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HoofPrints Newsletter
January 16, 2013
January CALHNTS
Things not to say to a horse owner
We've all heard them.. We've all heard them... "helpful" comments from well-meaning folks who haven't got a clue. We've gathered them all up and placed them on a calendar, sweatshirt and mug. Do you have a non-horsey friend or family member who just doesn't "get it"? Maybe these will help...
Shown at left is art from the 2013 Magnetic Business Card Calendar - on sale here.
   
CALSKA 2013 Jan top
Don't say we didn't warn you... 
Sarah K. Andrew's Horses and Hope Calendar is about to sell out. We are down to our last box. 
Folks who've already got their calendar are enjoying the January page shown above. On it are 3 paragraphs from involved folks - the first one is Sarah's:
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Since 2010, I've photographed well over 3,000 horses-in-need in the auction house, at private farms, and in the care of equine rescues. The price tag of each of these horses was less than a month of board, which put them at risk of entering the slaughter pipeline. As a group, this sounds like an overwhelming number of horses in need, until you study their faces. Every face is an individual. Every individual has a story. For the next 12 months, please enjoy the faces and stories of some of the wonderful horses I've met in my travels."

Next is HoofPrints' owner Gina Keesling (also the author of this newsletter):
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Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight." This quote by Albert Schweitzer often found it's way into my head. Trouble was, though I wanted to help, much exposure to unfortunate situations with horses sucked me into a despair that rendered me ineffective at anything. When Sarah inquired about HoofPrints helping create this calendar, I jumped at the chance. An opportunity to showcase her photographs, along with the networking success they facilitated, was the perfect way for me to contribute to the effort. For those who think they don't have what it takes emotionally to get involved, take heart - if I can do it, you can, too!"

Third is funds recipient Penny Austin of One Horse At A Time:
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."

Most of the folks who bought them, bought one. What can $20. do? Is it even worth the bother? I am here to state a resounding YES! In 2012, we dispersed about $50,000. in calendar sales proceeds to One Horse At A Time. They've wisely and judiciously distributed it where it's most needed. If you've not ordered your calendar yet, you can do so here. If you don't already have one, consider adding a 2012 calendar to your order, too. They're only $10.00 and the photos are beautiful - it's a collector's item, for sure. 
Horsewoman's Balm
Horse Woman's Balm on SALE
Regularly $29.95, we've marked it down by $10.00! The 3 ounce tin doesn't sound like much, but I have been using out of the SAME tin since it arrived here a couple years ago as a prototype.  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 at Little Moon 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.

No Foot No Horse Mug
No Foot, No Horse Mug
ON SALE!

These are an elegant, deep cobalt blue color. We've marketed them for years as gifts for farriers to give to their best clients - a fancy reminder of the importance of proper hoof care. We thought they'd be dandy wrapped up with some horse treats or other small horsey item, with the farriers business card fastened with ribbon to the top. I even made up an example and put a photo of it on our website. Either it was a dumb idea, or folks just didn't want to bother with it, as they didn't fly off the shelves as expected. We've marked them down by $2.00 to sweeten the deal here
Wish Upon A Horse Sculpture
Collectable Horse Whispers Sculptures ON SALE!
These are made by Enesco, a company known for it's high quality collectables. They're about 6" tall and crafted of resin that looks just like expensive bisque porcelain. This was the first year for these, and the manufacturer was rather alarmist - refusing to commit to have stock on hand for us for the holiday season. I went into hoarding mode - in order to make sure we had enough to fill orders - and overdid it a bit. We've marked them down by about $15.00 here 
CALHNTS November
RECAP from the last newsletter here's what we talked about:
Things Not To Say To A Horse Owner here
Shocking Dog Images
- Underwater Dogs Calendar on sale here
Sterling Silver Dog Whistle here
Dog Lovers Disappearing Mud Mug only $4.99 here
Amazing Dog Facts & Trivia here
Hoof Problems
- a profusely illustrated, hardcover book, under $50 here
Story about people watching farriers, and what happens when they do - here 
In This Issue
Calendars almost sold out
Horse Woman's Balm on sale
No Foot Mug on sale
Horse Whispers Sculptures
RECAP from Last Newsletter
Find us on Facebook
Thermal Hood Gets RAVE REVIEWS!
Turquoise Jacket closeup
"I received my jacket just 1 day after it was shipped! Awesome!! It looks sooo great and is absolutely the warmest, softest, and best jacket I have ever ordered! Thank you so much! I will be keeping the catalog that was sent to me and placing more orders as needed. I love this jacket! Anyway...thanks again and remember you can't always make everyone happy, but you sure made me happy!!"
And it's ON SALE here
WHAT'S HALF PRICE?
Farrier & Horsey
AIR FRESHENERS!
Farrier car air fresheners
Farrier Air Fresheners include Money, Leather, and Sport Fresh here
Horse Air Fresheners
Horse Woman's Air Fresheners include Leather, Hay, and Carrot here
WHAT'S ON SALE?
~ BUCK DVD ~
Buck DVD
Buck Brannaman's life story DVD on sale here
WHAT'S ON SALE?
Farrier Sportswear
Farrier Denim Shirt
Longsleeve cotton denim shirt - embroidered with Farrier & Shoe logo - $10.00 OFF! See our complete selection here
WHAT'S NEW?
~ Christian Products ~
Bible Pocket Partners
Cowboy & Cowgirl
Bible Pocket Partners here
Keep track of your New Year's Resolutions!
Long Tall List of Things To Do
Horsewoman's Long Tall List of Things to Do 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
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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
2012 Fall Catalog Cover
Request your copy of
HoofPrints Catalog
by clicking here
 
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ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THIS NEWSLETTER

Rob shoeing Rocky Farriers 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.

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)