Work, Work, Work

Ok so in 5 minutes I'm heading out for a coffee with friends, so not technically work lol! Not that I need any, I'm so jittery with excitement! But was up early this morning and at the office getting stuff done, up late last night working out some last minute details over email with my web developer. Looks like everything is going to be up and running for January 1st! Then for the month of January we'll be working on improving services and design so remember that suggestions are always welcome!  And with this quick post, I leave you with: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I hope everyone has a fun and safe night!  With a little luck my developer and I will both be out partying and not working! hahaha

IT'S SO FLUFFFFFFFYYYYY!!!

I mean, IT'S ALMOST HERE!!!! hahaha sorry I was watching Despicable Me the other night. I love that movie. Anywho... the launch of HRN is almost here! I'm so very excited :D 

Just a quick note that I'm still accepting adoptable horses to be posted to the site prior to launch.  Help increase you exposure and promote your rescue organization - all for free!

If you don't get a chance to send me the info prior to January 1st, then by all means check out the site and sign up for a free account.  For the entire month of January 2011 all ads are either free or 50% off FOR EVERYONE!  Any questions? I'm always available by email - megan@horseresourcenet.com.

Happy New Year everyone!

Arthritis and Joint Pain

Another great article from thehorse.com about the anti-inflamatory properties of omega-3 fatty acids.  If it's effective on dogs and horses I wonder if it'd work on humans too?!

Omega-3 Fatty Acids to Treat Arthritis

Refeeding the Starved Horse

Great article from thehorse.com if you're planning on fostering and/or rescuing abused horses.  Always a sad subject but good to know that there are people out there who take rehabilitating horses seriously. 

Feeding the Starved Horse

Merry Christmas

Merry Christma, seasons greetings, happy holidays, etc. to everyone! Wishing everyone a fabulous holiday season! Don't forget to give your ponies an extra hug :) I'm hoping to give mine one tomorrow - alone with some Mentos hehehe

Christmas-time fun

Saw this video on Barnmice and had to add it - too cute :)

Photos

Ok, well I did try to upload some photos to my blog but the blog didn't want to upload them sooooo there are some cute photos of my horse and the other horses at barn up on HRN's facebook page

www.facebook.com/horseresourcenetwork

Shopping vs. Working, big surprise which is winning!

1 week and 4 days left until the launch of HRN! I spent half of today working on various site design details and the other half running around to the printers and to the post office.  I arrived home only to remember that today is December 20 and I haven’t started my Christmas shopping! Why I couldn’t remember this when I was driving around, dangerously close to shopping malls, I don’t know.  I do know that at the beginning of the month I ordered myself two new shirts and a messenger bag online.  I think maybe my shopping methods are a little askew.  

Anywho, just a reminder that we are planning to open our metaphorical doors prior to January 1^st so be sure to follow us on facebook, twitter and/or barnmice for the most up to date news on HRN!  And help spread the word! We are working on a referral program… :)

Off and running... literally

With only two weeks until the official launch of HRN I find myself just a tad stressed out.  We are working very hard and very long hours to get this site up and running as far in advance of January 1^st as possible.  Because, while the official launch may not be until the new year, I want to make the services HRN will be offering available as soon as possible – especially to the rescue agencies I’ve been talking to.  They have some very deserving horses in need of good homes and sponsorships.  I’ve started toying with the idea of offering some type of donation button/system on HRN to help these rescue organizations keep up the good work.  Maybe even have some sort of sponsorship button where people who want to can pledge some funds to individual horses.  It’s just an idea for now but I will definitely be looking in to this further once things calm down a bit.  ß It’s kind of difficult to research when you’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off! (wonderful, Christmas-y imagery there.  Methinks I need to update my cliché repertoire). 

The Dancing Donkey

Thrush

Article from thehorse.com on thrush and how to identify, prevent and treat it.  Something every horse owner should know and be on the look out for - especially in winter! Although, and here's something I wasn't expecting, my horse got thrush last year mid summer from cold hosing his leg daily!

