You've got another chance to pick some up at this great price!

We have several designs that are down to just a small amount of inventory. Without getting into tedious warehouse space logistics... we need to clear these out in order to make room on the shelves for new designs. So we've moved about a dozen to the HALF PRICE page here. Shown above is "Hammering Out A Christmas Greeting" - photograph by Laura Cotterman - a farrier's wife. Laura waited until her husband was out of town - so she could use his anvil and tools as props! The result is this lovely card with cookies and mil waiting for Santa on the anvil.

Supplies are limited on all these sale cards. When ordering MAKE SURE you note the options for inside wording. Many of these are ONLY available with the Thank You For Your Business phrase. See them all here.

Bad News about the Horseshoe Wreath... we've learned the hard way to check (and double check) availability on products BEFORE we put them in our catalog. My assistant Candy spends a great deal of the summer doing just this while I work on the catalog layout. Calling all our vendors - verifying inventory, pricing, etc. so we don't have any surprises in the fall.

Here's some bad news I sure wish I didn't have to share. The Horseshoe Wreath was discontinued and we can't get any more.

This wreath was one of my favorite products for a variety of reasons. I know the drill - any time my husband and I were out somewhere and saw some clever, spiffy number made from horseshoes - he would quickly calculate the miniscule cost of the raw materials in his math-oriented brain. Then he'd give me a quick synopsis of just how EASY it would be to make said spiffy object himself, then he would have some sort of minor outburst at the exorbitant asking price of the object of admiration.

He would then proclaim that he'd make me an even better version, and proceed to add it to his very long list of things he needed to do. Bless his heart - after 20+ years of marriage, his list is still very long. Just to clarify - I do have a wonderful collection of awesome things he has surprised me with over the years - but his "list" seems to get longer as time goes by - with things like home maintenance and vehicle repair getting top priority over the creative projects.

This horseshoe wreath is a pretty darn good copy of the real thing. You can order it, we will ship it, and you will have it hanging on your wall - YEARS  before it makes it to the top of the list. But don't wait - we've only got a few left and will NOT be getting more. To order click here.

Revisiting a favorite book: THE HORSE BOY - A father's quest to heal his son ended up making one heck of an interesting book, and later, documentary film.

When his son Rowan was diagnosed with autism, Rupert Isaacson was devastated, afraid he might never be able to communicate with his child. But when Isaacson, a lifelong horseman, rode their neighbor's horse with Rowan, Rowan improved immeasurably. He was struck with a crazy idea: why not take Rowan to Mongolia, the one place in the world where horses and shamanic healing intersected? THE HORSE BOY is the dramatic and heartwarming story of that impossible adventure. In Mongolia, the family found undreamed of landscapes and people, unbearable setbacks, and advances beyond their wildest dreams. This is a deeply moving, truly one-of-a-kind story--of a family willing to go to the ends of the earth to help their son, and of a boy learning to connect with the world for the first time.

Note from Gina - Here's what I wrote a couple years ago after I read the book: "This one will leave you laughing and crying at the same time. Your heart will ache as you read the accounts of this young couple trying to deal with their autistic son - as he gets older, larger and less controllable. (I won't tell you what "CODE BROWN" stands for - you'll have to read to find out - but you can imagine...) And the author's insightful reflection on his wacky scheme to heal his son's autism via Mongolian Shamans will inspire you - that there is nothing that can't be accomplished if one is willing to take risks - and have a sense of humor along the way. To read a good synopsis about shamans and what they do, go here."

What I didn't have the nerve to mention then was some of the grittier events in the book that emphasize just how serious Rowan's parents were about this endeavor, and what a challenge it was for them along the way. The book was written by Rowan's father - author Rupert Isaacson, and subtitled "A Father's Quest to Heal His Son". But that does NOT mean that Rowan's mother did not have a very big role in the adventure. A tired mom at her wit's end, trying to juggle career and motherhood - she agreed to take the trip, even though it sounded like a far-fetched idea. Before they embarked on the journey, they met with renowned expert on autism Temple Grandin. Grandin's words to them were: "The worst thing you can do is nothing. All the experts agree on that, even if they can't agree on much else. Take your son to Mongolia if it seems to agree with him. Make your film. Add it to the archive of what we're learning. Come back and let us know what happened."  

So, here they are, this young couple with high hopes for helping their son, and wanting to share it with the world via film if it is a success... they pay someone to accompany them to film the journey. Kristin is ordered to clean her vagina with vodka, and Rupert ends up with an enormous sore on his lip that is impossible to conceal. These are just 2 of many, many "interesting" encounters the family experiences. They fall off horses, get kicked by horses, get sick, are whipped by shamans, and a host of other events that I am sure they did not expect. Without giving away the ending, I will say it is a good one. The film is very well done, and the questionable scenes are depicted in good taste. I recommend reading the book before watching the DVD, to get the full effect. Don't worry - it won't take long to read the book (even though it's 357 pages). Once you get started you won't be able to put it down. We previously had the book only in hard cover, it's since sold out and been replaced with a less expensive softcover version.

