Never underestimate the power of one... "In fact, it is always because of one person that all the changes that matter in the world come about. So be that one person."  quote by Richard Buckminster Fuller - from the Horses and Hope calendar.

Shown here is Judye Michaels. She's a longtime HoofPrints customer and also an advocate for unwanted horses. Last year, when we announced here that we were partnering with equine photographer Sarah K Andrew to produce the Horses and Hope calendar - with proceeds going to help unwanted horses - she immediately fired off an email to us: "Big THANKS AND KUDOS to you! As a resident of NJ and having been at the horse auction where Sarah takes pictures and helps these poor animals, I couldn't even imagine more aptly put words that you used to describe her actions and to help the cause!"

Now, it's our turn to say THANKS to Judye. She didn't just sit around ranting on the internet about the unwanted horse problem. She's DOING SOMETHING. Here she is at the Warren County Farmer's Fair - which is running now through August 4 - details here. As you can see, she's assembled an impressive and attractive display. There are educational pamphlets for folks to pick up and read later. She's got fundraiser items for sale - including the Horses and Hope Calendar at a reduced price with some additional free gifts.

And she's got a big smile on her face. There are no gruesome pictures of starving or injured horses. This is an approachable booth that folks interested in horses will stop at to investigate and chat. Maybe they'll learn that horse slaughter is NOT a necessary evil needed to dispose of only useless horses that are dangerous or damaged. Maybe they'll learn that any horse - no matter how well trained or valuable is just a couple unfortunate transactions away from being on a truck to Canada or Mexico. They'll learn that all horses have value - even the less than well bred or well conformed - to somebody. And it's important that every facet of the horse industry work together to achieve this end by supporting responsible ownership and care.

Shown above are all the months from the Horses and Hope calendar. Each of these horses were at the auction, and were saved from an unfortunate fate by the powerful networking efforts of a group of volunteers. Every month is a large, frameable photo, combined with inspirational wording, along with a smattering of smaller vignette images, each a beauty in it's own right. These are on sale while supplies last for just $10. and 100% of the proceeds goes to help horses in need.

If you're in New Jersey - stop by Judye's booth and say "hi" and pick up a few copies. Otherwise, you can order online here.

What's the real value of that horse? It was mentioned above: "All horses have value" and it would seem that statement could come off sounding idealistic and unrealistic...
...but no place can you see horses and ponies of immeasurable value than at a County Fair. I spent 10+ years in 4H when I was growing up, and at that time failed to realize what an incredibly precious group these horses were. Often times, in our area, rural kids would get a horse or pony - a family that had no previous experience - and they'd join 4H. What you'd think was a disaster waiting to happen - most times wasn't. Nobody knew the "right" way to do things, but they did the best they could and everything worked out.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the 4H Horse & Pony Show at the Madison County fair here in Indiana. My son's girlfriend Sarah is a longtime member and was participating. She's shown here with Roany, the two just having won their bareback class. Roany's unregistered; Sarah's family purchased him from a dealer for a modest sum a few years ago. He quietly carried her to a win in their bareback class, only to kick it up a notch later that day to garner some impressive times in gaming classes. The next day he was a steady hunter under saddle.

In looking around the grounds that day, it was easy to spot the kids whose families were seriously into showing. Nice horses, expensive tack, polished appearance, etc. I could count on one hand the pairs that fit that description. The rest were just regular horses - the kind who might not bring $100 on a slow night at the sale. And I watched those "regular horses" cart kids carefully around the arena, safely through crowds of people and baby strollers, etc. It had been raining, and many folks had umbrellas. Ever show your horse an open umbrella? Most definitely need convincing that it's not going to eat them. I didn't see a single horse or pony shy at anything that day. And believe me, there was plenty of strange stuff there.

I watched kids in the costume class with everything from cow udders to flower boxes fastened on their horses, who took it all in stride, barely batting an eye. At this stage in my life, I'll take one of those unremarkable regular horses over a show ring winner any day. And I suspect most folks who truly love horses feel the same way.

GOOD STUFF: "the horse you end up with may be just the one you need... even if it wasn't the one you thought you were looking for!" I belong to a few online horse groups, and the wisdom I've gleaned from the other members is immeasurable. This week, one of the members posted in frustration - she is looking for a quiet, well-trained trail horse suitable for a beginning rider - has looked at many prospects who've been everything BUT that.

This sparked an interesting discussion to which my wise friend Val Littfin posted the words I've used above, followed by: "God has an odd sense of humor and a great way of knowing what we need." My thoughts turned to my own horses - each fitting that description exactly in their own special way - and yes - there is a lot of humor involved - as long as I am not too serious to see it!
Then, a story was shared by another member - about her young daughter - who had an exact vision of the pony she "needed":

A Blue Pony With Spots 

�Cynthia Niemela
My daughter, Frances, was born in 1984.  She was horseback with me by the time she was 4 weeks old.  She was in the backpack at 6 month old helping me to worm horses in January in Minnesota.  At one year she was watching riding clinics from the backpack.  We were raising quarter horses and had about 15 of them on the place. Frances loved the horses.  