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=10253

Graduation Day

Today was the last day of phase 2 of the SEEDS program: our graduation day.  Ok, so I'm still in class at least once per month for phase 3 but it was kind of nice to graduation nonetheless - it's been a while since I've done it! hahaha  To all my fellow SEEDS graduates: Congratulations! It was an intense program and I hope everyone found it as valuable as I did.  Also, thanks to our lovely valedictorian - even though she may not have wanted the job! Your speech was beautiful, especially for having done it just the night before!  Good luck to everyone and I'll see you in the new year! :D

Horse Rescue Organizations

Between yesterday and today I’ve sent out 20-30 letters and emails to horse rescue organizations throughout Canada.   I used to volunteer at the SPCA (until I adopted a puppy... who didn’t see that one coming!) and I loved it there.  It’s sad, of course, that some people treat their animals badly, but the love and attention they receive from the volunteers and the way the animals can bounce back from their hardship is just amazing.  Anywho, I really wanted to start helping out again but starting a new business kind of takes up a lot of time.  So I thought, why not offer free horse ads to rescue organizations for their adoptable horses?  Well, maybe it’s not entirely free because I did ask them to reciprocate by putting a link to HRN on their site or something like that – but I guess I view this more as helping each other out.  And really, if they don’t to offer any form of advertising for HRN, I’ll still post their horses for free.  It’s about helping the horses more than anything – and I hope that came across in my letters and emails!

Below is a copy of the letter I sent out so if you know of someone who runs a rescue organization for horses, please send them a copy or get them to contact me because I’m sure I didn’t get letters out to all the rescue organizations in Canada – but I would like to!

Horse Resource Network (HRN) is an online website dedicated to helping people in the horse community buy, sell and market horses and horse-related products and services.  HRN is committed to providing clients with the best service possible by continuously striving to improve your online experience.

HRN is taking an active role in the horse community.  2011 will see HRN sending out direct mail advertising, attending shows, clinics and other events, hosting contests and giveaways, and sponsoring events and athletes!  These activities are geared towards driving, and increasing, traffic to the HRN website. 

We would very much like to work with rescue organizations like yours to find new homes for adoptable horses.  Therefore, we’d like to propose a reciprocal marketing arrangement in which we’ll list your adoptable horses for free on HRN (including their own spot on the homepage ad rotation).  In exchange, we would appreciate if your organization would provide some form of marketing exposure for HRN.  This could mean a link back to HRN from your website, periodic social media mentions, etc.  We would be more than happy to discuss the different possibilities with you in more detail.

Advertising on HRN can help increase knowledge of your organization throughout the Canadian horse community.  This could lead to more donations and volunteers to help the horses!

All services offered on HRN will be free for the month of January 2011.  Regardless of any reciprocal marketing, we would be honored if your organization would list your adoptable horses on HRN during this free trial period.  Better yet, if you email me your horse’s photos and information now, I’ll make sure they’re up on the website prior to launch (January 1) and will be among the first to be on HRN.  This way, your adoptable horses will receive even more exposure!

We would be proud to work with your organization to help the horses.  Please feel free to contact us at any time with any questions you may have.  

HRN Update

At this moment, there are exactly 3 weeks, 5 days, 10 hours, 49 minutes and 5 seconds, 4, 3, ... I had a countdown put up on the website so people would know when the launch is (January 1) and because I like to add something to the homepage every once in a while so that people who come across that page know that it’s not just another abandoned homepage. 

It is less than a month to launch and we’re hard at work trying to get everything finished and ready to go as soon as possible so that we can get some ads on the page before January 1^st.  Not sure if I’ve mentioned it in this blog but from launch to January 31 all services on HRN will be free.  So if you know of anyone looking to sell a horse or that wants to market a business, product and/or service – tell them to check out HRN!  There will be frequent updates on Twitter, Barnmice and Facebook and I will do my best to update this blog at least once a week. 

Next post: December events HRN will be attending – that’s right, there are a few shows that I’ll be attending, putting up posters and taking pictures with my new camera!  Pictures will be posted after each show on Facebook – www.facebook.com/horseresourcenetwork