the better, and as you can see by these numbers, it certainly did!
Penny says it best:
"Those of us who have these calendars know how special they are. Not only are they a work of art, they are an incredible teaching tool, but most of all, they are a resounding testament to the power of each one of us doing just one thing - and how each of our "just one thing" combined with everyone else's has the power to MOVE MOUNTAINS. Don't ever forget that. Don't ever think that you can't offer but a little. Your little is mighty. Always."
We are still selling calendars. Thanks to a myriad of mentions online, the orders continue to come.
Check out Teresa Genaro's Raceday 360 column here.
Fran Jurga's Horse Tip Daily Radio Show here
Sarah's own blog account of the project, along with dozens of amazing positive comments here
A nice mention in the EQUINE Ink blog here
This calendar is destined to be a collectible - I've already had customers telling me how they plan to frame the pages to decorate their tack room, etc. To order yours click here.
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Recap from the last newsletter - here's what we talked about last time
| in the December 26th Issue - Some very good news - thanks to you all!
|  Healing Shine - A Spiritual Assignment book - excerpt here
PRAY FIRST, THEN RIDE metal sign here
Buy one, get one FREE on farrier clocks (with a catch) here
Cowgirl & Cowboy pocket partners here
BARN BLADE pink knife $5.00 off here
NEW Music CD from Mary Ann Kennedy here
GOOD STUFF: Eye of God here
PAST NEWSLETTERS - see what you missed! - Click HERE to catch up on the news |
| More about HoofPrints - and miscellaneous ramblings from Gina |
|  ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THIS NEWSLETTER
Farriers Greeting Cards was started by Gina Keesling in 1986 (in a very small way) to provide helpful promotional materials for farrier husband Rob. This newsletter is 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 more.
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Thanks everyone, for reading!
Gina Keesling, owner
Contact Information
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Share our emails
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Viral marketing... it sounds bad, doesn't it?
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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 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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