Happy Belated Birthday!

Izzy's birthday was yesterday. He turned nine. Where does the time go? I feel like he just joined my little family. He was six when I bought him two and a half years ago, but in no time at all he'll be ten, and then when I am not looking, he'll be a teenager. Yikes!

August 2009 - Izzy at 2 months old (photo by Noemi Leach)

Slow down there, Missy! He's not dead yet. I remember when my mare, Montoya, hit her teens. She was nine when I bought her, and it seemed as though time was flying by us with the best years of her life already gone. Eventually, time settled down, and I found that I enjoyed her even more in her teen years.

Montoya at 18, camping at Montana de Oro.

It's been the same with Speedy. He turned thirteen this spring and just seems to be getting better and better. I've owned a lot of horses over the years, two of them until their deaths. The rest were with me for a number of years, but none as long as Montoya and Speedy. 

5 year old Speedy G in 2009 with Taz, camping in Montana de Oro.

I can't say for how long I'll have Izzy, but I sure hope it's a long time. He's really started to grow on me, you know?