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HoofPrints Newsletter
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December 9, 2012
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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.
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BIG THANKS to all who responded to my rant. In case you missed it - last week's newsletter featured an article: HoofPrints owner Gina Keesling rants (again) about shipping charge complaints here
I am truly humbled and extremely appreciative of all the kind words. A whole bunch of folks took the time to send me an encouraging note regarding our shipping charges dilemma. It's just what I needed to hear/read. Sometimes we tend to focus too much on the negative stuff and forget there's a whole lot of positive out there going unnoticed. THANK YOU!
I'd also like to thank all the folks who posted kind and encouraging comments on our Facebook page after I posted this same rant. There were lots of insightful thoughts posted here.
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Tales of Two Decembers - Horses and Hope
 When Sarah K Andrew and I started on the Horses and Hope calendar project last year, we were inspired. Folks had been asking her to make something like this utilizing her incredible auction and rescue horse photographs, so it was well received and funds collected for her chosen charity One Horse At A Time totaled around $40,000!
Here's another tale of inspiration that Sarah received from a teacher who purchased the calendars:
"Sarah, the 2012 calendar hangs in my classroom. (December 2012 - the page she is referring to - is shown at left) My students are the ones who make sure the right month shows. I have 60+ autistic, behavioral kids who rotate thru my pre-vocational program (assembly, packaging, sewing and woodworking).
One young man who doesn't speak very much stood up unexpectedly yesterday, walked to the back of my classroom and touched the calendar. " Donkey" he said. "Jesse, how do you know that is a donkey?" I asked. He touched the picture again, pointing to the ears."Ears" I said "His name is Jefferson and I am going to visit the farm where he lives tomorrow. Would you like me to take a picture of him for you?" Jesse smiled and sat back down.
His teacher came to pick him up at the end of his session and I told her I wanted to show her something. "Hey, Jesse, can you do something for me? Can you find me Jefferson's picture?" He looked at me, stood up and walked over to the calendar. "Jefferson" he said as he pointed to the picture. His teacher said "Wow, you found the horse!" " Donkey" Jesse told his teacher. His teacher looked confused and turned to me with the question I was expecting... "how did he know it wasn't a horse?" Jesse touched the picture and said"ears!" His teacher didn't know the difference, but Jesse knew.
He has never looked at the calendar before, but I pulled out the 2013 calendar and he smiled. Those calendars, your pictures, are a new addition to my little toolbox of reinforcers I use to get my kids to do their work. The kids know I have an arsenal of fun, interesting and yummy goodies to pick from for "helping" me. Thank you for not one but now 2 calendars my kids love to look at." -LD Smith
Shown here is December 2013. And it's got a tale all it's own. The horses on this month are all rescues from Project Sage Horse Rescue of Northport, NY. The rescue was started in 2007 by Brittany Rostron as a means of commemorating her deceased rescue horse named Sage. Project Sage rescues horses from auctions, race tracks, as well as accepting owner surrenders.
Brittany was just 16 years old when she started Project Sage Horse Rescue in 2007. Since then she's rescued and placed over 130 horses, manages a staff of 75 volunteers and orchestrates promotional efforts for her rescue, including a store, a lesson program and numerous public outreach and education events.
See that little guy in the center on the right? His name is Harley and he's also the star of our Merry Little Christmas card here.
Harley is a New Holland auction save - he showed up there as a tiny baby with his mom Lola. Project Sage purchased them, and spent some time socializing and training the pair. The work paid off, as Harley and Lola were adopted by ASPCA Equine Welfare Ambassador Georgina Bloomberg. An equestrian professional sponsored by Ariat, Bloomberg is also the daughter of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Forbes magazine ranked her as one of the 20 "Most Intriguing Billionaire Heiresses." Ms Bloomberg, who certainly could buy any horse she wants, sets a wonderful example by adopting from a rescue.
Sarah has posted a "behind the scenes" story about the Project Sage photo shoot with lots of photos here.
Horses and Hope calendars are for sale here
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Sweatshirt that tells it like it is: A Woman's Place is on a Horse
But then we all already knew that. Wear this shirt to make sure no one forgets and asks you to do something "in the home" before you can escape to the barn.
