On behalf of everyone on the AHYA Board, AHA Staff and Youth Programs, we would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year! We have a jam-packed year for all our Youth Members! We're talking Creative Contests, Youth Nationals activities, Regional Youth Team Tournament and more! So grab your horses, grab your friends and stay connected via email, the website, and check out every issue of Modern Arabian Horse magazine! 2009-It's gonna be A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

December and January are the two largest months for membership renewals! We really enjoy having you as a member of AHYA and we would hate for you to miss a single monthly Broadcast Email, issue of Modern Arabian Horse magazine, or chance to participate on any of our totally awesome activities! So poke, prod and bug the "rents" to remember to send in your membership renewal this year!

The 2009 AHYA Convention theme will be AHYA on the Loose! It's going to be wild and crazy this year with animal prints galore! As always, the AHYA Convention theme tends to trickle into the barns all week. How wild can you make Albuquerque?

2009 Creative Contest theme is 'Arabian - A Different Kind of Animal.' Think: Arabians disguised as lions, tigers and leopards, or Arabians traveling thought the jungle with monkeys and wildlife all around. Enter unlimited categories for just $10. Compete in Creative Writing, Art, Photography, Computer-Generated, and Audio-Visual. Entries are due June 1. You can download your form and read all about the Creative Contest rules on ArabianHorses.org/youth. It's never too soon to get started on all of those awesome projects we receive each year!

Do you have an outstanding Arabian or Half-Arabian horse that you feel deserves extra special recognition? If so, enter him or her in the AHA "Horse of the Month" Contest! Just email or mail us at least one great photo of your horse and one to two paragraphs telling us why your favorite four-legged friend deserves to be the AHYA Horse of the Month!

Celebrity horse teacher, Craig Cameron selected AHA member Joyce Lewis for his Extreme Cowboy Race All Girl Challenge. The race was scheduled for October 22 and 23, 2008 in Bluffdale, Tex. The Extreme Cowboy Race spans 15, 30-minute episodes with each episode featuring horse-and-rider teams as they complete the course. The new season will begin Monday, March 4, 2009 on RFD-TV with new episodes premiering each week. Episodes will also be available on HorseCity.com to view by those who do not get RFD-TV. You can read more about Joyce, Khamaal AB and the Extreme Cowboy Race on the AHYA website!

What if every time you rode through the gate you were helping someone in need?

This UPHA program is designed to encourage, challenge, and reward saddleseat equitation riders who participate in horse show competitions, commit to helping others through community service, and help to fundraise for wonderful charities like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Not only are you helping to raise money for a great charity like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, but those outstanding individuals who participate in the program could be rewarded for their efforts with scholarship money!

To learn more about how you can ride for this cause and possibly win scholarship money go to UPHA's website by clicking here!

AHYA is enjoying all the stories about your involvement in 4-H with your Arabian horses! And the photos have been great! We are even posting these stories and photos in Modern Arabian Horse magazine! The AHYA would love to hear how you and your Arabian, Half -Arabian or Anglo Arabian are making waves in your local 4-H program! Are you a member of AHA and also compete successfully in 4-H horse projects like Hippology, Horse Bowl, or on a Judging Team? Do you volunteer your horses for 4-H judging contests? We want to know about Arabians in 4-H! Send your stories and photos to youth@arabianhorses.org.

Have you checked out how many friends and fans AHYA has on MySpace and Facebook these days? Come check it out!

1. Is it below 50 degrees Fahrenheit? Even if your horse has a natural (unclipped) hair coat, he may appreciate a blanket at this temperature.
2. Is his coat clipped? If so, your horse may need a blanket (or at least a sheet) when the mercury drops below 60º F.
3. Does he usually live indoors? If your horse lives even part of the time in a warm barn, he'll feel the cold more than a horse that lives outside full-time.
4. Does he live in an open pasture? A full-time outdoor horse will grow a heavy coat to ward off the elements, but wind and rain can destroy that insulating effect. If there's no shelter in his pasture, he may need wind- and water-resistant horse clothing to stay warm.
5. Is his stall drafty? Drafts in your barn may have the same effect as outside breezes--they blow away that layer of warm air next to your horse's skin, making him feel colder.
6. Is he shivering? Don't go by formulas--check your horse to see whether he's too cold. If he's shivering, blanket him (or add blankets) and get him to a shelter.

(To see if your horse is too warm, slide your hand under his blanket; if he's sweaty, he needs a lighter covering or none at all.)