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HoofPrints Newsletter
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January 5, 2014
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It's BACK!!! After being out of print and SOLD OUT for a while, mule expert and author John Hauer took the reins and arranged for this second edition of his classic book THE NATURAL SUPERIORITY OF MULES to be printed! This book is an impressive compilation of all information to do with mules. It's profusely illustrated in full color with all manner of photos, drawings and historical ephemera. The Natural Superiority of Mules will leave even the uninitiated wondering what all the fuss is about with these folks who love their mules. They even made up a word: Endearance. John describes it as "descriptive of the way in which many people react to mules; they often want to hug and even kiss them. It is partly that "doleful, soulful countenance" that they inherit from the donkey and partly the fact that many mules are very affectionate and seem to really like people."I ran out of these early in 2013, and I had a number of folks who paid for and waited patiently for months, for this second edition reprint. And it was worth the wait. Inside readers will find all manner of interesting facts and trivia, including content by Robert M Miller DVM, Meredith Hodges, and even Ann Landers! This is a lovely hardcover coffee table book that will be a conversation starter and/or educator for sure. For more info click here.
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Gloves for FARRIERS!Are your hands covered with cuts and scrapes? Wear out gloves instead of your skin!
Recognize that your HANDS are one of the most important tools that you use, and protect them accordingly. With wear, your gloves will become tattered, but consider that the damage they sustain would have been to your skin. Shown here is a tough, protective farrier glove that's made by riding glove manufacturer Heritage. These utilize goatskin leather, as opposed to the all-synthetic IronClads (below). These also come in Extra Small; I've had many requests for this size and previously was unable to offer.  Next is IronClad's version for farriers. These are actually marketed to the construction industry and are called Framers - but they've got the exact same features that are important to farriers: the first two fingers and thumb are open for dexterity and sensitivity. They're reinforced and padded in areas that take the biggest beating. A velcro wrist closure for custom fit. There's even a clever (and thoughtful) but of absorbent towel sewn into the back of the thumb - so you can wipe sweat off your brow with the softest, cleanest part of your glove! These are 100% synthetic materials and they wash up amazingly well. No shrinking or stretching or stiffness. Just throw them in the washing machine and let them air dry.  And to sweeten the deal, I'll throw in FOR FREE one of these embroidered IronClad Beanie caps. These were part of a cool manufacturer's promotional effort that I totally dropped the ball on in time for Christmas. So if any of you out there have been wishing you could look like Zac Brown when you go out shoeing, or to the barn - now's your chance to make that wish come true. A $9.95 value FREE with each pair of gloves ordered - details here
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She's at it again!What started as HoofPrints' owner trying to use up excess jewelry components and thus declutter... has morphed into a dozen new necklaces and bracelets, PLUS matching earrings! I tried pretty hard to come up with a necklace design using the glass pony beads - goodness knows I had plenty of components to work with - but it just wasn't working. Then, I found these GEMSTONE necklaces - in 3 lovely colors that match the copper perfectly and one that goes great with pewter (silver). These are unique in that they are a little longer (adjusts from 22" - 25") The beads are a chunky 7mm (about 5/16") so it makes for a substantial necklace. Comes in 4 colors - Rose Quartz (shown), Red Tigereye , Gold Tigereye, and Autumn Marble. See these, and the other HoofPrint jewelry here
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Sometimes a Woman Needs a Horse
A Personal Story of Discovery of a Spiritual Message in the Horse and Rider ExperienceThis book is one of my favorites. Author Betsy Talcott Kelleher is a horse lover who writes from a Christian perspective. While training her horse, working to instill trust and obedience, she realizes that God is working with her in much the same way. Through the details, principles and experiences of the horse and rider relationship, she shares her discovery of a spiritual parallel between horse training and Christian discipleship.
Consider this short excerpt:
"In the distance, maybe a quarter of a mile away, a white cat ran across the road. Fanny stopped immediately, flicked her ears and tucked her head. Her whole body tensed, and I knew she was getting ready to turn and run. I gave her a gentle kick to urge her forward, keeping a tight grip on the reins. 'Fanny, you foolish mare! That cat isn't going to hurt you. Now behave yourself.' I tried to relax and make my voice confident and reassuring. 'You don't understand, but I know it's all right. That white cat is a long way off and it's running the other way. You don't know about cats, but I do. Come on now, Fanny, you've got to learn to trust me!' Suddenly, I felt another gentle nudging and these silent words, 'You too! You are so anxious about things you don't understand. But I know about them. Trust Me!' I was awestruck. I knew I wasn't imagining these silent words that entered my thoughts. God wasn't just scolding me... He was encouraging me to have more faith."
