Conference noted::equitation

    My two are running around the corrall like nuts at all hours of the day
    and night.  I too have noticed lots of rolling in the mud!! 
    
    I can't wait!!!
    
    

    Mine have both been shedding quite a lot for the last 2-3 weeks at
    least. My Stdbrd mare has such a winter coat she looks a great deal
    more like a yak than a horse, while my TB doesn't get as much of a coat
    but he too has begun shedding, most noticably when I brush the white
    blaze on his face and later find little white hairs everywhere! 
    
    This weekend I was able to ride in my ring for the first time this
    year, too! I am unlucky enough to live in a predominantly wooded area,
    and a good portion of the ring rarely gets sun, but with the warm temps
    last week about half of it is now clear...a big enough part to lunge
    and ride small circles. And the nearby dirt roads are finally ice-free,
    too! We did some trotting and cantering on the hills, and my muscles
    are complaining today, but it was great!
    

    Yesterday, my QH gave me that "look" (begging for his blanket
    to be removed (: ) so he could run around the back ring and
    roll.....so I did, and he took off at a gallop and the both
    of them did laps of the corral & ring!!!
    
    SPRING is on it's way!

    
    Fred doesn't want to come in from the field lately, so I have to walk 
    out there and get him.  At first I thought he was just enjoying the
    warmer weather, but now I think he likes to make me scramble through the
    absolute sea of mud by the gate to come and catch him!
    
    This time of year, it's hard to imagine all that mud EVER drying up!

    
    I hate to be a spoil-sport especially since I started this topic but...
    We're already getting the downside of an early spring in the NW...
    MOSQUITOES! We don't usually have too many of them because it usually 
    dries up before the weather gets warm enough for them to breed.
    
    Not this year! They're out in force and we have 2 months+ of rain left
    in our rainy(rainiest) season! 

    Jesse's been shedding for weeks it seems, so I know springs on it's
    way.....but now if she'd just come into heat......
    
    All the schooling horses take forever to groom, they have more mud
    encrusted all over....even the blanketed ones!

    Since I live in amongst ponds, trees and swamp we always get plenty of
    mosquitos!!!  AND always get our Equine Encephalitis shots early.  Looks 
    like this year we'll have to get two sets...seems I read something about EE
    shots are only good for 4 months. Also now that the little critters are
    out and running around don't forget those rabies shots!!
    
    According to the Mass Wildlife rabies is travelling this way and should
    arrive in the Middlesex County area this year.  
    
    

    I looked out the window this AM and the rhododendrons in the side yard
    were BLOOMING!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Mods,
    
    Now that it's officially Spring, I think this note is passe and can be
    deleted...(Probably to be renewed next Feb!)

    The calendar seems to have lied to us residents of New England, I know
    in my area we had 2 inches of snow dumped on us and the forecast is
    predicting temps no higher than the low 30's for at least the next 5
    days! Good thing I haven't had the boriums pulled yet, my ring will
    be ice again for another few weeks probably! :-(( Perhaps this note
    could be given another chance come May! :-)
    

    Two inches isn't bad for a March storm in New England! When we lived in
    NH, we had the pleasure of 10-24" snowfalls on several Spring dates
    including May '77, April '79, '81 and I think '87

    I suggest you leave it!!!  I'm glad I didn't pull the
    snowpads, because we have had 2 storms in four days!
    
    Storm 1 - 8"
    Storm 2 - 5"
    
    
    Lynne   (It's not spring here in N.E. yet!)

  This weekend when I removed my horse's blanket, there were veritable
  clouds of brown hair flying away. Could he be *shedding*? Dare I hope 
  that this is the first sign of *SPRING*? I did tell him that he might
  be wise to hang onto that hair for a few more weeks, but he seems
  pretty determined to be rid of it! 

  Dare I hope that soon I no will longer have to chisel the ice off the 
  bottom of the frozen barn door before I can open it and get into the 
  barn to feed at night? (And by the time I leave it's already frozen 
  solid again so I have to chisel my way back out! :-{ ) 

  Dare I hope that soon I will be able to see thru frosty windows, ride 
  without sore frozen toes and earmuffs, see DIRT on the ground instead
  of snow...?

>  Dare I hope that soon I will be able to see thru frosty windows, ride 
>  without sore frozen toes and earmuffs, see DIRT on the ground instead
>  of snow...?

