It almost wasn't: Farriers' Fitting Hot Sauce
2020 is HoofPrints' 2nd season with the hot sauce vendor. I placed my Fall order in plenty of time. But then... it didn't show up. Upon inquiring, I am told that there is an industry-wide shortage of habañero peppers. The perfect (bad) storm of COVID labor difficulties combined with challenging growing conditions in the source state (Louisiana) left a huge question mark as to when, (or if) I'd receive my order at all. <gulp>
Finally, I got the wonderful news that my Farriers' Fitting Hot Sauce was bottled, labeled, boxed and on the way! The shipment now sits safely in the warehouse, ready to ship! <whew!>
MAKES A GREAT GIFT - AND I CAN EVEN CUSTOM LABEL FOR YOU!
This authentic hot sauce is really good. And versatile. Here at the Keesling house, hot sauce is a staple on everything; meat, vegetables, noodles, even eggs. I added hot sauce to this roasted cauliflower recipe and the results were spectacular.
On orders of 10 or more, you can specify a custom message; your hot sauce will come with an extra label sporting your wording and you SAVE $1.00 per bottle!
This gift set includes three flavors; Fitting Hot (Cayenne), Fitting Hotter (Jalapeno) and Fitting Hottest (the Habanero that almost wasn't).
We taste tested these, and while I would call them rather zippy, they are not so very hot that most folks wouldn't enjoy them. Each glass bottle is 5 ounces, comes attractively gift boxed as shown.
About the missing pants...
These fun Horseshoe Lounge Pants are new to HoofPrints this year. This means a few things. I don't have history with the vendor, so don't know for sure how long orders take. And I don't have customer order history - so I don't know if folks are going to actually buy them. Turns out they did buy them. They bought so many that I ran out. About the time I ran out, people started buying them in earnest for Christmas gifts. Yikes!
So - my promotional efforts have sadly been missing these wonderful soft, stretchy pants
I didn't dare promote something I couldn't fill orders for.

Happily, a big shipment arrived last week - so now I can sing their praises.

They were worth the wait. These lounge pants are made of stretchy, silk-like polyester. A HoofPrints exclusive, they're printed all over with a super detailed horseshoe photo pattern.

What a fun and unique gift for the farrier who has everything!

Or the horsewoman who spends a fortune on her horses' shoes!

Machine wash and dry with no special coddling. Available in M, L, XL and 2X. (I am currently out of Smalls - hope to see a shipment of those within the next few days)
There's still time to wrap things up! Check out this deluxe assortment of super high quality gift wrap for horse lovers!
This awesome gift wrap collections was designed by a horse owner, whose career happened to be in packaging design - so all the details are just right!
Includes 8 pieces; everything you need to wrap up a hoard of gifts in horsey style.
Regular price is over $31 - and it's ON SALE for just $21.95
Use code TG19 at checkout and I'll throw in a FREE horsey thermometer (more info about that below)
Get this fun horsey thermometer FREE with your gift wrap purchase
USE CODE TG19 at checkout
Keep track of the temperature inside or out with this horsey thermometer: The Doctor Is In! All I Pay My Psychiatrist is the Cost of Feed and Hay - he'll listen to me any day!

I was excited when I found this spiffy thermometer - with the perfect horse saying! Made of durable tin, it measures a big 17" tall, and is suitable for indoor our outdoor use. The thermometer glass is 6" tall; so the numbers are big enough to read easily.

What a great (and useful) gift idea for a horse-loving friend. And it's inexpensive enough to send just because.

I have dozens of folks I call my friends - that I've met along my horse challenge journey, who I've never met in person. They're part of various internet communities that I frequent, and they've all helped me immensely with their wise words and advice for all manner of equine quandaries. Training, nutrition, tack - you name it - someone in cyberspace has answered my questions about it. In my experience, when used with discernment and further research, this information has proven to be every bit as helpful and valuable as the advice that I have gotten from a myriad of professionals that I have paid along the way. When one of my internet friends goes out of his or her way to help me - I always wish I had something appropriate that I could send as a thank you gift. This is the PERFECT solution. To get one for FREE, order at least one Gift Wrap Assortment and use code TG19 at checkout. (offer expires 12/25/20) Additional thermometers are $19.95 here
Have you already ordered? Wondering where the heck your package is?
You are not alone. USPS is experiencing unprecedented delays in service. This is the worst I have seen in 30+ years.
Horrifyingly, both First Class and Priority Mail packages that normally take 2-3 days are approaching 2 weeks. Tracking is updating sporadically (or not at all) and many packages are showing they've not yet been picked up! Folks are justifiably upset.

For the record: If you receive shipment notification from HoofPrints, your order absolutely has left the warehouse. Every piece of mail that enters our small town post office, leaves that night on a truck bound for the Indianapolis distribution center. I've been in our post office many times. It is small, and the sorting area is wide open. There is no way there could be a mound of packages in some corner that got left behind. What happens after they get to Indy, however, is somewhat of a mystery to me.

I belong to several online retailer groups, and some are saying that signing up for USPS' Text Tracking service and making an inquiry can help get a stuck package moving again. Your results may vary. To sign up go here

If you didn't receive a confirmation email from HoofPrints with a tracking number for your order, email me gina@hoofprints.com and I'll send it to you. Confirmation emails are generated automatically, and sometimes get caught by SPAM filters.

UPS seems to be delivering on schedule (so far) and for the time being I've switched most of my order shipments to that carrier instead. Thanks in advance for everyone's patience; we're all in this together.
SOMETHING ELSE I FORGOT TO TELL YOU ABOUT:
HoofPrints own scented candles for horse and dog lovers!
Formulated exclusively for HoofPrints by local maker Vintage Road Candles, these three candles are a dog and horse lover's delight. Includes Puppy's Breath, Fresh Hay and Leather. Packaged in 8 oz glass mason jars with rustic tin lids. Sold separately, or save almost $15.00 on the set here
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Gina Keesling started HoofPrints in 1986 to provide helpful promotional materials for farrier husband Rob. Along the way she added a fun selection of horse and dog products geared toward women of a certain age. This newsletter is emailed to subscribers a few times a month. Watch for sales, stories and more.
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I have awesome customer service reps available 24/7 to take your order or answer questions at 765-724-7004, or email gina@hoofprints.com