|
|
|
|
|
HoofPrints Newsletter - Positive Issue II
|
February 27, 2012
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THIS NEWSLETTERFarriers Greeting Cards was started by Gina Keesling in 1986 (in a very small way) to provide helpful promotional materials for farrier husband Rob. Along the way we became HoofPrints.com, too, adding a selection of fun horse and dog products geared toward women of a certain age. 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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
21 Days of Positivity -
How's that going?
Recently, in previous newsletters here, here and here, I've spent considerable time focusing on negative interactions that I've had with my animals. While it's true we don't dash around under spotlights like Frederic Pignon and Templado of Cavalia (shown here) we all get along pretty well. In an effort to train my brain to focus on positive instead of negative, I've committed to listing, for 21 days, three things that I am grateful for. The first few days were easy - a good kid, hardworking husband, retired parents having a good time after working all those years... then I tried to get more specific - a springtime robin, good weather, and a nap. But I can see now, as I "use up" all the obvious choices that I will be needing to look harder for my three things. You keep watch on how it's going on our facebook page here.
|
 FALL GIRL
My life as a western stunt double
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, horse trainer and show rider Martha Crawford Cantarini was among the busiest of Hollywood's elite corps of female stunt riders. She was the regular stunt double for such actresses as Eleanor Parker, Anne Baxter and Shirley MacLaine, appearing in films ranging from Elvis Presley's debut feature Love Me Tender to the epic western The Big Country. This fascinating insider's account of the American entertainment industry recounts Martha's personal and professional associations with Clark Gable, Ronald Reagan, Jean Simmons, and other Hollywood luminaries.What could be better than a lady's memoirs about all manner of wild rides horseback. Many of us talk about the days we did these things, but Martha did it on a grand scale, and then she sat down and wrote this awesome book about her adventures. Way to go, Martha! You can order your copy of her book here. About the author:
Martha has worked with, and kept, horses all of her life, and loves and respects them. She has saved movie horses that studios were ready to sell off to the "glue factory" after they had outlived their usefulness in films. One such horse she saved was Midnight - the horse that Clint Eastwood had ridden in the Rawhide television series as his character Rowdy Yates.
When Martha began her career in stunt work, she was one of a small handful of ladies who dared perform that kind of work, and they pretty much did it all anonymously so that the stars themselves would get the credit. Few outside the motion picture industry knew of their hard and dangerous work and sacrifice. Martha was inducted into the Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall of Fame in 2004, and was a Golden Boot Award Honoree in 2005. She currently lives in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada with her husband John, who is a retired jockey. More about Martha and other stunt riders here.
|
 Amazing Dog Facts & Trivia
Did you know that the Charles Bridge in Prague (construction began 1357) is decorated with numerous statues & plaques. One plaque shows a guard rubbing a dog's head. It has become popular for visitors to rub the dog to ensure that a spouse will remain faithful. Look how shiny the dog is in the picture here - he's been polished by years of visitor's hands rubbing.This info (and photo) is from the dog version of our very popular Amazing Dog Facts and Trivia. For just $12.99 you can get 192 pages of trivia and pictures of things you did not know about dogs. This is a fun, and interesting book that has all sorts of dog trivia that many lifelong dog lovers will discover that they did not know. And pictures - bazillions of color pictures showing all that stuff you didn't know that you didn't know! And it's written in such a way that folks of all levels of knowledge and experience will find it interesting. Not too elementary - not too technical. There are lots of great training tips, too. Also did you know...
- The oldest dog ever was Bluey, an Austalian Cattle dog who lived to be 29?
- The term "Dog Fancying" means breeding dogs for particular features and was coined in the 19th century.
- The ancient Greeks believed that the sultry summer heat was caused by Sirius, the dog star, hence the term "dog days".
- There are paintings of dogs in the Lascaux caves of France (not just horses!)
|
 Pharaoh's Horses - the mystery continues
Pharaoh's Horses with typewe don't know for sure who painted the original work. Much research has been done on the subject, and we still have more questions than answers. I wrote about this print a couple years ago in a newsletter here.
Since then I've learned even more fascinating details, and have assembled them into a short article. We've added this article to the bottom of the Pharaoh's Horses print.
It outlines some interesting details about the print, and features 11 small color pictures illustrating key points. This is for entertainment purposes only, it's the best info we could find from a myriad of sources - and it's intended to be trimmed off before the print is framed or displayed.
To see a closeup of the article, and the rest of our arabian prints, click here |
 The Value of a Life...
Here's a fascinating story
shared by equine veterinarian Shari Silverman VMD about a semi feral stallion she encountered on an abandoned navy base in Puerto Rico. It seems this fellow's leg had been broken, and had healed. Apparently well enough that he'd went on to amass his own band of mares, with the battle scars to prove it.
She describes how he's able to get around quite well, considering the fact that the bone ends are NOT fused together - he has an extra "joint" in his front leg. Most surprising is the fact that she herself has a similar story - having survived bone cancer, and a surgery that removed one side of her pelvis, along with the top portion of her femur. She's walking around on a sort of "soft tissue joint" arrangement, much like this stallion. After being told that her equine medicine career would be over, and to expect a sedentary for the rest of her life - she IS an equine veterinarian, AND she's out there hiking around in the field with her camera, documenting cases like this, certainly from a different perspective than those of us who've not been so challenged.
You can learn more about Dr Silverman, and read the rest of her story about this stallion on her website here.
|
|
|
|
Message
We LOVE hearing from our customers. You can contact HoofPrints owner Gina Keesling via email at gina@hoofprints.com |
|
Find us on facebook
Be sure to LIKE our facebook page - it's where we announce special sales, breaking news and everything else we find interesting. To see it go here |
|
Our Current Catalog
Request your copy of HoofPrints Spring Catalog by clicking here |
|
|
Recap - From the last newsletter
|  Here's what we talked about last time:
Handle with Carrots embroidered hood here Horses in the Yard author Joanne Friedman's blog inspires here Revisiting Gina's Stupidest Horse Training Mistake here
Sophia Yin's excellent Tarantula analogy here
Still more GREAT DEALS added to the Half Price Page
PAST NEWSLETTERS - See what you missed! To catch up on the news click here |
|
Memorable Quote:
| "I had spent my whole life looking into the eyes of horses. I had seen fear, defiance, and even acceptance, but here was something else. Here was an old soul. I could see in his eyes the look of someone who had already seen too much and had refused to be beaten by it. I was face to face with a king, with a champion who wouldn't quit."
-Martha Crawford Cantarini from Fall Girl - My Life as a Western Stunt Double
|
|
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 to get started. (please note - using this form does NOT subscribe anyone to our list - it is a one-time only forward)
|
|
|
|
|
