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HoofPrints Newsletter
January 15, 2014
 
"If you think you're beaten, you are; 
If you think you dare not, you don't. 
If you'd like to win but think you can't, 
It's almost a cinch that you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost, 
For out of the world we find 
Success begins with a fellow's will -  
And it's all in the State of Mind."

~ this is the inscription printed on the postcards that Mrs Bryar had made for Last of the Saddle Tramps author Messanie Wilkins. Wilkins became a bit of a celebrity on her journey, and was able to fund a great deal of her expenses by selling the cards to well-wishers along the way.
Mesannie Wilkins

Saddle Tramp Cover Photo
"My horse's name was Tarzan,
but on that morning, he looked like an open moving van. He was piled high with everything essential to our journey, or just about everything I still owned. The only clear space on his back was 12 inches of saddle where I intended to rest my 61 inches and 150 pounds. My pockets were stuffed with gear, so my true weight was closer to 200.

I don't know how old Tarzan was. He was aged, but he wasn't a complainer. Depeche Toi, my dog, was 14 months. With a name like that, you might think he was a poodle, but he wasn't. The shaggy little brown and white dog was mostly Spaniel and Dachshund.

'All I ask of you is patience, ' I said to my 2 companions.
'We're heading off for a long walk, but someday we'll settle down. I promise.'

The someday I had in mind was 25 months away, when I'd be 65 and eligible for old age benefits. I didn't tell them that, nor did I tell them that when and if we settled down, why it wouldn't be for long.

Months back, my doctor at the hospital had told me that I had 2-4 years to live,
'If you live restfully.' I figured I'd get plenty of rest in the saddle. I couldn't rest in my house because the bank was taking over.

I'd lived most of my life in that little house. First with my parents, then with my mother and Uncle Waldo, and finally alone.

'We won't get to California standing around here.' I put my left foot in the stirrup, swing my right leg up and over, and settled down in the saddle. Tarzan swung around and walked toward the road. The dog trotted along behind us. I put my hand in one pocket to make sure that our bankroll of $32. was there. It was.

Don't Look Back Necklace
Don't Look Back Necklace only $14.95 here
The road that ran past my ancestral farm was called an endroad in Maine. A plain dirt road running off a paved road, and the farm sat back almost a mile from the traffic.

Now, as we walked down that endroad for the last time,
II didn't have the heart to look back at my little house. (I don't imagine that I will ever see it again.)

We hadn't progressed 100 yards when I started having the jitters. I'd been convincing myself for weeks that my plan was a wise one, now only 100 yards from home, I wasn't so sure. What sort of idiot am I anyway? $32. wouldn't get us to California, and who in his right mind would hire an old woman to work at odd jobs along the way? If the newspapers were right, plenty of men were out of work, so who would hire a complete stranger, an old woman dressed like a man?"

-from Last of the Saddle Tramps
by Messanie Wilkins, an inspirational story about one woman's trek across the US, from Maine to California, on horseback. To order click here
Horse Secret Box
It's called a "Secret Box"...
because how to open it
is a SECRET
 
This is a nifty little wood box. The lid fits so neatly that it's virtually invisible when closed (hence the name SECRET BOX)

Contrasting wood and turquoise are inlaid on the top, and embellished with a polished silver horse. A sweet little jewelry box, keepsake holder - maybe a lock of mane? Made in Rockford, Illinois, USA by Heartwood Creations, it's constructed of sustainably harvested African Padauk wood. A real deal at only $19.95!
Click here to see it and the rest of our little horsey boxes.
Horsewoman's Balm

Horse Woman's Balm
A great product that DOES WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO! 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

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.

GOOD STUFF: Fiver Short Chapters on Change
I think this fits well with the current evolving ideas in horse training
 
Romeo the horse painting
Shown here is "Painting Horse" Romeo, the impossible Paso Fino whose explosive behavior inspired his owner Cheryl to "walk down a different street." I am glad she did. It would have been easier, probably, to have just put a FOR SALE sign on his surly butt and sent him on down the road. He's painted two very special Christmas cards for HoofPrints, and they are here. Each includes his remarkable story on the back. 
 
~~___(\ 
.../< >\ 
Five Short Chapters on Change - by Portia Nelson

Chapter 1. 
I walk down the street and there's a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. It takes forever to get out. It's not my fault.

Chapter 2. 
I walk down the same street. I fall into the hole again. It still takes a long time to get out. It's not my fault.

Chapter 3. 
I walk down the same street. I fall in the hole again. It's becoming a habit. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

Chapter 4. 
I walk down the same street and see the deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

Chapter 5. 
I walk down a different street.
 

Clean Up CLOSEUP
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.
In This Issue
Last of the Saddle Tramps
Secret Box
Horse Woman's Balm
Five Short Chapters on Change
Closeouts and sales
Here's what we talked about last time
What Did I Miss? graphic
Last newsletter is here  
ALL newsletters are here
FREEBIE!
Ironclad Beanie Cap with every pair of
TUFF CHIX GLOVES

"Best. Gloves. Ever!" ~HoofPrints customer testimonial. More info here
ORDER FARRIER GLOVES AND...
Farrier Gloves
Get a FREE EMBROIDERED BEANIE CAP

DETAILS HERE
Mule & Donkey items
Donkey Charm
Check out this brass longear charm and more here
The Natural Superiority of Mules

Brand new updated second edition covers everything you ever wanted to  know about mules. Order here
Blacksmith Calendar
2014 Blacksmith Calendar
2014 Blacksmith Calendar  back issues only $1.99 here
Sometimes A Woman Needs A Horse
Woman Needs A Horse Book
A personal story of discovery of a spiritual message in the horse and rider experience. Order here
CHEAP Earrings
Brass Earrings
Only $4.98 per pair and they actually are pretty nice.
See them here
This Hug's For You

Equine Sympathy Cards here
Leather Treat Pouch
Leather Treat Pouch
Under $20. here
COURAGE doesn't always roar...
Courage Pink Mug
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
HoofPrints
BARN BLADE
Barn Blade Pink Knife
Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly
Order here
Message

I love hearing from customers. You can contact HoofPrints owner Gina Keesling via email at [email protected]
 
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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.
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)