The embroidery on this is super intricate - requiring over 26,000 stitches to complete the design around the appliqued brown fabric that's printed with coordinating pink horseshoes. We've put it on a super heavy 10 oz (regular sweats are 7 oz) that's buttery soft inside and out, and it gets softer with each washing. Does not shrink or pill and sizes are generous. This pink version is ON SALE $20 OFF! I can't get any more of the brown horseshoe fabric that's in the horse cutout applique - so once these are sold out, there won't be any more. To order click here.
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HORSEY GIFTS HALF PRICE! Hurry - supplies are limited.
First are the Pink Heart Riding Gloves. These are made by noted equestrian glove manufacturer Heritage. When we first brought these on board a couple years ago, we cautioned folks that they are riding (or driving) gloves, and not meant for work/chore tasks. These are excellent quality, but fabrics used didn't feel to me like they'd hold up under rough use. I found out that I was wrong this week when I posted a message about these being on sale on HoofPrints' Facebook page. My friend Val commented:
"if they are the same as mine, with a 'suede like' material on the palms? Oh yea. I put up 200 bales of hay in these. I loaded just over 100 bales on the trailer in these. I have replaced rails in these. 5 stalls with cleaning. only reason I'm not wearing them now, is I lost one." So apparently they are much sturdier than I thought. We got a great deal on these from the manufacturer, and are selling them for a limited time at HALF PRICE here. Want to put together a cute ensemble to go with your bargain gloves? The rest of our pink products are here.
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Oh what fun it is to RIDE!
 I think we can all agree on this tee, "Oh What Fun it is to Ride" pretty much sums it up for horse lovers. The design in printed with a textured ink that looks like snow. Works great as a holiday gift or you can buy it for yourself and wear it through the cool seasons. Made from 100% preshrunk cotton, this shirt has a great fit and feel.
To order click here
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Protect this Horse & Protect this Rider Medallions
 Since my office and warehouse are here on the farm in central Indiana, there are some weeks that I never leave the place. But I get to vacation "vicariously" via friends like Cherri.
Shown here is Cherri's horse Gilbert - he's wearing a PROTECT THIS HORSE medallion on his bridle. Cherri is gracious enough to share her awesome trail ride vacation pictures with her facebook friends, and from the looks of some of those challenging trails, she and Gilbert certainly needed their medallions!
These make great stocking stuffers - more than just horsey jewelry - but a reminder that the giver wants the recipient(s) to stay safe from harm. Something they'll think about every time they wear it. To order Horse & Rider medallions click here.
PROTECT THIS DOG medallions are here.
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 RECAP - From the last newsletter
Here's what we talked about last time:
Last Year for Donkey Card - mfr sold out - order here
Crossroads Sculpture HALF PRICE here
FREE e-book from Equine ER author Leslie Guttman here
Beautiful Jim Key book tells forgotten story here
Blacksmith Calendar - great gift for farriers here
Preserve your horsey memories - see how here
Snuggly fleece Horsewomens Trapper Hat here
Horses and Hope Calendars in stock now here
MANURE MOVERS of America sweatshirt here
Horse Sculptures for women here
Inspirational Jewelry here
Horse Calls books here
PAST NEWSLETTERS - See what you missed! Catch up on the news here
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HALF PRICE
"Hug" dog plaque
Great gift for dog lovers - only $6.98 here |
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WHAT'S NEW?
~ for Horsewomen ~
Horsewoman's Long Tall List of Things to Do here
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ORDER CHRISTMAS Cards Early for best selection!
Our new designs have been extremely popular and some are almost gone already! We are reprinting and will have more in stock soon. Order your favorites here |
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WHAT'S NEW? Underwater Dogs
Freakishly funny photos of dogs diving underwater to retrieve toys. A fun, creative way to enjoy the year - makes a great gift for the dog lover on your list. Order here |
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WHAT'S NEW?
~ Christian Products ~
Cowboy & Cowgirl Bible Pocket Partners here |
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Message
We LOVE hearing from our customers. You can contact HoofPrints owner Gina Keesling via email at gina@hoofprints.com |
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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 |
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Our Current Catalog
Request your copy of HoofPrints Holiday Edition Catalog by clicking here |
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Share our emails
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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)
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