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HoofPrints Newsletter
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March 13, 2014
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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 the company 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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CRAPPY COMMENTS SEQUEL
Last time, I shared my Crappy Comments rant
- I talked about how I am frustrated by the rude and negative interjections into otherwise interesting and informative online conversations. What's up with these people? If they contributed to real life discussions like that, they'd quickly find themselves all alone. And I find it particularly concerning that many folks that I hold in high regard as far as what they have to say and share, are telling me that they are keeping thoughts and ideas to themselves because they don't want to deal with the "haters". What a huge loss for the rest of us. Why do we have this technology that gives us so much power to exchange ideas, and instead (as the meme above illustrates) we use it to argue with strangers?
It happened to me last week. A farrier asked a question on Facebook about an alternative therapy device they'd encountered in a booth at the AFA Convention. This person was curious - asking if anyone else had experience with this therapy and if they found it to be effective (or not). The discussion started off great. Some people contributed that they'd not found it to be effective. Others said they had seen promising results. One person cited an example of a prominent equine athletic program that was using this protocol with great success. Ironically, I had personally seen the effects of this mode of treatment just a few days prior on one of my own animals. It really was somewhat miraculous and I was excited to share my experience. Somewhere along the way a handful of folks with not one thing (other than negativity and snide comments) to add had joined the conversation. Other people tried to stay on track with actual adult contributions (both pro and con) but in the end it just became too tedious with all the nasty remarks. After a couple jabs aimed directly at what I'd posted, I deleted my comments, picked up my toys, got out of the sandbox and went home. I felt bad for everybody who was trying to share and learn. I sent a private message to the farrier who'd started the thread - elaborating on my personal experience with the therapy so they could have more details if they found them worthy of consideration. I explained my reasons for deleting my original comments, and this person issued to me a blanket apology for their farrier brethren's rude behavior, which I thought was an incredibly classy thing to do. I don't know the answer to solving this problem. I suspect the folks who are so free with the snotty comments are NOT reading this newsletter anyway. However, I've come to know a lot of you somewhat personally over the internet, and cherish the collective wisdom that's held in this group of people I call my friends... Please don't stop sharing your thoughts and ideas. We don't all have to agree. But we can be nice.  I wasn't prepared for what happened after I sent the newsletterIn came a flood of relevant and supporting info from a myriad of sources. First a note from my friend Michael Johnson, he's also the author of Healing Shine - A Spiritual Assignment: "Read your newsletter today, and that part about "haters" really spoke to me. I know you were talking about online experiences, but this has been a sore spot with me in other areas as well. For example, the "old guys" at the coffee shop where I live have this rant going every morning about how awful everything is - the government, the president, the students at the university where we live today, the police in the town, how ruined everything is, and on and on. I sit and listen to these people who simply cannot find one good thing in the entire world, and think, "These people have never even had a job that required them to work outside!" I'm not na�ve enough to think everything is peachy, but my goodness, there are still cardinals and wood ducks, BBQ sauce and deviled eggs, and it won't be long before winters over, and the hummingbirds and the martins will be back. I've stopped going to that coffee shop.
It's bad for my soul.
The key to being happy is to appreciate what we have - not to bitch constantly and be so full of hate."
Another friend sent me a link to Tim Ferriss' video talk entitled Love The Haters. It's about a half hour long, but chock full of information and inspiration. You can watch it hereAnd a rather shocking account of the power of nasty remarks: the story of a lawsuit involving a reality/makeover show, unkind words spoken out of context and a resulting suicide:  We're told that architect Frank Lloyd Wright had his own ideas on the power of words. He once said, "I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters." (That gives me pause each time I sit down to write.)
But words alone can effect great good as well as evil. A few apt words have swept candidates into office, ended as well as started wars, paved the way for peace and carried with them both hope as well as despair. Words alone have ruined lives, but have also brought forth healing. It is well known the harm words can cause, but the good they can bring is equally impressive.
Your words of encouragement at the appropriate time can lift a person from hopelessness or build a lasting bridge of friendship. They seem little things, but carry with them tremendous power."
The rest of that story is on Steve Goodier's Life Support System blog here Then came this quote from Martha Beck: Criticism is an alluring substitute for creation, because tearing things down, unlike building them up, really is as easy as falling off a stump. It's blissfully simple to strike a savvy, sophisticated pose by attacking someone else's creations, but the old adage is right: Any fool can burn down a barn. Building one is something else again."
All this got me to thinking about all the wonderful books that I feature on the website, and how a great many of them are the result of someone's ability to write down their story, submit it to be published - and printed in actual BOOKS for the whole world to read. It was easy enough for me to delete my Facebook post regarding the alternative treatment that became a topic of ridicule for a handful of "haters". How scary would it be to put something out there that could NOT be deleted? Considering that, I'd like to highlight a few of my favorite, gutsiest and most inspirational books.
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Bad Dog - A Love Story
(It's also a true story)
Meet Hola. She's a nightmare, but it's not her fault if she tackles strangers and chews on furniture, or if she runs after buses and fried chicken containers and drug dealers. No one ever told her not to. Worse yet, she scares her family. Hola may be the most beautiful Bernese mountain dog in the world, but she's never been trained. At least not by anyone who knew what he was doing.
