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HoofPrints Newsletter
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June 26, 2014
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No coupons, no codes, just $5.99 shipping on all orders! Just place an order of any size and your shipping is only $5.99. This is a savings of up to $19.95. Limited time offer ends soon so order now!
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The Rest of the Story: Dog Collars from a Horse Book
It's funny how one thing leads to another and things turn out in ways that we never could imagine.
Such is the case with Leslie Guttman. In researching her first nonfiction book, the author/journalist spent a year chronicling the everyday activities at famed Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. The result of her efforts - Equine ER* was a huge success. ( *This book is SOLD OUT at the publisher - I have a few copies available here) I think she did an incredible job documenting what she saw. Equine ER is much more than just an account of shocking injuries and illnesses, repaired / cured at the 11th hour by a team of the best equine veterinarians. Leslie adds a degree of observation and insight to the stories that make this book one of my favorites. But while she was watching emergency surgeries, riding along on farm calls, and interviewing vets who'd just been kicked for the umpteenth time, she was noticing something else there in the Bluegrass. The tack. "I had never seen such high-quality leather goods outside of Italy," Guttman says. She arranged to have a dog collar and a purse custom made (in horse tack style) by a Kentucky saddle maker. When strangers kept stopping her, asking where she'd gotten these lovely pieces - because they wanted them, too, Guttman was inspired to start her own leather goods company - daisy1010.  The company's first product is equestrian style dog collars. Like the handmade bridles for thoroughbred racehorses, daisy1010's custom dog collars have a brass plate - engraved with your dog's name and a phone number if desired. These are handcrafted in Kentucky using the finest quality leather. Also matching the bridles used on valuable, thin-skinned thoroughbreds, they are padded for comfort, and all surfaces that touch the dog are smooth and soft. They come in two main leather colors (black or brown) and your choice of several different snazzy accent colors. Matching leashes are available, too. "The goal with daisy1010 is to make beautiful things that last," says Guttman.
"That very first dog collar and purse I had made are still going strong after six years. Actually, the older they get, the more beautiful they become. That's the way it should be."
 I first ran this story last year. At that time, Leslie was not offering collars for small dogs. I wanted to order one for my Jack Russell Terrier Lucy, so inquired about the smaller size. Leslie and her leatherworker put their heads together, and worked out the details for scaling down these lovely collars. Keeping the elegant look AND managing the materials in such a way that they remained pliable and comfortable for a tiny neck presented a special set of challenges. I sent in my measurements, and a couple weeks later it arrived! I am thrilled with the result. All the details are perfect, and the fit is exact. It's smooth on all the inside edges, and not one bit clunky like thick leather could be on a 12" dog. When I put the new treasure on Lucy, she promptly took it for a test drive in the woodpile. And later, in the pond. I was horrified to see the collar get wet - but then it occurred to me that horses get their tack sweaty all the time and people don't think a thing about it. I dried it off when she emerged from the water and it remained as new. Lucy's worn her collar daily for over a year now, and it's lovelier and softer than ever! Leslie is offering a special discount for HoofPrints newsletter subscribers. Enter FRIENDOFLUCY at checkout, and you'll get a $20 discount on each collar that you order! Offer ends July 2. To get started click hereEven if you're not in the market for a new collar for your dog right now, do take a moment to sign up for Leslie's newsletter. Her prototype collar was developed for her own dog, a standard poodle named Daisy. Like all of us, Daisy has issues. And she's teaching Leslie about life through their adventures. They're just getting started, so you can get in at the beginning of the story here.
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All Greeting Cards on Sale - HALF PRICE!
All fall/winter we take calls from budget-minded farriers - trying to decide if it's worth the cost to send Christmas cards to their clients. If you're one of those - now might be the time to reconsider. Anyone who has been getting this newsletter for very long probably has noticed that we aren't doing big sale promotions every time you turn around. We pretty much need to sell everything at regular price in order to stay in business. We are not Wal-Mart, and we hope that low prices are not the reason folks shop with us.
When I DO have sales, I try to make them memorable. And this one falls into that category, I hope. A special reward for those out there who are clever enough to anticipate how many cards they might need at Christmas time, AND organized enough to REMEMBER that they've already purchased them and WHERE they put them. That's not me. But I know you folks exist - I've heard stories...
 Shown here is one of my favorites, and one of the few dog Christmas cards that HoofPrints offers. "May all your Christmas prayers be answered." features a lovely vintage photo of a little girl and her dog saying their prayers. This image came from a now defunct publisher, and I was never able to find any information about it. Then I stumbled upon this. There are subtle differences, but it's obviously the same photo. It says Russia, Circa 1908, but I don't know how to tell if the photo was taken in Russia. No matter where it was taken, it looks like a sweet, old-time bedroom, and I paired it with Laura Ingalls Wilder's words:
"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime."
