|
|
|
|
|
HoofPrints Newsletter
|
June 3, 2014
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE (LONG) STORY OF MY GRIEVOUS MISTAKE
Shown above is a portion of the June page of the 2014 Horses and Hope Calendar. It tells TJ's remarkable story:
TJ's The Bomb was presented at the auction looking good, but moving badly. Seriously lame it even a walk, the typical muscular Quarter Horse standing on smallish feet was pegged as a lost cause by bidders. Navicular disease is a serious condition that can render a horse unsound for the rest of it's life. New Jersey horsewoman Sarah Kampel was not looking for a project, but this guy caught her eye and his sunny disposition won her heart. Turns out TJ has had some major training, and an impressive show record to boot. His original owner (who lives halfway across the country) fell on hard times and sold him to a good home. After that, his story gets sketchy as he showed up at the Camelot Auction looking wrung out and lame.
 Shown here is the top part of TJ's calendar page, and it includes his owner's account of his story:
"I met TJ in the course of my volunteer work taking pictures and writing descriptions of horses on sale night. The horses were loose in the pen; when I went in the extremely lame TJ hobbled up to greet me. He followed me around as I took notes on the rest of the horses, reminding me that he was there by gently touching his chin to my shoulder or his lips to my hair. He sat for almost a week with no interest - probably due to his lameness. I couldn't stop thinking about him so I brought him home. We addressed the problems with his feet; lameness evaluations and x-rays were done and a treatment plan was set up. A lot of people were involved in helping him and after months of therapeutic work he is sound. TJ is a wonderful friend and partner who now has a family who loves him dearly."
-Sarah Kampel
It turned out that TJ's lameness, while still serious, is NOT navicular. He's being treated by a great team of equine health and hoof professionals and is no longer lame. Sarah hopes to bring him back to his show ring star status in the near future. This also brings into focus the EXACT REASON that proper hoof care by a competent professional is so very important. TJ had been shod badly. Because he was so willing and so well trained, he was ridden long and hard on those badly shod feet. He was ridden into the ring on auction night, lame at even a walk, and made to demonstrate his reining prowess, spinning, etc, in that state. (Another reason that attending horse auctions is not for the faint of heart)
The 2014 Horses and Hope Calendar (now sold out) centered around stories like TJ's - and happy endings abound! Each month features a different, and sometimes unlikely angle that horse's stories can take. 2014 is sold out, but we still have 2012 and 2013 collectable back issues available - and all funds continue to go to help horses in need. Details here. Now for the grievous mistake. I was so excited about sharing this story, particularly with it's candid illustration of the importance of proper hoof care, that I failed to verify some other very important details. Father's Day is listed on the wrong day. Father's day is NOT June 22. I am already having nightmares about dads thinking they've been forgotten on this special day as children plan to celebrate a week late. FATHER'S DAY IS JUNE 15.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sometimes cheaper IS better:
I always felt a little guilty that the Farriers Traveling Desk I was selling cost almost $50.
The manufacturer changed the design recently and I didn't like it at all. Which turned out to be a good thing as I found a nice replacement that's HALF the money.
FARRIERS:
this one's for YOU...
Do you have papers blowing all around the cab of your truck? Do you use the hood or tailgate as a desk when writing out invoices? Do you go digging through the glove box looking for a pen? Can't find a business card to write the next appointment on? This solves it ALL!
This slim profile storage clipboard doubles as a desk on the road! It holds a substantial stack of 8.5" x 11" paper (pictured here with the American Farriers Journal Supplies and Services Directory and room to spare!) Outside, the high-tension rubberized clip keeps a grip on your current paperwork, inside, a velcro document belt secures the whole stack. Left hand inside is outfitted with mesh pockets to corral small items like business cards, pens, checkbook, etc. It's constructed of sturdy fiberboard that's covered with black water-resistant vinyl and reinforced with metal on corners and edges for durability. There's a keyhole slot on the back to hang it up if you're so inclined AND the latch mechanism includes a key lock for security. Outside dimensions are 12.5" tall x 9.75" wide x 2.25" thick. Example products pictured are NOT included. To order click here
|
Only 4 left! A great Father's Day gift idea -
Daddy's Little Helper
by Brenda Murphy. I've sold this print matted and framed (also unframed) for many years. The frame stock we use is discontinued so I'm down to just 4 of these left - and then the framed version will no longer be available.
