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'Barn 3, the advanced rider's barn. She's in stall twelve. If you go out that gate - ' she pointed. '- you'll find the riding arenas and you can follow the path out to the woods. I don't mind if you ride by yourself, but don't do anything rash or any jumping without a buddy along.'

'All right. Is it okay if I look around a bit before I head out?' asked Katy.

'Of course! Feel free to look around as much as you want to. You're now a member of Spruce Ridge Stables, so you have free roam of everything in sight. And just for the record, not all of the horses are purebred by what's on their signs. A lot of them are just marked according to the major part of their breeding.' Karen then held up a finger. 'Wait here a second. I'll be right back.' With that she disappeared into her office, only to reappear moments later with a handful of carrots. 'I thought you might be able to use these.'

Thanking Karen, Katy headed toward the other side of the barn area. She walked into Barn 1, which was marked as the intermediate rider's barn, and started looking at the horses.

'Harmony, 12 year old bay Thoroughbred mare.' Katy reached in to pat the horse. Harmony nuzzled her, obviously asking for carrots. Katy laughed and broke off a piece for the friendly mare. 'I wonder if I'll ever get to ride you,' she mused to the horse. She gave the mare one last pat and moved on.

'Boise, 6 year old roan Quarter Horse mare.' Katy got a good look at the mare. 'You don't look like a Quarter Horse. You look like more of a mutt. I guess you're the first case of un-purebred horses.' The mare had a shaggy coat, and she had none of the firm muscles or fine lines of a quality Quarter Horse. She looked like more of a dumpy mustang than a Quarter Horse. Katy moved on, because the mare was inclined to stay at the back of her stall and not meet her visitor.

'Simeon, 16-year-old palomino Haflinger gelding.' Katy reached in to pat the gelding's head, but retreated quickly when his head came snaking toward her, ears back and teeth bared. 'Wow. You sure are mean! I wonder where you got your bad attitude.' She passed his stall in favor of the next horse.

'Cappuccino, 16 year old dun palomino gelding.' Katy peered closely at the gelding, then looked back at Simeon. 'You two must be twins!' she exclaimed. The two horses looked exactly alike. They both had two short front socks and a star, and they were both stocky and had flowing flaxen manes and tails. Their stall plates, naming their sires and dams, indicated that they were indeed twins. Cappuccino leaned against the stall door trying to get closer to Katy to have his head scratched. 'The only thing different about you is your personalities,' Katy laughed. 'And they couldn't be more diverse!' She gave the horse one more scratch and moved on once more.

'Ecliptic, 9 year old skewbald American Paint Horse gelding.' Katy patted the friendly horse and gave him a few chunks of carrot. The horse stuck his head out as far as he could to get more pieces. When Katy refused to give it to him because she wanted some for the other horses, he curled up his lip and snorted. Katy ignored his protests, gave him one last pat, and moved on to the next stall, which housed a tall bay horse with a long mane and tail.

'Terminator, 12 year old bay Andalusian gelding.' Katy looked thoughtful. 'There sure are a lot of young horses in here for this being an intermediate rider's barn. They must have some good intermediate riders here. I'd like to see some of these horses in action.'

As if she could understand Katy's words, the mare in the next stall gave a little squeal and a buck and began trotting around the stall at as fast a pace as she could manage. Katy laughed and looked at the stall sign. 'Pocahontas, 15 year old bright bay Oldenburg mare.' She patted the mare, who had stopped her pacing long enough to come see who her visitor was.

'Jehosephat, 14 year old light bay Thoroughbred mare.' Katy peered into the next stall and suddenly recognized the name. 'Hey! Look who's here! I remember you from Taco Garden! No offense, but I do wish you were that gray mare.' Katy exclaimed, then reached into the stall to pat the mare. Jehosephat seemed to remember her, because she nickered and rubbed her head up and down the girl's arm. Katy massaged the horse's shapely head for a few minutes and then reluctantly pulled her arm from the stall.

'Aurora, 8 year old red roan Thoroughbred mare. You must be a really easy ride if you're only eight and in the intermediate barn,' Katy told the mare. The horse was just as friendly as the others. She begged for scratching and even began licking Katy's hand. Katy pulled away and wiped her hand off on her shirt. 'Thanks, but I already took a bath this morning,' she informed Aurora.

'Dominique, 11 year old bay Anglo-Arab mare.'

'Frost Cloud, 13 year old spotted Knabstruper gelding. Well obviously he's spotted if he's a Knabstruper,' Katy scoffed.

'Supernova, 15 year old black Dutch Warmblood gelding.'

'Phantom, 12 year old albino Shagya Arab gelding.'

Katy blew by the next few horses fairly quickly with only a brief glance and pat, knowing that if she wanted to ride she would have to hurry. However, she recognized the last horse's name and stopped.

'Hey, Phantom! Another old friend!' Katy greeted the gelding with a pat on the nose and a carrot. Then she moved on, spending a minute only a minute or so with each horse in line.

'Mickey, 14 year old chestnut Welsh Cob gelding.'

'Scout, 19 year old light bay Trakehner gelding.'

'Ranger, 17 year old brown Selle Francais gelding.'

'Gold Nugget, 14 year old dun Quarter Horse mare.' Katy looked closely at the mare. 'Now that's what a Quarter Horse is supposed to look like,' she mused. This mare, unlike the one directly across the aisle, had well-toned muscles, a proud look, and a stocky stature. Katy spent a few moments admiring the horse before going on.

'Uranus, 20 year old flea-bitten Anglo-Arab gelding.' Katy peered in at the horse, wondering why he was in the barn at his old age. Upon seeing him, though, she changed her mind. The horse was as fit as a three year old, and he had a spirit to match. He threw up his head at her appearance and pretended to become agitated, prancing nervously around the stall. Once he saw that she wasn't daunted, though, Uranus perked up his ears and settled down, walking calmly over to her for introduction. Katy spent a few moments scratching his ears before moving on to the next horse.

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