By 1987, the spring before she turned 3 years old, she loved "helping" me feed them and had no fear.  But she had a couple of close calls with the big horses (picture a section of alfalfa with short legs walking around a horse pen....), and I decided she needed a pony that would be all her own to take care of.  In June we went to look at the first bunch of ponies.  We walked among them and I led her around on some.  I asked her if she would like to have any of those ponies for her own.  Her response was; "Those are very nice ponies mom, but my pony is blue with spots."  Now Frances was very verbal, but I had to wonder if she really understood what I was offering her in buying a pony.  I pictured one of the then popular "My Pretty Pony" toys.

We looked at ponies 5 or 6 more times that summer and each time she told me, "my pony is blue with spots".  That was a stumper!

On Labor Day weekend we had still not resolved the pony issue.  We were at a Quarter Horse show in Fort Frances, Ontario, about 200 miles from home.  I ran into a man that I knew did a little horse trading and asked him if he knew of any kid-safe ponies for sale.  He asked me if I had talked to "Greg".  Now, Greg lived 30 minutes from my place and I had never heard that he had a pony for sale, but I resolved to ask him at the QH Assn meeting the next week.  When I asked him, his response was "who's looking?".  I told him it was for Frances and he told me I should come over and pick the pony up.  Frances and I stopped by about a week later.  We parked in his driveway and, from the vantage of her car seat, she pointed out into the field saying, "Look mom, there's my pony!"!  Sure enough, a 12.5 hand blue roan, blanketed, POA mare.  

Greg would not put a price on the pony.  He told me to pick it up and try her out for 6 months.  Then, he said, he would tell me the price.  We did, and 6 months later I would have paid a lot more than the $500 he asked for that 26 year old pony.  I later found out that he had paid $1800 for her when she was 18 years old.  That pony had been the first horse for all 6 of Greg's kids.

At 3 years old, Frances could go into Lady's pen and catch the pony by herself.  Then she would lead Lady to the round pen, go inside and climb up the fence and onto Lady's back to ride around bareback with only a halter and lead rope for control.  She would do that 2 or 3 times a day.  She could ride Lady on a trail with us.  The summer Frances was 5 we brought Lady to Fort Frances for the Quarter Horse Show and the show management let her ride exhibition in the Trail, Barrel Racing and Pole Bending classes.  The next year she drove Lady in a Fourth of July Parade and won the PeeWee High Point in her first Open Horse Show.

When Frances was 8 she graduated to a full size horse and passed the ownership of Lady to my son who had turned 3 that year.  When Lady was 35 years old, my then 5 year old son was competitively team penning on her!  As one good friend told us, she was a million dollar horse because her qualities could not be bought for any price, but only given away for a token of her value.

Gina's note: Cynthia hails from South Dakota, where she's a certified barefoot trimmer and instructor with Bruce Nock's Liberated Horsemanship program. Her blue pony story highlights once again that a horse's useful life is by far not used up when they get a little age on them.

Gina's other note: I mentioned above belonging to some online horse groups. A couple of my favorites are A Journey In Horsemanship and Riding With Confidence.

Matted and Framed POSTAGE STAMP Print - I wanted to keep these all for myself... but they're not giving anyone any enjoyment wrapped in bubble wrap on the shelf. UPS oversize charges keep climbing and if I continue to wait I might have to get a loan just to afford to ship them! (just kidding)

Amazing is the only word we could come up with to describe these. Everything about these is cultural, textural, rich - fascinating. Jack Klein is a graphic designer by trade, and a postage stamp collector too. His passions are apparent in these framed pictures. He painstakingly selects the appropriate stamps from around the world (about 50 per picture), steams them free from their envelopes and then reapplies them to these artfully designed backgrounds - all perfectly straight and centered. Amazing. Then, as if that were not enough, he cuts the words & logos out of the linen textured mat and assembles the whole works up in a nice wood frame. (we think Jack may be a bit of an over-achiever, but we love the results!)

Here's a closeup that shows the detail of the HORSEPOWER mat, frame and actual stamps. Most stamps are postmarked, and many are from foreign countries. They are varying ages, from modern to quite old.

We've also got a dog version that uses canine stamps; Man's Best Friend.

We've put them on closeout, quantities are limited - order yours here.

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 "I Will Give You Rest" - photograph by Christina Handley - this card is ONLY available with the Thank You phrase. Inside it says: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." -Matthew 11:28 With sincere thanks for your business this year.

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.