Boot Camp, EasyCare, Inc. Dealer Blog

Lots of Great Prizes! Dave Rabe Raffle Update

Susan Favro, the owner of Healthy as a Horse, has done a fantastic job of putting together some great prizes for the "Dave Rabe" Raffle.  The raffle is May 24, 2008 and can be purchased on line at HealthyasaHorse.net.  Hurry and get your tickets! You will be especially impressed with the prizes if you are an endurance or a trail rider. The tickets are only $5 per, or six tickets for $25. 

  If you ride endurance you probably either know or have heard of Dave Rabe. He is an avid endurance rider and has racked up more than 41,000 AERC miles during his endurance career.  In addition, he has won the EasyCare Hoof Boot Contest three years in a row.

If you search Dave's name on RideCamp you will find lots of references to Dave helping to mark trail and helping riders or horses in need or in distress (plus a few comments about his penchant to always wear cut-offs when riding). He would never ask for help, but we're giving it to him anyway!

Dave was in a trailer accident (every horse person's  nightmare) and lost much of his equipment.  One horse died after the accident and one is recovering.  For more of the story click here to read the associated newspaper article or here to read Karen Chaton's blog.

We hope that you will pitch in to help Dave.  Every bit helps.  You might be the next person he helps on the trail!

The Staff at EasyCare

Win Cool Stuff and Help Someone Out

Healthy as a Horse Network is sponsoring a raffle to help out a good friend of EasyCare's, Dave Rabe.  Dave was recently in a trailer accident that left his truck, trailer and camper totalled.  Much of his equipment was also ruined.  One horse died after the accident and the other horse is recovering with enormous vet bills.  Dave escaped with minor injuries and body soreness, and we are certainly grateful for that.

Although Dave doesn't work for EasyCare, we consider him our "lowest paid employee."  As a high-mileage endurance rider he has spent countless hours helping people with hoof boots.  He has been with us the last two years at the American Endurance Ride Conference repairing boots and he is always the first one to lend a hand at the rides.  We hope you will participate in the raffle.  There are lots of ride entries and products available, including EZ Ride Stirrups, Stowaway Packs, Ice Boots, books, a breeding to LS Zane Grey+//, and more!  One hundred percent of the money earned will go to Dave to help him replace equipment and pay vet bills. 

To read more about his accident and review responses from his friends click here. 

EasyCare's Dealer of the Month - Griffin's Tack

If you've ever been involved in Endurance riding in the Western United States you probably know Henry and Dona Griffin.  Henry's 'ol truck has over 600,000 miles on it and is packed to the gills with Easyboots, Stowaway Packs, EZ Ride Stirrups and other merchandise as he drives from ride to ride, vending and chatting with competitors.  Each event brings a varied experience, a new story, another few miles in the long history of Griffin's, in business for over 35 years.  After traveling to 41 rides last year, if there was an award for the most miles covered by a non-rider, Henry would win--hand's down.

Henry's friendly demeanor and his willingness to do custom work keep his customers coming back time and time again.  Not only does he carry a full line of EasyCare products, but he makes his own line of gear (some in as many as 125 colors) and will often make a specialty item for a rider that has a specific want or need.  He makes bun warmers, cruppers, hay bags, gear bags, reins, horse blankets, organizers and more. 

Henry started his business in 1965. At that time he was carrying a line of gear for showing livestock--sheep, pigs and cattle.  Then he met Donna, his wife, who was riding and showing horses, and who eventually ended up at Tevis.  "At that time," Henry says, "there wasn't even a decent halter out there for horses.  So, I started making them.  And, I started making other equipment, too.  When I'm not traveling I'm making stuff."  He laughs when he talks about the competitors who still have the equipment he made years ago.  "I tried to have a contest for people who had the oldest stuff," he says. "But there was a three-way tie.  People had original equipment I sold way back, so I guess I'll have to wait about 15 years and hope there's a winner."

Griffin's was the first vendor at Tevis.  They provided drinks and snacks to the riders (something they always enjoyed) as their "vendor fee."  Some of their first products were Easyboots (at that time the company was owned by Neel Glass) and EZ Ride Stirrups (made by Bob Walls at the time).  Thank you, Henry and Dona, for not only being loyal EasyCare dealers, but for supporting the ride teams at the many hundreds of events you have attended.  We appreciate you!