	MUD season comes before dirt season....

    
    Well, we are having a heat wave today!  (40 and maybe 45 for tomorrow)

    My two have been shedding heavily for the past 2 weeks, but then they
    are not blanketed and have such think coats they look considerably more
    like yaks than horses. :-) 
    
    Still, I have 2 feet of snow in my ring, and don't really expect to be
    riding in it until mid-April at this rate. Have been able to longe in
    the soft stuff, though, and they are getting a bit sick of seeing me
    coming at them with that suspicious-looking long rope.....:-)
    

 > MUD season comes before dirt season....
  
  And it can't be here soon enough for me! ;^}
  Having spent the last few weeks chipping ice out from under 
  the frozen doorways of two barns and an indoor with a pitchfork 
  and a 2x4 ...leading horses and carrying water buckets over 
  moonscapes of icy snow ... I will be *thrilled* to see dirt in 
  any form...including MUD! ;*}

    re  -1
    
    Me too!!!!  I can't *bear* many more mornings of sledge-hammering the
    ice off the water tub.  Last Friday morning was really the worst --
    it was so cold that not only were the horses' whiskers frosty, their
    entire bodies were covered with frost.  Each hair was tipped just at
    the end with a tiny point of white.  Looked like I had 4 grey horses!
    And the water tub was so iced up that there was only a tiny lake for me
    to break open.  Now I have to fill it twice a day, which means
    completely draining the hose twice a day too, so the dang thing will
    still be usable for the next time.
    
    Why oh why do I live here?  Why haven't I moved to the South of France
    yet?  (Don't I wish....!)
    
    -e

    
    	re.. past 4or5 messages...
    
    I promise not to rub it in... well, I'll try.  Since I've moved to New
    Mexico (and my horses are still in New England) I've felt quite guilty
    on more than one occasionn.. I was going for a motorcycle ride and the
    high for the day in Union Maine or Epping NH was around 10 degrees....
    My horses don't know that I'm enjoying this major break from frozen
    buckets and cold cold cold...  but I bet they'll love it here as much
    as I do!
    
    I have made a friend here at work who has generously asked me to join
    she and her family to ride on Saturday morning and after work when we
    can....  Two of the horses are in box stalls, two are in pipe fence
    paddocks with a roof over thier heads, all have light sheets on.  The
    point I was going to make was, they just started shedding too... and it
    has been very warm through February (daytimes highs @ 54 - evening
    almost always below 32 but warming up during the days)................
    
    I'm convinced that they shed when the days get longer -and the days 
    *ARE* getting longer (on all sides)... soo
    
    The really good news is that in fact!!  Spring is coming.... and yes
    mud season does come before dirt, but I always appreciated the mud
    myself (honest!).. I am looking forward to more trail riding and
    the arrival of my 3 year old mare around the first of April.  I bet
    if she hasn't shed her winter coat she will when she arrives....
    
    	Hang in there guys...  longer warmer days are on their way.
    
    					smiles - holly
    

    Yep, there shedding out here too. Have been for about 2 weeks. I
    thinkHollys' right that it's the length of the day rather than the
    temps.
    
    And since Holly's already rubbed it in, we haven't lost much riding time 
    due to weather. Lack of daylight, illness and injuries(equine as well as 
    human), yes. But, we only had freezing temperatures and snow(the WORST 
    four letter word in the language!) for 2-3 weeks. We will still have 
    occasional frosts for another couple weeks but nothing like we had in NH.
    
    Endless weeks of dreary drizzle in winter but with avg temps like 
    this, it takes a cold snap to get snow:
    
    Month	Avg Overnight	Avg Daytime
    Dec		34.8		45.9
    Jan		32.3		44.3
    Feb		34.7		50.1
    Mar		35.5		53.0

    I CAN'T STAND ANY MORE OF THIS WINTER!!!!!!   NO MORE SNOW!!!!!
    ARRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I HAVEN'T SEEN THE GROUND SINCE
    NOVEMBER!!!!
    
    There.  I feel better now.
    
    -ellie

    
    
    Spring is coming.  Highs of 60 degrees in Colorado Springs today
    (after hitting a record low on Saturday)...
    

    Just when things were looking good....weather above freezing, no
    more ice breaking, big bare patches with somewhat good footing...
    
