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As the cold air begins to seep in, the horse’s coats are getting thicker and their bellies are getting a little bit bigger. In order to stay warm, we have started to feed them more hay and grain each morning and night so that when the temperatures are in the single digits and the snow comes, we won’t have an cold ponies! We are getting ready for our Holiday Camp which will run from December 26th to January 1st. This is usually our biggest off-season gathering, besides October Weekend, and we have fun taking care of the ponies, cooking warm and delicious food, kitting or doing arts & crafts, and hopefully some sledding if we are lucky with early snow. We are looking forward to all of the wonderful ladies coming back and spending a week with us during their school vacation.

Each morning, we walk around the farm and we watch the grass turn a vibrant green before our eyes, and the trees begin to grow buds which will evolve into leaves in the coming weeks. Everything is more green than we seem to remember, and maybe that is because we have been looking at snow for so long! The horses are looking longingly at the grass and we will wait until the ground hardens to let them out. If we were to let the horses into the paddocks while they are still soft, they would likely make big holes in the field. With the weather treating us so well, the paddocks are almost completely dry and the horses are frolicking in the sunshine each day.  Springtime at this New England horse camp has arrived!

 

April camp will begin this Saturday! We have small off-season camps for campers who are interested in spending some relaxing time at the farm and reuniting with friends. As of now, we have 10 girls coming and we have lots of ponies to shed, spring jobs to complete, and fun to be had! We truly love these smaller off-season camps that allow the campers to see the Farm in different seasons and get a feel for what the camp feels like without 70 other campers. The horses are eagerly anticipating the extra attention! 🙂

 

Despite getting a foot of snow a few days ago, it finally feels like spring in Chesterfield! We are walking through the melting slushy snow with light sweatshirts on and have shed our double layers for a single layer. With how warm it feels, we cannot help but eagerly anticipate the beginning of summer camp! With the horses shedding their winter coats, they are ready to be brushed and loved by all the wonderful girls that come and spend their summers at Road’s End Farm. As we begin to hire international counselors and receive camper applications, suddenly the summer feels even close with the warm weather.

 

As we hunker down during this massive snow storm, the wood stoves are burning hot and the horses are certainly getting extra food for both breakfast and dinner. Their winter coats are still fluffy, and we will not shed them until much further into spring. While we wait for the wind to die down and the snow to stop falling, all the humans and indoor animals are trying to stay by the wood stoves to keep warm. We will give the horses extra grain, hay, and love tonight, as the blustering winds are not pleasant for any animal. Stay warm!!

 

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