Brenda's intricate pencil drawings of kids with horses, ponies and dogs have always been among my favorites. I posted a larger version of Daddy's Little Helper on HoofPrints Facebook Page, and asked Brenda if she could tell me more about the father and daughter depicted in this print. Her reply was delightful:
This is Thane Zufelt and his daughter Kayleigh. Their horse Money is in the drawing too. They live west of Ft. Worth. Thane was a jockey in his earlier years. I met him when he was a drover for the Fort Worth Herd. They ride around the stockyards greeting visitors and drive the longhorn herd down the stockyard streets twice a day for the visitors. Kayleigh is growing to be a beautiful young lady inside and out. She rides and does some playday events. They just adopted a mustang yearling. Good, good people!"
Brenda tells me that she enjoys doing pictures that include children because of their spontaneity - it helps keep the work fresh and honest;
"That moment with Thane and Kayleigh was just that (spontaneous). He picked up Money's hoof and Kayleigh was interested in looking at it. Things like that may seem small, and they are certainly fleeting moments with children, but I believe they make a big and lasting impression on their little minds."
 | |
15 year old Kayleigh is wise beyond her years. Her motto is:
"I walk by faith not by sight, I train from my heart not from my head."
|
Of course, I had to know even more... here's Kayleigh with her new mustang yearling. The Zufelts use registered Paints, Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds on their Twin Z Ranch, so the fact that Kaleigh ended up with a yellow Mustang filly is interesting in itself.
Native Sun Dancer is from the BLM holding facility in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, her herd of origin is unknown, but her convex profile and primitive coloring certainly belies her Spanish heritage. She has settled into her new home nicely and has proven to be a quick and cheerful study. 15 year old Kayleigh entered competition with her at the Mustang Million
in Fort Worth last fall.
Kayleigh's mom tells me that she's an outgoing and outdoorsy gal, who aspires to be a veterinarian someday. Maybe she'll go on to be a pioneer in the field of equine locomotion and/or hoof pathology studies - all because of the day her dad took a moment and let her examine the bottom of that hoof...
|
It's no surprise that there is a LOT of jewelry out there for horse lovers with a HEART theme and I've chosen only the best, most unique selection for the HoofPrints website.
This spiffy leather bracelet is loaded with details without being gaudy. It's rich brown tooled leather, finished edges with stitching, and braided rawhide accents on either side of a floral embossed silver heart. Closes with a fancy silver buckle, complete with silver keeper and tip. Adjusts from 7 1/2" to 8 3/4" and only $19.95! Looks like it should be a lot more expensive. See all the horsey heart jewelry here.
|
Horses Leave HoofPrints on your Heart... and your Play-Doh?
As long as we're talking about HORSES & HEARTS...
Lots of folks have commented on my efforts to secure the "Perfect HoofPrint". You can read part one in a past newsletter here.
The part I left out was that my son Jordan was just little at the time, and he has to question, argue, debate every thing I say and/or do. He followed me through K-Mart - asking 400 questions about how I was going to proceed with my scheme.
Personally, I need a little silence to work out details in my head - so it made for an "interesting" experiment as I fielded his questions and tried to plan at the same time as we traversed the local K-Mart looking for a mega-pack of Play-Doh. I had never done anything like that before - so him drilling me as to what my next move was going to be was driving me crazy. And of course when things went wrong (as in the Play-Doh squishing everywhere) it was really quite a circus. I had to clean it all up and start over.