    IT GOES AND SNOWS!!!!!!!   The groundhag was right....6 more weeks
    of winter....or at this rate, it will be June before we see the
    ground again!!!!!!!

   And to think the opening date for entries for the University of NH spring
   event is TOMORROW.... with the event the first weekend in May.  

   I can see it now... instead of hay bales to fill a jump, they'll be using
   SNOW!!!   They'll have to dig out the snow in the ditch... 

   I think I'll hybernate 'til July this year...

    Horror storms like that are one reason I left New England! Need I
    remind any of you in NH of the MAY 6th(?)1977 storm? The Feb 1978 blizzard?
    The APRIL 10th 1979 storm? The APRIL 28/29 1981 storm? Why do I rembmer
    those dates so closely? I was sitting up with foaling mares! One mare
    foaled during the Apr 1979 storm. Fortunately, we didn't need the vet
    during the storm. He'd have had trouble getting to us. The April 1981
    storm came a day or 2 after a mare had foaled....Nothing like a little
    snow to mess things up........
    
    Hang on. Next Monday, it's offially spring.

    Sure, next Monday is the first day of spring. But this year, the
    first day of spring and the first spring day are going to be very
    far apart indeed.
    
    My hubby shoveled a hole to the ground in the backyard. 35 inches.
    I had a distance ride in mind for May 8. Right, like Im ever going
    to get my mare in shape for 30 miles by then. Well, there's another
    in August.....'course at this rate, we'll STILL have snow on the
    ground then.
    
    And my IDIOT horses, LOVE it! They run, and roll, and play in the stuff
    like its the most fun they've had in years. I may just possibly have
    to shoot them. :-)
    

    What planet are you guys on?  My calendar says the vernal equinox
    occurs on Saturday the 20th....  (Actually 2 of them agree on this.)
    Please don't tell me that spring only happens on business days!  
    
    8^{{{{{{

    I signed up for a 3-phase training event - looks like we practice
    jumping MOGULS to be ready for the first week in June!
    
    (and save's me $ on wood jump parts)

    Space Cadet John calling in from Taurus IV...........
    
    Seriously, my calendar doesn't show spring on it. So, I looked up
    equinox in the dictionary which is where I got the Mar 22 date.
    Besides, some calendars show spring starting on the day of the virnal 
    equinox while others show the first full day of spring which is the day 
    after the equinox. 
    
    Put that 1 day difference with the 1 day for last year being leap year
    and maybe I'm on planet Earth but confused by all this astronomical
    stuff! Can I stay, please? It's cold out there in space! And besides
    there are no horses!

    Well, I didn't look on my calendar at all, I believed John. That'll
    teach me, eh? ;-)
    

    I don't understand what all the belly aching is about.  It has been
    sunny and in the 80's for almost 2 weeks now. :-)))
    The only flurries we have is the horse hair flying about as they all
    shed.
    
    Virginia
    
    

    OK.  You can both stay here on earth (where this year's vernal equinox 
    will occur at 9:42 am Mar 20).  This means, of course, that the gazillion
    feet of snow will all be gone by then, right?
    
    Happy Saturday!  Happy Spring!!  8^))))
    
    -ellie

    Thank you, thank you, thank you... ;-) Outer space is my least favorite 
    thing aside from football....
    
    And, my apologies to Linda for leading her into outer space! :-) I'm
    used to taking the blame for everything anyway. My brother started when
    we were kids and Jan continues the tradition today. So, I'm well
    trained in taking guilt trips(deserved or not) ;-) (Don't you feel
    sorry for me?) 
    
    John

    Well, JOhn, actually outer space isn't *that* bad.  I myself spend quite 
    a lot of time there, it seems.  *^)   And I think it would be
    preferable to here.  There's no snow in outer space, right?  I've been
    ignoring the snow, though.  Easy to do since I've been sick with the
    flu for the past three days.  But, as of tomorrow, it will all be gone
    and spring will be here, and the horses will be happily munching on new
    green grass.  Right?  
    
    Yeah, yeah.  I know; your horses are probably munching on green grass
    right now.  >8-:   <-  That's a horse.
    