To order both, click here

I Horses To Eat Carrots hooded sweatshirt... This one has been a favorite since we introduced it, in spite of the high price tag. We found out that the manufacturer has discontinued this color and we can't get any more. We searched other brands and just can't find a replacement. The reason this whole package is so pricey is that the sweatshirt is 10 ounce fabric. The embroidery is intricate, and so many stitches, that it needs a fabric of that bulk/body to carry the design smoothly. A lighter weigh fabric would be weighed down too much. It's not that hard to find super heavyweight sweatshirts - but the color selection is not that great. Heather grey is readily available, but it doesn't really go with the "carrots" theme. So, at this point this one is limited to the stock that we have on hand - which is not much. To get yours now click here.

We'd also like to extend our special thanks to Ivetta Harte for coining the I Train Horses...To Eat Carrots phrase.

Also shown is our Horse Care Tools Charm Bracelet (two of the charms are tasty horse treats immortalized in sterling silver)  You can order that here (be sure to check out the closeups of the charms - the detail on these is incredible. And the infamous Treat Pouch, carrier of all things wonderful for horses is here. One of my favorite positive trainers, Cheryl Ward, has written a little tribute to The Force of the Treat Pouch here.

Gina's comments on the use of treats: There are volumes of information written on positive reinforcement, clicker training, and the like. Some of it can get quite technical, and a bit overwhelming. We've assembled a few of our favorites to get you started here. Having been taught from the beginning that hand-feeding treats will create a horse that bites, I had a great deal of un-learning to do before I could fully appreciate this way of interacting with horses. I have my mare Allie to thank for that. Like a sensitive, timid little girl, she became offended and withdrawn at any interaction I had with her that involved any sort of correction. As I continued with my tried and true methods (ha ha) she morphed into the difficult adolescent (after all, she IS a chestnut mare) and her responses oscillated between obvious irritation AND blind panic. If I persisted, and I did... (how dumb was that?) she eventually shut down and acted as if she knew absolutely nothing. Because she was apprehensive of being corrected, she quit trying ANYTHING. And, let me clarify, my corrections were not at all harsh or dramatic. Just stuff along the "make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy" philosophy.

I had to find another way. Or get rid of the horse, because we were getting nowhere - after YEARS of trying (I am a slow learner). When I first started with my treat pouch and my carrots, I had this nagging feeling that I was "cheating" and that I was belittling myself to little more than a food dispenser to bribe and cajole my horse into MAYBE doing what I wanted, IF she felt like it.

But, it was really quite remarkable. There is nothing quite like the moment when the "light bulb comes on" and the horse realizes that he is not going to "get in trouble" for offering a wrong answer. And that the right answer would gain her a tasty reward. It was like a had a different horse! And the cool part is, you can't really mess it up. Unlike an unjust or poorly timed correction, a botched reward does NOT do the damage to the horses motivation to try. Try it! You'll like it. And if you're concerned about being bitten, be sure to read up on mugging for treats. The gist of which is that you never give a treat to a horse who is rooting or pushing for it rudely in their enthusiasm to get it. You WAIT until they wait politely - before you reward. It's amazing how quickly they learn...

Another favorite - Horsewoman's Balm. Is it really worth $30? 30 bucks is quite a bit of money for hand cream... but this stuff is totally worth it (we think). It's made especially for us by the folks at Little Moon Essentials (they make the Tired Old Ass packs). This special balm is formulated specifically to be soothing and healing to skin AND pleasant smelling to horses. As it turns out, we think it smells pretty good, too. Laura did considerable research, and even consulted an animal communicator friend as she worked on the formula. The result is a fragrant blend of lavender, sage, cinnamon, and oat extract in an emollient base of cocoa butter, vitamin E and essential oils. This stuff is great for dry skin, ragged cuticles, cracked heels, etc. And the scent stays there long after the balm has been absorbed - withOUT being too strong or overpowering. These are super-high quality ingredients and a little dab goes a long way.

And, like the rest of our products, we test this ourselves (more about R&D here). This particular product was put through it's paces quite a bit this fall. Most people don't think about cardboard being a drying agent to skin. But it is. Anyone who handles boxes all day will testify to that. It strips the oils right out of your hands, scuffs them, scratches them... ever get a paper cut from cardboard? It hurts badly - and is a nightmare to get healed.

So, as I entered January my hands were really feeling challenged after handling so many boxes. Then, the side of beef that we'd spoken for from a local farmer was ready to be picked up at the processing house. We always can a portion of our meat (in quart glass Ball jars) so there's a ready supply of pre-cooked meat on hand for fast meals. It's great for vegetable soup, barbecue, beef manhattan, beef & noodles, etc. Just open the jar and heat. But getting it to that point requires a bit of work. The meat comes in chunks from the butcher unfrozen in big plastic bags. The procedure after that is to stuff the raw meat into clean jars, put on the lids, and pressure cook each batch for the required time. Do you have any idea how many times a person washes their hands in hot, soapy water while processing 80 pounds of meat? Me neither, but it's a LOT. Between the physical effort required to pack the cold meat tightly into the jars, along with being wet/washed/dried over and over - my hands were a mess at the end of the day. All I had to do was slather on some Horse Woman's Balm at bedtime and they were like new in the morning. Whatever is in this stuff is what hands need - that's for sure. The great thing is, too, you can use a little - or a lot. For minor dryness, a little dab makes a thin film that absorbs quickly and doesn't feel greasy. For major dryness like I was having - you can use quite a bit so it continues to "feed" your skin as it soaks in overnight.

So, if the price on this discouraged you from trying it in the past - reconsider giving it a shot now - you won't regret it. To order, click here.