To complicate matters, Jack the hoofprint donor pony is a Hackney. Hackney Ponies are not your typical ponies that like to plod around, eat grass and occasionally open the gate latch; they're bred to be fine harness ponies - he's a miniature Saddlebred - with all the snort and blow, only in a smaller package. Nearly 20 years ago, he was one of those "great deals" that my farrier husband brought home - a pretty little thing who couldn't cut it in the show ring so they wanted to unload him quietly and have him "disappear" so the stable's breeding and training program wasn't connected to a non-winner. I suspect that the training methods used are not very nice to those ponies to get them to step high and look sharp - and Jack has "flashbacks" sometimes. His eyes get really big and he prepares to "launch" when confronted with anything remotely scary. However, his small size made him the choice over my other horse - who's bigger foot would require more Play-Doh than I had on hand.
Approaching a bug-eyed pony with a large piece of cardboard, covered with a big blob of brownish ??? took quite a bit of convincing that I had not lost my mind. Fortunately, he decided that my scheme, albeit strange, was harmless and he agreed to comply. I've posted some photos on our facebook page here. At some point during the project, things got boring enough that my son went on to other things and I was able to concentrate on getting that elusive perfect hoofprint photograph to use for reference for the design you see here.
|
What to do about the Christmas Lights?
HoofPrints has carried these cute lights for years. now, I am in a bit of a quandary as to whether to continue to do so.They are fairly large (boots are 3" tall x 3" wide, horses are 3" tall x 5" wide) so a 10 foot strand comes packaged in a rather large box. They're not terribly heavy, but by the time I put them in another protective box and add any additional items to the order, the whole works can get up to around 5 pounds. At which point my cost on the shipping far exceeds the $6.95 that customers are paying based on the $0-$29.99 shipping charge tier. Right now I've got the lights priced at $19.95. I can recoup some of that additional shipping cost by raising the price (how clever is that?) <--sarcasm. But will people feel good about paying $25+ for PLASTIC CHRISTMAS LIGHTS? I hate more than anything for customers to feel like they didn't get a highest quality product for their hard-earned dollars. These are so cute, and I have flip-flopped on this decision for a couple years now. They aren't just for Christmas time, either, they make for great ambient light strung around the awning of a camper. Or in a kid's room as a night-light...What do you all think? Raise the price and take my chances on folks thinking I over charged them and thus being less inclined to place future orders? Stop selling altogether? Or another solution I've not thought of? For now, the price remains at $19.95 - if you're so inclined you can order here.
|
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.
The Closeouts Page is here
It features items that are being phased out - still lots of good deals to be had there, too.
|
|
|
|
Here's what we talked about last time
Last newsletter is here ALL newsletters are here
|
|
American Farriers Journal Supplies & Services Directory 1�
WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. Shipping charges apply.
To order click here
|
Leather Treat Pouch
Keep your phone, keys and more with you when you ride
- under $20 here
 Use the free Endomondo App on your smart phone to keep track of your riding time, route, calories burned, etc. |
|
BEST NEWS EVER!
BEAUTIFUL JIM KEY movie is in the works! Morgan Freeman has signed on as the star! In celebration, the book is $9.00 OFF here
|
|
Cute Thermometer
ON SALE!
BIG 17" tall! Makes a great gift! Durable enough for outdoors!
Order here
|
|
This Hug's For You
Equine Sympathy Cards here |
|
Horsewoman's
HAIR CONTROL IDEAS
HORSEwork before HOUSEwork Plad Cap here
|
|
WHAT'S NEW?
SALE on Spring T's
3 Springy Horsey T-shirts less than $10 each here!
|
|
HoofPrints has it! The classic print "FOUND"
12x16 Print available here
|
|
COFFEE & DOG HAIR
I NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THEM
16 oz Ceramic Travel Mug with leakproof lid only $16.95 here
|
|
A HORSEWOMAN'S PRAYER
is printed on parchment, double matted in a fancy mat with a brass Epona Medallion inset in the corner. The frame is an antique horseshoe pattern. You can order here
|
|
Copper HoofPrint Bracelets in 7 colors!
Hand tied right here at HoofPrints - see them all here
|
|
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 |
|
Mule & Donkey items
Check out this brass longear charm and more here |
|
HoofPrints
BARN BLADE
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 gina@hoofprints.com |
|
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 |
|
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.
|
|
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)
|
|
|
|
|
