Winter Wondering


Why, pray tell, is a native southern Californian writing about winter. Well the answer is simply, we are actually getting a taste of it this year.

I know that readers on the east coast are probably thinking “pish posh” right now, especially after the recent blizzard Nemo, but for those of us who have never had to learn to be hearty and who are not acclimated to temps in the 20s and forecasts that include wind chill factors, the weather lately is wearing on our tolerance for the season.

Generally I joke with friends in other parts of the country by saying California has 4 seasons – fire, wind, earthquakes and mudslides. But this year we can add rain, hail, frigid temperatures and even a hint of snow. My ranch is in the foothills of inland San Diego County at the moderate altitude of about 1800 feet so we are used to more fluctuations in temperatures than coastal areas. It is normal for us to get down to the 30s at night for a few collective weeks throughout the winter, but this year has had us with one week with nights in the 20s and highs only in the 50s followed by a week with highs in the high 70s.



A horse show facilty at a slighty higher elevation.
Our horses were thinking "seriously, jump in that?"



My poor horses don’t know what season it is. That coupled with heavy rain, hail and wind and we are all wishing for spring. Now this is not to say that any horse on my property is exactly enduring the hardships of a harsh winter. Each of my horses has no fewer that 2 blankets each – one a rain sheet for wet days and the other a heavy, waterproof blanket with fill for warmth at night. And a few of them, like Uiver and Pete also have cotton and/or wool stable sheets. I know, I know, horses have survived for centuries without so much as even shelter, but the horses at my barn that compete are body shaved in the winter and frankly, I can’t sleep at night when the weather is bad if they are not blanketed.



Even my truck looks cold.



Earlier today I was talking with some colleagues in New England and was amazed to hear about the blizzard Nemo and the amazing amounts of snow that was dumped on that area. That got me wondering how horse owners in areas, that really do get real winters, deal with the weather and keep their horses fit, happy and healthy throughout the season. For us, we have to deal with mud mostly but we generally have periods of dry weather in between storms that allows corrals to dry out at least partially. But with the mud and the extremes in temperature fluctuations, we have to worry about hoof issues like Thrush, Seedy Toe and abscesses in addition to colic if they don’t drink enough when it is cold.

How about all of you? How are you weathering the winter.



My dog Morgan's version of hybernating. Very stressed by the wet weather.
(She has a t-shirt on because of a recent minor surgical procedure.)