Fall is always a time of transition– students and teachers return to school, the crunch of competition season slows down, and nature begins the process of preparing for the winter season.
At Cold Moon Farm, we have been busy this fall both enjoying the different pace of this time of year, as well as slowly battening down the hatches for the impending change of weather.
Anna finished her competition season back in August, so this fall has been all about training and hacking. We try to hit the trails as much as possible and spend a little less time in the ring during September and October. Anna grows a pretty heavy winter coat, and she seems to struggle with energy during this process. We like to hold off on clipping until November at least, so this means that work outs have to be a little lighter to keep her from getting completely soaked! In the ring, we returned to work in the snaffle, incorporating more cavaletti work and long/low stretching. We are grateful to our friends at Chesley Brook Stables in Dover, who hosted Anna for the day so we could get in one last session with Verne Batchelder for the year. Anna also enjoyed her annual visit to Hampton Beach. In early November, she relocated to High Knoll Equestrian Center, which will be her winter headquarters.
Lee has been enjoying a steady let down after finishing the 35 and 25 mile rides at GMHA’s Distance Days in early September. We mostly have been going on shorter hacks with friends, enjoying fall foliage and lively conversation. In early November, Lee and Christina attended the Myopia Hunter Pace at Groton House Farm in Hamilton, MA. This was a particularly exciting day– this is the first time this popular pace event has ever fit into the calendar, the weather was extremely mild, and we were joined by our friends Jess Freiman and her Grand Prix dressage horse, Zen! We were quite an unconventional pair at a hunter pace– the endurance horse and the dressage specialist! We had a blast.
Marquesa has been kept in steady work through regular visits from several of her friends from UNH, which has been a huge help. She has grown a robust and heavy winter coat— hopefully this is not a prediction of things to come!
After a summer of learning about new things like tack and trailering and longeing, Izzy’s training has been concluded for the season and now she is focusing on continuing to grow and mature. We look forward to continuing her training next season.
We are also pleased to announce that we were chosen for a 2017 Natural Resource Conservation Service grant to develop a nutrient management plan for the property. Alena Warren from the Strafford County office is hard at work, and we are optimistic that this will be the stepping stone we need to possible secure additional funds to proceed with the construction of a manure composting area as well as an improved “livestock high use area”, aka effective drainage for the front turn outs.
Christina has been busy publishing this fall, primarily in digital publications. Here are some of her recent pieces for your review:
Cooling Out a Hot Horse (Horse Network)
One to Watch: Fallon O’Connell (The Chronicle of the Horse)
One to Watch: Devon Thomas (The Chronicle of the Horse)
Somewhere Between Marginal and Sufficient (Horse Network)
Winner of the Week: Autumn Schweiss Finds Redemption at Morven Park
Winner of the Week: Perfect Partnerships put Payton Potter on the top of her First Medal Final
Winner of the Week: Juliette Joseph Earned a Big Award the Old School Way
As we head into the dark and cold days of winter, be sure to still take the time to enjoy your horses. Every training day doesn’t have to be enough to prep for the Olympics! Winter is a great time to fine tune, get to know your horse better, or to simply take a step back to reflect and set goals for the next year.