Show Your Customers EasyCare's Interactive Catalog

EasyCare has it's new interactive 2008 catalog up on the web.  It can be downloaded and/or sent to your customers.  This is a great resource if your customers need information on how to measure, deciding which boot is right for them, or reading more about our products.  Not only does it contain product updates and information, but it summarizes our 2007 Hoof Boot Contest and provides numerous testimonials from our customers. Last year, thousands of these catalogs were downloaded from our site.

For the complete catalog, click here.

EasyCare Inc. Expands Donations Program in 2008!

Tucson, AZ – January 25, 2008 – EasyCare is committed to supporting the groups, organizations, and dealers who support them. EasyCare wants to give back in a variety of ways and has continued to develop and expand upon their existing donations and sponsorship program for 2008.

Click here to read more.

EasyCare back in the office after busy WESA show

We (Karen, Cathie, Chris, Debbie and Brian) are settling back into the office after a busy 5 days in Denver.  We were attending  the WESA show.  We had a great time talking to dealers about our current product line, as well as some exciting new additions we have going to have 2008.  If you had a chance to stop by, thanks for taking the time, if you could not make it, please feel free to contact us with any questions.  As always, we appreciate your business.

                                                

New Dealer Pricing

By now you all of EasyCare's Dealers should have received a 2008 dealer packet.  If you have not yet received one, please call us at 1-800-447-8836 and we will be happy to send you one.  It contains a catalog, calendar, dealer letter and a price sheet. 

We have implemented a new pricing structure, which should benefit many of you.  The 2008 price structure is a "level" or "tier" structure that is based on what you purchased from EasyCare last year.  Your rep will let you know what level you currently buy at and how you can achieve deeper discounts. 

EasyCare's New 30-Day Money Back Guarantee!

We've announced a new 30-day money back guarantee policy that will allow customers to receive their money back if they are not fully satisfied with any EasyCare, Inc. product.  That's right! The new improved guarantee is one of the strongest in the industry, making EasyCare hoof boot products risk-free for customers to try. 

By offering a "no questions asked" 30-day money back guarantee EasyCare gains a competitive advantage within the hoof boot industry. The new EasyCare money back guarantee took effect January 1, 2008 and applies to all new orders.

"Our goal is to gain consumer confidence by making our products completely risk free," explained Brian Mueller, Director of Sales for EasyCare.  "Our products have been proven on thousands of different horses and over every type of terrain.  We believe we are the best at what we do based on our years of experience, knowledge and customer results.  EasyCare has always been committed to providing the best service in our industry. We are so sure you and your horse will love our products, we decided to upgrade our return policy.  We know that once you try our products you will continue using them."

EasyCare 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
We back all of our products with a money-back guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with this product for any reason, EasyCare will gladly refund your purchase price (excluding shipping and handling) within 30 days of purchase.   To qualify all products must be returned to place of purchase and have a dated receipt.  Offer not valid for EasyCare bargain bin, factory seconds or custom boot purchases.

In the next few days you will be receiving a 2008 dealer packet that contains the details of this program.  If you have any questions please call your representative at 1-800-447-8836. 

EasyCare's Holiday Schedule

EasyCare will be closed from December 22nd through January 6th, 2008 for the Holiday Season!  Please be sure to place your orders accordingly.  For any customers interested in ordering gifts for the holiday from EasyCare, the last day to place an order to ship ground service and still get there by Dec 24th is.... December 11th.  If you order after December 11th and still need delivery by the holiday, air shipment options are available. 

Have a safe and happy Holiday Season!!

Danielle's adventures continue!!

9/25: Danielle is enjoying her trip immensely. Her 3 horses realized that they are not going home anytime soon and are more relax now. Her 2 dogs are very happy to run and to be free. This month has been amazing for her. People are extremely nice and helpful. Maybe too much sometimes …. She slept on the front lawn of a hospital and enjoyed hospital food for breakfast and a warm shower. She slept in front of a monastery where monks took the vow of silence, she made sure her dogs were silent too. She had to cross barriers and rivers and roads and small freeways. She encountered a heavy rainstorm, and was lucky that 2 older men helped her to move her tent and all her stuff to the village’s barn and took cover there. One admirer tracked her down and offered her a pound of fine chocolate, offered by the chocolate master himself when he heard of Danielle’s journey. One lunch, she sat at a table of a small restaurant, and the whole village was there speaking with her. The restaurant owner invited her and gave all the leftovers for her dogs who were simply in dog heaven! Journalist are catching up with her, so more people are saying that they saw her in the local newspaper. She is now in the Lyon area, and continuing her journey towards Spain. The weather is still fairly good. Danielle is absolutely happy and one with herself as she was expecting to be.

