Fall and Winter Colt Starts

By Patty Wilber

Fall is sliding into winter, although, honestly, it’s been in the 60s, so it doesn’t really feel like winter is on the way.  The 30-day forecast does suggest that highs will be in the 40s starting around the 20th of this month.  Apparently, we are going to pretty much skip the 50s.

To prepare the house, we’ve cleaned the filters in the minisplits, the wood furnace, and the propane furnace. We had the propane furnace serviced. I am sure all you true Northerners are laughing at how many heat sources we have.  Hey!  It gets cold here!  It snows!  We have had big snows September to May! Which brings me back to my topic: Fall and Winter Colt Starts.

I just got a new guy that is technically a restart, as he had been ridden a little…  I am getting two more “barely halter-broke” geldings in a week or two and have a super cool show dude coming in January-ish.

Katie’s boy Clemente. Is he cute, or what? He is gaining confidence quickly!

Yep, it can be a bit cold in winter, but hey, summer is hot, and spring can be extremely windy.  Fall is usually kind of perfect… But why would I take on horses just as temperatures are falling?

I love colt starting, and it is a strength of mine. So, if I have a spot and someone wants to send a horse, I want to take it.Twenty-five F and sunny is actually great riding weather, and our weather is often not that cold (there was one week once where every day was below zero, but that was an anomaly).  According to Weather US, the November high temperature average is 52F; December, 41.9F; January, 42.1F; February, 46.9F, and we have something like 282 days of sun (more than 20 per month).I wear warm clothes. I don’t have an indoor arena, and wind can make it feel colder (you know “42, but feels like -10”), but I bought some insulated coveralls last year for the first time (they are nice!) and I often have a lightweight windbreaker to cut the wind as one of my base layers, so I stay warm enough.  If I get too cold, I can come in and stand by the wood furnace, the regular furnace, or the minisplits!!Horses are well adapted to cold, mine all live outside (not in stalls), and most become easy to catch, which I take to mean they enjoy our sessions.The “no drama” program means I don’t end up with super sweaty colts that I have to worry about cooling out.

I’d rather the weather stay in the 60s with gentle breezes, but I’m prepared to start colts in all weather, and now that I am retired from the college, I can pick the best parts of the day, too!

Happy Friday!