Hola's supposed master, Marty, is a high-functioning alcoholic. A TV writer turned management consultant, Marty's in debt and out of shape; he's about to lose his job, and one day he emerges from a haze of peach-flavored vodka to find he's on the verge of losing his wife, too, if he can't get his life - and his dog - under control.
Desperately trying to save his marriage, Marty throws himself headlong into the world of dog training. Unfortunately, he knows even less than Hola, the only dog ever to be expelled from her puppy preschool twice. Somehow, together, they need to get through the American Kennel Club's rigorous Canine Good Citizen test. Of course, Hola first needs to learn how to sit.
Gina's note: Above is the publisher's description of the book. It's pretty good, but doesn't really touch much on the meat of the story; the parallels between the author struggling with his alcohol addiction, mirrored by the out-of-control behavior of his dog - who doesn't just jump on people and tear up things. She. Attacks. Them. And bites. It's a serious deal. This story is an epic journey to sobriety and a well behaved dog at the same time. At one point a professional tells the author that his angst is responsible for a great deal of the reason his dog acts out. (How many of us horse owners are learning the exact same thing?) There's excellent commentary on dog training methods currently popular today woven in with the author's experience with AA's 12 step program. This book is funny, serious, and thought provoking at the same time. And consider how brave he was - to chronicle for the world the story of his out-of-control drinking, ruined marriage and Bad Dog.
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Susan Richards' three titles:
Chosen by a Horse
Chosen Forever & Saddled
When I brought these books on board, I wondered if it was a good idea to showcase stories about folks who'd had experiences with issues that many would rather not read about; alcoholism, drug use, depression and more.
Until someone has experienced something like this, it can be awfully easy to assume that those who have are just not trying hard enough to solve their problems. And by making dumb choices they are bringing more misery on themselves, etc.
Based on everyone's response, the decision has proven to be a good one. Susan Richards' books have been out for quite a while. Personally, I liked them a lot, but the underlying alcoholic struggle, along with the relationship difficulties, made me wonder if they were right for HoofPrints . We all have our problems - do we really want to read about someone else's? It turns out, we do. Consider this excerpt from Saddled about the author's Morgan mare Georgia: "Stacked wood wasn't the only thing that frightened her. She was a afraid of snakes, squirrels, bridges, and hummingbirds. If a squirrel ran across our path, she'd either stop dead in her tracks or buck. If she heard the buzz of a hummingbird, she'd bolt if I didn't hold her back. Every morning we crossed the same small concrete bridge, and every morning she'd stop before I urged her forward, and then she'd prance across it with her head held so high that sometimes her forelock would flick across my face.
Except for bridges, I never insisted she overcome her fears. Maybe because I didn't really think it was possible, but mostly because I didn't think it was necessary. She'd overcome them herself when she was ready. Who didn't have baseless fears? I was riddled with them and knew no amount of reasoning would make them go away. I did for Georgia what I wished someone would do for me - patted her on the head and told her everything would be all right.
As I rode in the woods that spring morning, I was afraid of the new job I'd be starting the next day. I was afraid of leaving the horses and meeting new people and doing things I'd never done before. I was afraid I'd fail.
I'd been worried about money, especially as I poured more and more of it into the barn, but I felt like such a wreck in my early sobriety I didn't know how I could possibly work. I wasn't certified to teach in New York, and I didn't want to go back to the ski business with the traveling, the drinking, and the ex-husband. Still, I knew I had to earn a living but had no idea how.
In the back of my mind, I'd always wanted to write, for as long as I could remember. One afternoon, with all the free time I had hiding from the world, I sat down and wrote a story about the time I came across a group of loggers in the woods while on a morning ride with Georgia. They had been debating what to do about a hawk's nest with two babies in an area they had planned to log that day. In the end they decided not to log there and climbed back into their trucks and drove away. Their kindness impressed me, so I wrote about it and sent it to a small weekly publication called Lifestyle, which featured human interest stories from around the Hudson Valley. A few days later the editor called and offered $35. for the piece. Do you have anything else? he asked.
That simple question released a 20 year logjam. Suddenly I found plenty to write about. I wrote a story about my neighbor Henry and another about my farrier Bill Benson. I wrote about how bossy Georgia could be and how much Bear loved vanilla ice cream from Dairy Queen..."
To read what happens next you'll need to order Saddled here
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Here's what we talked about last time
Last newsletter is here ALL newsletters are here
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American Farriers Journal Supplies & Services Directory 1�
WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. Shipping charges apply.
To order click here
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Copper HoofPrint Bracelets in 7 colors!
Hand tied right here at HoofPrints - see them all here
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ORDER FARRIER GLOVES AND...
Get a FREE EMBROIDERED BEANIE CAP
DETAILS HERE
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Horsewoman's
LONG TALL LIST
OF THINGS TO DO here
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3rd in the Series!
I Make Horse Calls, More Horse Calls & Call Dr Tebow - She Makes Horse Calls (new) Books about living a dream with horses here |
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Blacksmith Calendar
2014 Blacksmith Calendar back issues only $1.9 9 here |
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Mule & Donkey items
Check out this brass longear charm and more here |
FREEBIE!
Ironclad Beanie Cap with every pair of
TUFF CHIX GLOVES
"Best. Gloves. Ever!" ~HoofPrints customer testimonial. More info here |
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Stay Warm with a VEST
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This Hug's For You
Equine Sympathy Cards here |
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HoofPrints
BARN BLADE
Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly Order 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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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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