Doing what you can for the environment

Small changes lead to extraordinary results!!  Here is a list of things we can all do to help:

Change the bulb (buy energy-saving products)

Only light the room you are in

Let the sunshine in!

Adjust thermostat down a couple degrees in winter, up in summer

Shut off your computer and screen, unplug charges when not needed

Turn off televisions and radios when not using (another challenge for kids...)

Use ceiling fans

Walk, bike or take public transportation (ride your horse!!)

Wash clothes in cold water

Recycle!!

EasyCare inspiration for the day!

Words to live by.....

Author Unknown

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road your trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victors cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when your hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!

In memory of Patricia Ann Allinder-February 20th, 1937 - August 5th, 1991

Show off your horse and his boots in our 2008 EasyCare Calendar!

Time is running out!  Do you have a great photo of you and your horse(s) in boots that you'd like to submit to us for consideration? 

If so, you may submit a large size, high-resolution photo through our testimonial form or drop your photograph in the mail. We ask that you send the largest file available since small images are not suitable for calendar printing. If we choose your horse, we'll send you a handful of calendars to pass out to friends and family. So get out there, get your boots on and get snapping!

Please include your full name, contact information, horse's name, location and any other interesting tidbits you'd like to share.

Deadline for Photo Submissions: September 15, 2007

Mail to:

EasyCare Calendar Submissions

2300 E. Vistoso Commerce Loop Rd.

Tucson, AZ 85755

Email: admin@easycareinc.com

EasyCare Quote for the Day!

Horses have hoofs to carry them over frost and snow; hair, to protect them from wind and cold. They eat grass and drink water, and fling up their heels.... Such is the real nature of horses.

Chuang Tzu

EasyCare wants Feedback on our hoof boots!

EasyCare is always looking for ways and ideas to make doing business with our dealer lifeline easier.  We love to hear our customer’s thoughts on our products and about the equine market in general.  If you or one of your customers ever has a question, comment or even a complaint we want to hear from you. 

We recently published our mission statement on our website, to us this is not lip service, it is how we want to do business.  All of us at EasyCare are here because of our customers. We realize you are our business, so we want to make doing business with us a great experience. So contact us and let us know how we are doing… we want to know.

SUMMER SAFETY TIPS FOR PET OWNERS

I received this article from a friend, thought I would share it.  For more on this story and other helpful tips visit the ASPCA website!

It’s summertime, and the living isn’t always easy for our animal companions. Dogs and cats can suffer from the same problems that humans do—overheating, dehydration and even sunburn—when the mercury rises. By taking these simple precautions, you can keep your animal companions happy and healthy in the hot weather:

* Exercise your dog in the cool of the early morning or evening—never when it's extremely hot or humid. Take care not to let your dog stand on hot asphalt, as his sensitive paw pads can easily burn.
* Provide plenty of shade and cool, clean water for animals kept outdoors. And during the hottest part of the day, please bring your cat or dog inside to rest in a cool part of the house.
* Never leave your animal alone in a vehicle. Overheating can be fatal. Even with the doors open, a parked automobile can become a furnace in no time. Parking in the shade offers little protection, as the sun shifts during the day.
* Some animals will need extra special care in hot weather, especially those who are elderly and overweight or have heart or lung disease. Certain breeds of dogs, including pugs, bulldogs, Lhasa apsos and shih tzus, also need extra attention on hot days. If your pet is showing signs of heat stroke or exhaustion, take him to your veterinarian immediately.

EasyCare Dealers Excel at Western States Horse Expo

EasyCare had six fantastic dealers attend the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento, CA.  Action Rider Tack, Australian Connection, Christensen Saddlery, The Stagecoach West, Synergist Saddles and Valley Vet.  Dealer reps Chris Freeman and Debbie Schwiebert were on hand at the EasyCare booth to support the dealers as well as educate the public on EasyCare's products with hands on demos allowing everyone a chance to get their hands on the various products.  There was a tremendous interest in barefoot and the necessity of hoof boots.  Debbie had a chance to get out and snap a few photos of some of our dealers and associates. 

Dealer Listings on the Web

Please be sure to check your dealer listing on our website at http://www.easycareinc.com/Search/Dealer.aspx and report any inaccurate information to us.  If you have a website, we will include it so that we can link back to you.  Also, please be sure to give us your e-mail address when you call in so that we can inform you about our sales on a monthly basis!