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HoofPrints Newsletter
February 20, 2013
Rob shoeing Rocky
ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THIS NEWSLETTER
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.
Horsework before Housework
HORSEwork before HOUSEwork sign just $1.99 here

Conflicting advice for Horsewomen   
"HORSEwork before HOUSEwork" vs
"Clean Something" vs Do Little"
 

Last time, I featured an interesting excerpt from Martha Beck's article How to Find the Kind of Joy That Lasts in which she advised folks who were in a slump to Make Something. Since my work here at HoofPrints consists of making stuff nearly every day - and I'm not nearly as relaxed and blissful as I'd like, I came up with my own little offshoot of Martha's effort - Clean Something. After that, I advised folks to pick something (mess, clutter, etc) that they could manage in about an hour, and TAKE CARE OF IT. Sounds good, huh? And I bet you're thinking that by practicing this regimen, that my house, office, barn would be relatively neat and orderly. I wanted to share, just to set the record straight, that that is not exactly the case. It's so not the case that it made me think of the old Saturday Night Live character played by Chris Farley: Matt Foley - The Motivational Speaker. For those who don't remember, Matt Foley is the antithesis of a good motivational speaker: abrasive, clumsy and down on his luck, living in a van down by the river! There's a good Conan O'Brien interview with Chris Farley that talks about the character here.
 
Hairball under chair To illustrate, I'd like to show you a picture of the rather bizarre "creation" I discovered the other day. I dropped something on the floor, got down on my hands and knees to retrieve it, and this caught my eye - it was directly under the center post of my office chair. It was fairly big, and perfectly round, I was immediately horrified as I thought it looked like a giant spider egg case. It was only less horrifying, once I picked it up and realized it really was just a giant hairball. A hairball that had survived the vacuum (yes, I DO vacuum) because of the fact that it was tethered TO THE CHAIR by a single long hair, so each time the chair got moved, the hairball stayed exactly underneath it, picking up my hair and Lucy's hair for who knows how long. Ewww. Of course, I then did what everyone does these days. I took a picture of it and shared it on Facebook
(with apologies to members of the family who do not find any humor in a dirty house - and sorry Mom and Dad - you paid for a college degree so I could write about hairballs on the internet...) 
 
I guess this oddity is no surprise, considering where I live. Alexandria's brief claim to fame 20 years ago was a giant hairball found to be blocking the sewer, causing the previously unsolvable flooding problems. The hairball made national news - on David Letterman even. My employer at the time RAM Graphics printed t-shirts in it's honor and it was star of the town's parade.

So, you've been given advice to Make Something by a nationally known PhD, to Clean Something by someone who's harboring a giant hairball under her chair, Now, here's one telling you to Do Little:

"It's a testament to the powerful insight of creativity that one of the biggest keys to deeper communication with all beings - be they four-legged, two-legged, winged or gilled, or even hidden aspects of ourselves - is summed up in the name of one of the most celebrated animal communicators of all time: Dr. Dolittle.

The good doctor was created by writer Hugh Lofting, who had such great fondness for animals that he invented an inquisitive veterinarian who embraced the task of learning their language. Lofting wrote over a dozen books celebrating the exchange of thoughts and ideas between humans and animals, thus inspiring many readers to regard the furred and feathered in a very different way.

Although Dr. Dolittle is fictional, it's intriguing that Lofting chose that name. For central to effective communication with animals is the realization that there is little we need do. In fact, the more we scurry around trying to do this or that - buy a book! take a workshop! buy a universal translator device! - the more we tend to negate our innate abilities. Thus, we further remove ourselves from a genuine and personal deep-down connection with all life.

The Taoist sage Lao Tzu puts it this way: There is no need to run outside for better seeing, nor to peer from a window. Rather abide at the center of your being. Search your heart and see: the way to do is to be. Exactly!

On the other hand, if we don't do things, how does anything get done? It's cool and smart in a Zen-like way to say that all will get done when we learn how to 'be', but how does this work, really? How can we learn to talk with animals without 'doing' anything? What does finding ourselves through be-ing actually entail?"

Read the rest of this fascinating article by Dawn Brunke here
Clean Up CLOSEUP
Spring cleaning continues at HoofPrints
My efforts to clear the warehouse (and my house- house) of accumulated oddball products continues to gain momentum. I've written about it before. The point continues to be, sometimes the space becomes more valuable than the items that are occupying it. So this is where most places say... "our loss is your gain!" Well, check out this super-cheap stuff and BUY IT. And your gain will be our gain, too. Because we need that space on the shelf.

The Half Price Page is here - check this often as they're one-of-a-kind things that will sell quickly and be replaced with whatever else starts to get on my nerves.

Our Closeouts Page is here - it features items that are being phased out - still lots of good deals to be had there, too.
Vests are the BEST! How do we know?
Because we test every product that we sell.
If we don't like it, then you never see it. And we're pretty picky about our stuff. I have no tolerance for any garment that can't survive normal laundering. We wash test everything - and if it looks different once it's been washed, we don't sell it. Sloppy seams that look like they'll come out? Axed. Zippers, buttons, fasteners that look wimpy? It's out. If a garment makes the cut, then we have it decorated locally with one of our unique horsey logos. They're not the cheapest, but a good quality, long lasting garment trumps a cheap one in my book any day.

