Fun in the spring sun!

For the first time since last year we had a warm, sunny day for horsemanship.

The day starts early with Scout and I feeding the horses.

When the kids start showing up we have a surprise, caught in the barn over night.

Thos little guy ate ALL the lettuce that I had growing in the greenhouse! He had to go. We took him out to "the meadow" to let him go.

On the trail, heading out to "the meadow", we found this fox scat. It is located in the same area I found fox tracks over the winter. We inspected the scat and it looks like his last meal was a mouse!

Working hard cleaning up the paddock.

Horses come out and the brushing begins. Tonto has lot's of riders.

Satinka is doing so well. She doesn't like being separated from her little man Frodo. She was very calm all day and ignored Frodo's cries. Her rider was doing awesome. She knows her horse will always react to her feelings and emotions.

Little is always a good boy..unless he senses an insensitive rider. His partner has learned this and understands it well. They have become a great team.

Tonot's older riders help the little kids first and then each other. Tonto is such a good girl. So patient.

Tonto knows when she has the tiniest riders on board and is extra slow and careful.

The kids start out with quiet time with the horses, brushing and walking. They are communicating mentally with them, sharing feelings back and forth. They are working on their breathing and body language. They know they must be able to communicate everything from the ground that they want to on board their horse. Next they asked their horse `permission to get on. Their horses moved next to the mounting spools to get into position. This lets us know the horses want to ride, they are mentally and physically ready to ride. I lead them through the trails while they practice stretching exercises and work on communicating, subtily, with their seat and legs. They all did very well. They even worked on some trotting.

No one wanted to do much art today. The weather was too nice! Instead all the ride on toys came out and the races began.

They raced for over an hour.

Ten kids from 18 months - 14 years old. All playing beautifully together.

I love having a house where all the children love to gather and have fun together.