Youngsters!

Monica and I have been doing some conditioning to get ready for our first endurance ride of the year, which is on March 31st. This will be Danny's (Madgan) first ride, although he did spend the night at a ride last year. We'll be doing the 25 mile limited distance ride and expect to finish towards the back of the pack - no racing for us! Danny is getting the lion's share of the work these days, as he is coming six and really blossoming. Andre is the distant second, although he's showing improvement with every ride. The other youngsters would like to be on the roster, but there is only so much time during the day. Scooter (Miras) and Reggie (Sazanda) get their 5 minutes a day of grooming and ground manners, which is really all they need right now. Mahri would LOVE to get even 5 minutes - she and Slari get a few minutes and a good scratch every now and again. Once our competition year starts, we'll cut back on our conditioning rides, so we can work more with the younger horses. Goshen is getting some arena time with Monica - he's lunging with the saddle and bridle on, has been long-lined and is generally learning how things go. We'll probably back him sometime this summer and let him get the idea that people sit on him.

Aya (Aishet) is due to foal within the next few weeks, so we'll have a new baby to play with also.

They are all keeping us busy, but that is ok - it's a lot of fun.