Gina & Billy Nov 2011
Shown here are a few of our favorites (both garments and animals). If you click the picture it will take you to a larger version. The fleece Headband was new last year - it's a great little ear-warmer that would be easily worth $9.95 withOUT the spiffy Bucephalus embroidery that makes it stand out as a horsey statement. I like it especially because the black trim on top and bottom has just the right grip to keep it positioned over your ears. And it's the perfect width to fit under a ponytail.

Another favorite is the Zippered BARN Girl hood. It's a lovely celadon green and is super soft inside. We've embroidered it with our intricate logo of a gal struggling with a bale of hay.

The vest I am wearing is an older version of our Fleece Lined Storm Blue Diamond Quilt Vest that now sports the Wild White Mare embroidery here. I like the newer version best as it has a taller zip-up collar (lined with cozy fleece) that covers your neck to keep out drafts. The one shown here was featured in our 2007 catalog - I've been wearing it all this time and it still looks great. Vests are the best because they give you so much more freedom about the arms than a regular coat. Paired with the sweatshirt of your choice, you've got more options for climate control, too. If you start to overheat (as often is the case with me) you can take off the vest without getting chilled until you cool down. This is not really an option with a heavy coat as then you get too cold.

New for this year is the Driftwood Quilted Vest here. It's a lighter weight, and unlined, so will be perfect for upcoming spring. It's smooth finish will repel (somewhat) shedding horsehair, and the roomy pockets will hold a lot of stuff - treats, grooming supplies, etc. And we've marked it down $10.00 here

It seems dumb to promote a product that we don't sell (we don't have the space to stock all the sizes) - but if you've not "discovered" fleece lined jeans, then be sure to give them a look this season. They're the best thing to help you stay warm, and much easier to manage than long underwear. Lots of places carry them, a good place to start is here.

The horse I am riding is Billy, he's doing well despite is advanced (and still undetermined) age. Longtime newsletter subscribers will remember the exciting tale of his "discovery", his arrival in Indiana, his accident, and the happy ending here, some fascinating clues to his past here, and all the things I learned along the way here and here. ***Please keep in mind as you read these old newsletters that the links/products/sales contained therein may no longer be valid.*** Once a newsletter is archived I am unable to edit it. (solving that is on my to-do list... thanks for understanding)

The black dog is Bailey, one of a pair of young Labs who were dumped here a while back. Thanks to HoofPrints newsletter subscriber Bonnie - she gave the other pup (Ellie) a wonderful home. Bailey has settled in here nicely and continues to amuse with her silly antics, there's a story about her foray into the world of good behavior here
clean up sweatshirt
RECAP - From the last newsletter - Here's what we talked about last time
I Only Clean Up After My Horse Sweatshirt on sale here
Gina brags about intricate farrier embroidery here
Sterling Silver Dog Whistle here
Business Card for Dog Lovers here
Tales from a Dog Catcher here
Horses and Hope Calendar
here
FALL GIRL book
chronicles the life of a western stunt double
here
Amazing Dog Facts & Trivia Book here
PAST NEWSLETTERS - See what you missed! Catch up on the news here
In This Issue
Conflicting Advice
Spring cleaning = stuff on sale!
Vests are the BEST
RECAP from last newsletter
WHAT'S HALF PRICE?
I'm Still Hot Bracelet
I'm Still HOT - It Just Comes in Flashes Now Bracelet here
ATTN FARRIERS:
farrier business cards
Is your business card featured in our directory? A two year listing is FREE with each business card order. We removed hundreds of expired listings this week. See if yours was one of them here
WHAT'S ON SALE?
Suede Trapper Hat
Trapper Hat
See the special deals here
What do we like?
CAVALIA!
Cavalia book page
Impressive liberty performance - horses and humans look HAPPY! Details here
Horsey Zipper Pulls
Zipper pulls
A great way to dress up any jacket, sweatshirt, or purse. Order here
Some of our favorite
Christian Horse Books
Ondov Book Set
Horse Tales from Heaven and Heavenly Horse Sense Christian Horse titles here
What's on Sale?
No Foot No Horse Mug
No Foot, No Horse Mug here  
WHAT'S ON SALE?
~ Closeouts ~
horse legs embroidery
Select Farrier Sportswear here
Message

We LOVE hearing from our customers. You can contact HoofPrints owner
Gina Keesling via email at [email protected]
 
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
 
Quick Links
Memorable Quote:
More quotes about CLEANING:

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing."  ~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1966

"Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it."
~Author Unknown

"Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy."
 ~Author Unknown

"The obvious and fair solution to the housework problem is to let men do the housework for, say, the next six thousand years, to even things up.  The trouble is that men, over the years, have developed an inflated notion of the importance of everything they do, so that before long they would turn housework into just as much of a charade as business is now.  They would hire secretaries and buy computers and fly off to housework conferences in Bermuda, but they'd never clean anything."  ~Dave Barry  

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)