This glorious sale ends June 30, some of the card designs are low inventory and will NOT be reprinted, so make your selections early. To see them click here.
Also, PLEASE-PLEASE-PLEASE read carefully the wording options available for the insides of the cards when you order. The website defaults to withOUT "thank you for your business" - but some cards are ONLY available WITH this option, so if you click those, that's what you're going to get. Rejoice! and Peace on Earth are 2 examples of cards that are ONLY available WITH thank you. To get started click here |
Amazing Rainbow Tie-Dye Number Surprise Cake Recipe Inspires Comment Apocalypse
The wor ld would have likely never seen this festival of all things sordid on the internet
had blogger Albert Berneko not stumbled upon an Australian radio station's website's share of an over-the-top recipe for an insanely complicated (albeit impressive) cake. His words say it best: "That is one wild-ass baked good, friends. If some lady made that cake on 'Ultimate Cake Massacre' or whatever the latest cable-TV baked-good game show is, you'd be all, go home, baker-lady, you're drunk." He goes on to say:
"Under almost any other set of circumstances, the most noteworthy thing about this internet post would be the Amazing Rainbow Tie-Dye Number Surprise Cake itself. Look at the damn thing! It's a brick-shaped cake, sheathed in rainbow-colored fondant, with a kaleidoscopic number baked into the middle of it."
 More amazing than the fact that someone took the time and effort to create such an extreme confection - is the bizarre wreckage (I mean exchange of ideas) that followed in the comments. Someone asked a question regarding the preparation instructions that was followed by varying degrees of snark and sarcasm. Very quickly, the whole works disintegrated in to a mele� where nothing was left un-insulted. Political views, religion, race, computer proficiency, it's all in there. Over 700 comments - a huge fight inspired by a picture of a fancy cake. Every so often - someone chimes in; "Isn't this supposed to be about a cake recipe?"... but the argument marches on. Amazing stuff. Funny and sad at the same time. You can see for yourself if you are so inclined - Albert Berneko's hilarious commentary on the comments is here . The original Austrailan share of the cake recipe (with all the comments in chronological order) is here. Enjoy!
GINA'S TAKE ON THE CRAPPY COMMENTS
A while back, I shared a 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 this spring. 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 crappy comments newsletter"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 here
And 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
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 share my favorite, gutsiest and most inspirational books - here
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FARRIERS: Get your invoices at the OLD PRICE!I announced before that we use a local printer for our 2-part carbonless farrier invoice pads and he'd absorbed the increase in paper costs for a lot longer than he should have. He warned me that there was going to have to be an adjustment... you know - like having to pass on the increased price of shoes, nails, and shipping - after you finally sit down and realize how much more they are costing you vs how much the customer is paying for shoeing;you've given yourself a PAY CUT by not raising prices as materials increase? Anyway, that's what happened here, too.
The official increase took effect with the last catalog. However, we've held the old price ($9.00 per pad) on invoice pad ASSORTMENTS. With the assortment option, you get to choose the "A" or "B" body style, but WE pick the logos that you get. If it's important that your invoices match your business cards, then this might not be for you. But if you're wanting to save money, then here's a way to do it. The price is $40. for 5 pads - which is a savings of $1.00 per pad! To order, click here and scroll down to the yellow box.
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Here's what we talked about last time
Last newsletter is here ALL newsletters are here
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Farriers Traveling Desk
Corral your paperwork on the road! And it's HALF the cost of the previous version 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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Mule & Donkey items
Check out this brass longear charm and more here
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Donkey Christmas Card Discontinued
This and all other Christmas cards are half price through June 30 here
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EVERYTHING I Know About Life I Learned From MY HORSE
"No, thank you," you say, don't need another horsie,I've way too many, now don't try to force me!""But he's a baby, just nine months old,Raised on a bottle, a poor orphan colt."Dog gentle and loving, you really shouldGive him a home, he's so sweet and good.""No, thank you," you say, "I've plenty of steeds,More than enough to meet my needs..."
~The Gift Horse from Everything I Know... here
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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
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Cute Thermometer
ON SALE!
BIG 17" tall! Makes a great gift! Durable enough for outdoors!
Order here
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This Hug's For You
Equine Sympathy Cards 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.
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WHAT'S NEW?
SALE on Spring T's
3 Springy Horsey T-shirts less than $10 each here!
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WHAT'S ON SALE?
Hold Your Horses T
See our T-shirt selection here!
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HoofPrints has it! The classic print "FOUND"
12x16 Print available here
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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
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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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Horsewoman's
LONG TALL LIST
OF THINGS TO DO here
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HoofPrints
BARN BLADE
Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly Order here |
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ORDER FARRIER GLOVES AND...
Get a FREE EMBROIDERED BEANIE CAP
DETAILS 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 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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Share our emails
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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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