    -ellie

    
    
    	And.... it doesn't matter how far from New England one moves.. I
    	really have enjoyed watching the grass turn green here in New
    	Mexico over the past two weeks.  And the leaves ARE coming out on
    	the trees.  AND! In New England last night, in fact in Maine a
    	foal was born... my phone rang at 11:30 (1:30 est) to announce
    	that a bay filly arrived in Gardiner Maine at my friend Callie
    	Cottons.  It was her first foal, and I sold her her first Morgan
    	so she was pretty excited!!  All is well...
    
    	And in my mind, there is no better sign of spring - the babies
    	are arriving.  In New Mexico I think every cow in two counties
    	have calved in the past 48 hours... it's GREAT!
    
    	Hang in everyone.........    smiles - h
    

    That reminds me. I heard an interview with a meteorologist on NPR this
    morning while driving to work. They asked him how could it be Spring
    without spring-like weather. The weather guy essentially said that big
    storms ARE spring weather especially in March or even early April
    because the rapidly rising air temperatures cause big temperature
    differences between air and the land/sea. 
    
    He also said that the equinox occurs when the sun's ray shine
    straight down on the equator yielding approximately equal nights above
    and below the equator and that the sun moving into the northern
    hempisphere meant a) longer days and b) warmer temperatures. So don't
    give up hope!
    
    P.S. Yes Ellie, our horses are on green grass. They have been all winter
    except for about 2 weeks in early January. We had a wicked snow
    storm(about 4" - that's wicked out here) between Christmas and New
    Year. It stayed cold enough that it took 2 weeks to melt.

    re .35
    
    Nothing like rubbing it in Holly, here at ASO we have 4+ feet of snow
    on the ground and there is no signs of spring here in Maine.
    
                                         cheer's
                                                         Greg

    Geez, I sympathize with you, Greg! 4+ feet! I thought my 3 or so feet
    was bad....the worst since I moved to my town 5 years ago. I've been
    forced to allow a manure pile to be created right beside my barn, there
    is NO way I can push a wheelbarrow full of stuff the 200+ yards to my
    normal site, and Im developing huge biceps from carrying water buckets
    from the house (no running water in the barn, just a hose in summer)
    in snow so deep I have to lift my arms up and out to the sides to keep
    the buckets from dragging in the snow. And this is the first time my
    horses have ever had to wear *3* sets of boriums instead of the normal
    2. :-(  My conclusion from this brutal winter is that global warming is
    a lie. :-)
    

    re .37
    
    Yeah, I heard that guy too.  Interesting about spring storms being
    normal.  I still hate 'em though....    8^)
                                                            
    But -- only 20 hrs and 10 minutes until it's SPRING.  *)--    <- FLOWER
    
    (Aren't you glad I make these great pictures for you?)
    
    -ellie

    4 inches?  A wicked snow storm at 4 inches?!?  ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha! 
    That's a dusting, John, a DUSTING!!!!  A "wicked snow storm?" 
    ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!  In our winter hurricane the other week, that was a
    scant 2 hours worth!!!!!!!!  Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!
    
    mary

don't forget, John's a transplant to the northwest - he (and Jan) have 
had a share of NE winters, right John?


Kathy (who's longing for a view of Mts Baker, Rainier and Olympus!), 
heavy sigh...

    Yup, we're transplants. we used to laugh at 4" in NH too. In fact, when
    we moved out here to WA, we laughed when people told us that they
    went/stayed home the minute it started to snow!
    
    So, the first time it snowed, I went to work. They don't have many snow
    plows or sand trucks here. (My town doesn't have ANY!) I know how to 
    drive in the stuff. No problem. Until I went home. 
    
    I was going up a hill with a HUGE drop(maybe 40' or more) along my side. 
    And here came some !@#$%^&** idiot down the hill...SIDEWAYS, taking up 
    both lanes... I had two choices: 1) Go over the cliff or 2) pray...Prayer 
    sure looked like the better choice.
    
    Ever since then, I'm a weather wimp. When it's snowing, I stay home.
    MAYBE, the day after a storm, I'll venture forth. But it's too dangerous
    to drive during a storm. There's little/no snow removal or sanding AND 
    people don't know how to drive in it. Two or 3 years ago, there was a 
    40-50 car accident on Interstate 90 coming down into Seattle from the 
    ski areas. The yoyos figured they had 4 wheel drive so they could go 55 
    in snow....Once the first one skidded, it was a chain reaction.

    re .39 & manure piles
    
    When we were in NH, I used to make a path to the manure pile with the
    snow blower. In fact, I'd run the thing right up the manure pile and
    clear the top so we could dump, etc.
    
