I hope to create more horse images this year.  I actually had a horse for a few years as a kid.  He was more of a pony, actually, (13.5 hands) – and his name was Frank.  If you can believe it, his full name was Frankenstein.  He was a very sweet pony and spending so much time with him made me very comfortable around horses.  I broke my arm when I fell off once, but my sister made me get back on and ride home – it was a good move – otherwise I think I would have held on to the initial fear of falling off.  (thanks, sis!)  I am one of those people who loves the smell of a barn.  Here are a few of my favorite images after getting up early to hang around a barn just for fun.

These images were created at the Northern Virginia Animal Swim Center.  It’s really cool to see the horses swimming in a pool.  I used to take my dog swimming there as well – they have a separate area for dogs.

If you’re trying to picture what a horse swimming pool looks like – here it is:

You can see the ramp on the far right – that’s how the horses get into the pool.  No diving boards here.

We had a wonderful year with some sad endings, some happy beginnings, and lots of special memories.

While every session doesn’t get put on the blog, a lot do.  Here is our 2009 blog in review:

Thanks to all of our wonderful friends and supporters!

I went down to Middleburg, VA to see the “Christmas in Middleburg” event they have every year.  It was a great time and the snow made it extra special!

I recently had the opportunity to see the unloading of wild horses and burros in Virginia with my friend, Kathy Winkler, who is a wonderful painter.  They were brought here by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) who rounded them up in Illinois.  They are all descendants of animals that were released or escaped from Spanish explorers, ranchers, miners, the U.S. Cavalry, and American Indians.  If it looks like they are at risk of not having enough food or water, the BLM gathers them and offers them for adoption to qualified applicants.  To find out more about the program, visit:  http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro.html