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This Hug's For You
Almost since the beginning, HoofPrints has been known for our unique Equine Sympathy Cards.
There are not a lot of options out there as far as a condolence card to send to someone who has lost a horse, but we have six of the most unique available. Shown here is the newest "This Hug's For You". It features a lovely photo by Carien Schippers of imagequine.com. This is one of my favorites because it's so versatile; I can send it for a lot of different reasons - Get Well, Thinking of You, even Happy Birthday! or Congratulations! You can buy these in packs of 6, or get two of this and five other specially designed cards in the Sympathy Card Assortment. For the complete selection of equine and canine Sympathy cards, click here
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Clutter busting 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 my gain, too. Because I 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. I am currently going through a large stash of samples* - so many wonderful things, it's hard to choose just a handful for the catalog. And the rest have got to go! Only one of each available so act fast if you see something you like.
*A note about the samples - Someone made a comment on the HoofPrints Facebook page that the samples are free to me and implied should thus be priced accordingly. Just to set the record straight - I pay for almost every sample I acquire. Occasionally an author or publisher will send me a book unsolicited, but I prefer to buy these anonymously so if I review and don't think it is a good fit for the product line, I don't feel guilty about not including it.
Half Price PRINTS are here - there are a lot of lovely prints languishing in drawers here that really should be hanging on folks' walls making them smile and beautifying their homes. Fall/winter is busy season here and I don't encourage print sales then - I don't have the extra time it takes to wrap these carefully for safe delivery. Now that Christmas is past, I've marked them way down now to sweeten the deal.
ALSO New is Half Price JEWELRY here - The more I got to digging, the more I found. Jewelry doesn't take up much room - suffice to say there is a LOT of lovely stuff that needs to find a new home. Then there's that whole problem I have with the beads. It's getting worse. Stay tuned for details on that.
Newest is Half Price Books & Magazine Back Issues here
This represents a major turning point for HoofPrints owner Gina Keesling. This treasure trove of magazine back issues has been lovingly collected and hoarded for many, many years. It's getting to be a space problem, keeping them all stored AND due to the sheer volume of them, along with my busy schedule, they rarely get any attention. But even now, as I go through them to write sales descriptions, I am feeling sad at the prospect of letting go of this vast collection of pictures and articles about all the things I love - Horses, Dogs, Farriery and Blacksmithing, The West, Pretty Western Clothes and Jewelry, Awesome Country Homes, Recipes for Hearty Food, Healthy Living, Spirituality and more. I'll do my best to mention the content that stands out to me in the descriptions. Prices on these back issues reflect the fact that I am still very much in love with them, however they are at or below what the publishers are charging. The current sales list is small, but I'll be adding more as I am able; going through these is a slow process, as you can imagine, I get sidetracked frequently by all the fascinating content that lead me to hoard these in the first place.
Our Closeouts Page is here - it features items that are being phased out - still lots of good deals to be had there, too.
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Here's what we talked about last time
Last newsletter is here ALL newsletters are here
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Mule & Donkey items
Check out this brass longear charm and more here |
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Blacksmith Calendar
2014 Blacksmith Calendar back issues only $1.9 9 here |
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HORSEPOWER
- A Memoir
"There I was, forty-eight years old, sitting beside an Amish man in a cart learning to drive a draft horse for the first time and giggling like a teenager." Order the book with the full story here |
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CHEAP Earrings
Only $4.98 per pair and they actually are pretty nice. See them here |
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TUFF CHIX GLOVES
"Best. Gloves. Ever!" ~HoofPrints customer testimonial. More info here |
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Don't Look Back
That's Not Where You're Going - Inspirational Necklace only $14.95 here |
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COURAGE doesn't always roar...
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."
~Mary Anne Radmacher
order the mug here
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SPIRITUAL BOOK
Desiderata for Horse Lovers makes a great gift! order here
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Leather Treat Pouch
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HoofPrints
BARN BLADE
Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly Order here |
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Best Selling Christian Horse Books
Horse Tales from Heaven and Heavenly Horse Sense Christian Horse titles here
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Message
I love hearing from 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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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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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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