    I also had to snow blow around the pasture gates so we could open them
    easily. Then, to keep the horses from hanging around the cleared area & 
    chewing the gates, we'd scatter flakes of hay around the pasture.
    Snowshoes and those $5 plastic kids sleds work great for this part. Or
    you can go crazy with the snowblower and make paths through the
    pasture.
    
    

    Oh, my horses have tromped their own paths around the paddock, but I
    haven't been able to convince them to 'tromp' out the gate to the
    pile...and I don't have a snowblower, our driveway is far too long to
    snowblow, so we have a plow guy. And the path to the manure pile is
    far to long to shovel, too. This is the first year it's been a problem,
    I suspect it will take several more winters like this (God FORBID!) to
    talk my hubby into paying for a snowblower for the sole purpose of 
    manure removal. :-)
    
    -sigh-  I am praying on a nitely basis for mud season, and Im an
    atheist! :-) ;-)
    
    

    So? What happened? Did the weather in NE improve? I'll bet you're
    looking forward to all those black flies that come soon!

    re .46
    
    No, we had another foot of snow yesterday (Wednesday, March 24) In
    Littleton, MA, in addition to the foot or more still on the ground. I
    am thinking of building a sidewalk plow so my horse can earn his keep.

    
    Being in Southeastern MA, I missed that extra foot of snow, and
    in my area, we are pretty much down to bare (& mucky) ground.  
    
    

   As of last night when I walked the dog, the snow was still up
   over my knees. However with a temp of 65 today, I expect there
   will be a lot less when I walk the dog tonight. Of course with
   the rapid melting there probably won't be much left of my dirt
   driveway. Oh well. 
   

Weather report from my car at noon said it was 60 degrees in Boston today...

The mud/pothole season has arrived.  My car disappears into several small ponds
as I go down the barn driveway...

    I don't even want to think about it.  The piles of snow alongside my
    driveway are higher than my car.  My barn aisle is 2" of water on top
    of a thick bed of ice.  And the snow pile that this water is all coming
    from is still about 3 feet deep...
    
    We're getting a lot of melting though, today.  It was so warm that I
    took my jacket off during my noontime walk!
    
    -e
    

  
    I took pictures of my 6'2" husband standing next to the 8' high
    piles of snow at each end of the driveway so that when I am 
    moaning about the heat next July, I'll be able to look at the
    pictures to stir up fond memories of winter. (ha ha ha)

    Myself, I am welcoming mud season this year, but I still dont expect
    to see bare ground in my yard for several weeks yet, last nite we still
    had about 3'. And the drifts against the backside of my ring are still
    covering the top fence rail...a fence that was built 5' high last
    summer. Come on mud season!!! :)
    

    In Southern California this weekend we had rain and wind.  The Temp.
    did drop a bit but nothing too bad.  This morning it is sunny with a
    calm breeze.....why does it always rain on the weekends?
    
    Virginia

    This wierd winter and on again/off again thaw has created a temporary
    leg breaking type hazard that, if you ride here in the Greater Maynard
    Area, you should watch out for.
    
    Yesterday, I checked the paddock where my horse is turned out. I found
    that the run-off from the melting snow from the area uphill from the
    paddock had created a six to twelve inch wide by eighteen to twenty
    four inch high crevasse UNDER the thirty to thirty six inches of
    drifted snow in the corner of the paddock. The twelve or so inches on
    snow over this crevasse was melting and at some point would not hold my
    or my horse's weight. The depth to which a horse's leg would go through
    could cause serious injury if that horse were moving at any speed.
    
    This condition is likley to occur at any location where an intermittent
    stream flows across an area where drifted snow has accumulated to a
    depth of several feet.

    New Englanders aren't alone in grumbling about the weather this
    winter/spring season! Last night on Santa Anita racing, Trevor Denman
    said that they had received 40 INCHES of rain at the track since
    December. And it was raining there all weekend. I thought CA was supposed 
    to be sunny? That's more rain than either Boston(35") or Seattle(38") get 
    all year! Of course, those NW folk(like me) who live closer to the 
    mountains get more like 48" a year. So, they should quit complaining.

    Hey, just be glad that's 48 inches of rain and not 48 feet of snow!!!!!

    NE is improving, though....this past weekend was BEAUTIFUL! I can now
    see ALL my top fences rails and most of the bottom ones, and was able
    to get my horses out to a nearby dirt road for a canter....the first of
    93! And with the heavy rains today, more snow should be on it's way
    out! YIPPEE!!
    

 
  I don't know how to tell you this folks, but it's not over yet.
  Run for cover!

> MASSACHUSETTS ZONE FORECASTS
> NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOSTON MA
> 357 AM EST WED MAR 31 1993
> 
> MAZ001-004-311700-
> MERRIMACK AND NASHOBA VALLEYS-CENTRAL-
> 357 AM EST WED MAR 31 1993
> 
> .TODAY...SUNNY THEN INCREASING CLOUDS THIS AFTERNOON.  HIGH 50 TO 55.
> NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH BECOMING NORTHEAST THIS AFTERNOON.

> .TONIGHT...SNOW LIKELY TOWARD MORNING.  LOW NEAR 30.  NORTHEAST WIND
> 10 TO 15 MPH.   CHANCE OF SNOW 70 PERCENT.

> .THURSDAY...MUCH COLDER WITH SNOW...POSSIBLY HEAVY.  SEVERAL INCHES OF
> SNOW IS LIKELY.  A BRISK WIND.  HIGH ONLY 30 TO 35.  CHANCE OF SNOW
> NEAR 100 PERCENT.
> 
% From: paananen@osf.org

    NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!!!
    
    
    
    Am I in major denial???
    
    I finally have a yard again - I refuse to give it up!!!
    
    

    Oh, GROAN! This IS getting ridiculous! No way we'll see a bare and dry
    riding ring in my area until May now. Anyone wannna buy two useless
    horses cheap?? (only half a :-)..
    
    

    My husband just phoned to tell me my horses just finished rolling in
    the 2 acre mud puddle and are completely covered.  We were planning to
    ride when I got home - looks like I chisle mud off 'em instead! 
    Still... mud is better than SNOW!
    
    -JB

    
    SIGH.....so much for trying out my new saddle that should 
    arrive this weekend.  And the ring and paddock were actually
    starting to dry out....sigh
    
    Hmmph...the snow will probably delay my saddle delivery....

    
    	I can't believe what you're being confronted with for weather...
    and as a follow up to another note (on trucking), I'm delighted to
    say I think that they got my filly on the truck in the nick of time!
    
    	I got a call last night that she was picked up in Union, Maine
    at 5:pm on Tuesday night and they headed south.  She's on her way
    to Florida,  then a layover,  then two days to Houston and on to
    Albuquerque... I expect to see her a week from today.  I suppose she
    will be driving right into the rain/front you're going to see as
    snow... but maybe not, I haven't looked at the weather maps.. 
    
    	Maybe I won't - it will just make me worry about something I 
    have absolutly no control over.
    
    			sign_me_worried_mother_of_the_week  AND!!!
    
    				glad I don't live in Maine any longer.
    
    					my sympathy to you all who are in
    					new england
    
    							honest - h
    
    

   HEY! The sky is some kind of strange color today... 
	I think I remember... it's called BLUE.
	And what's that strange round yellow shiny thing in the sky?
   ;*}

    I don't know, but I'm hiding inside.  Looks dangerous out there!

    
    
    And I have these strange little green things poking up out of the dirt
    in my backyard...they have yellow and pink things on the top of
    them....could they be "flowers"???????
    
    And I went up to take a lesson last week and in didn't SNOW!!!!!
    
    Now if only this wet stuff would go away....it must be coming back
    again....my knee is killing me this morning...
    
    Kiirja, don't tell Frank that...It'll make him even more paranoid!!!
    
    Kris

    Sigh.  Rode in the outside ring last night.  You will *never* guess
    what I saw.  Not 1, but *2* mosquitos.  ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    mary
    
    ps squished one of'em!

    Im still in the welcoming mud and bugs stage....about half my ring is
    still under snow and ice, I figure another week or two before it's
    usable...but it IS getting there!...and I can ride on the dirt roads
    regularly now, so my guys are starting to remember what saddles are,
    at last! Funny, for several years I planned my outdoor ring and waited
    impatiently....now I want an indoor, too! Think it'd be practical for
    a tiny two-horse place?? :}
    

    
    
    Sunny Colorado had snow again last night.  My tulips are still
    blooming, however.