Get to Know the Horses at Cold Spring Farm

Since embarking on our journey into the wedding and event space, our horses have been a constant draw of attention and inquiry from couples, photographers, and guests alike. Their presence has graced the backdrop of countless wedding portraits and ethereal sunset photos here at Cold Spring Farm. While they certainly add ambiance, personality, and quintessential New England charm to every wedding and event we host, we also want to pay tribute to their history and the gifts they bestow upon our daily lives as their grateful caretakers. 

In 2012 we brought our first three horses home to the farm. We had owned one horse previously but had never homed them in our backyard before. This was a first for us and a large undertaking, but we were eager to learn and fill our space with life. That herd quickly swelled to five, adding two more in 2013, and again to seven with a couple of mini horses in recent years. All but two of these original horses remain in our herd today. (Rest in peace to our beloved girls, Chakotay and Fiona.) 

All of them, except for one mini, came from Robyn Kent of KL Ranch in Barnstead. Robyn worked with us for over a year with the horses we would eventually bring home so that we would have formed a relationship and understanding with them. We are eternally grateful for the invaluable knowledge shared with us concerning how to properly care for, nurture, grow, work with, and love these magnificent beings.  

Robyn breeds horses or did in those years, and these were all from her diligent efforts with American Indian Horses, a formal breed since 1961 established to collect, record, and preserve the pedigrees of American Indian Horses. These horses have more informally been known as cow ponies, buffalo horses, mustangs or Indian ponies, cayuse or Spanish ponies. They can be any color; spotted, appaloosa, paint with every variation

imaginable - even two different colored eyes. They are normally between 13 and 16 hands and

700 to 1,000 lbs – relatively small in the horse world but beautifully shaped, with strong legs and good feet and as much savvy as any horse ever.

In short, they are as feral as backyard horses can get, but they are also well-behaved mind their manners – mostly. Our horses are kept as naturally as possible. They are not typically fed anything special (except for occasional cookies and grain for the older fellas). They forage throughout the year, with their main source of food being grass in the summer and first cut hay all winter. They do not come inside ever and would be highly suspicious if we were to bring them inside. They have a hand-built three-sided run-in shed for protection from wind that they can utilize as they please. They do not wear shoes. Their hooves are expertly trimmed/filed by our farrier, Kathleen Bono/The Balanced Trim every six weeks. Kathleen does a great job of keeping their natural heritage consistent with their natural heritage.

Now that you know a little bit about their background, let’s get to know them individually. They will likely all be interested in meeting you when you visit the farm. They have registered long and fancy names, but we’ll just give you the names we lovingly call them. Please allow us to introduce our herd - 

Concho – One of our original three and our oldest gelding at 26 this year. He is sweet, so well-behaved, and a patriarch in the herd. He is kind, gentle, patient, communicates well, and will do almost anything asked of him by a trusted huma. Concho is a beautiful boy - chestnut in color with some white markings. He is a well-respected and beloved part of our herd, as is his human mama – Kelly. 

We can’t discuss our herd, or Concho – specifically - without mentioning Kelly. She has been on our horse ownership journey with us since the beginning and has played an integral role in their caretaking, helping with everything from fence and pasture maintenance to lending us her knowledge, passion, and care during times of stubbornness, illness, emergencies, and loss. 

His favorite partner, Chakotay (pronounced chuh-coe-tay,) was also one of the original three who came to the farm in 2012. Chakotay, a sweet, small-statured mare, was the real boss of the herd. Since there were no real outside threats, the herd was largely managed by Chakotay who made sure everyone played well together, and no discourtesies were allowed. Concho was always by her side, and I think he suffered most when she passed on from colic in 2020.

Wolf - I believe Wolf will be 22 this year. He is my (Diane’s) heart horse, now. Wolf was my late husband’s riding horse and as such, I feel a very special bond to him. He was the third of the original three that came to the farm in 2012. One of the sweetest horse souls I’ve ever been lucky enough to know. Wolf is the omega guy in the herd and always has been, but he appears just fine with that placement as none of the day-to-day responsibility falls to him. Oftentimes, he can be found off by himself or hanging with our mini, Star. He fends for himself and would love to have a pal of his own but that’s not the case right now. Occasionally, our neighbor’s mare will find her way up the hill and Wolf is in heaven when she comes up to visit as he works overtime to win her affection. 

Wolf is white with chestnut markings and almost a perfect handprint on his left backside. A sweet boy who, if I ride at all anymore, is who I would choose to ride. He is a big boy, the second largest in the herd, but as sweet as they come. He seems to love the spotlight and often is the first to show up when the cameras (and cookies) come out along the fence line! 

Conquistador - Just as he sounds, aptly named and big as big gets in our herd. There is some draft horse mixed into his lineage as he is quite large and sports hairy hooves the size of dinner plates. Conq, as we call him, is also white and particularly striking with one blue and one brown eye. He would love to oversee the herd, but he is still young and does not yet possess the required skill and demeanor. We fondly think of him as the beach boy...so handsome with almost bleached blond waves in his mane. Conq has a ton of physical strength but is not quite harnessed yet. Conq’s training was delayed by Alan’s passing in 2017. Conq came to us in 2013 as a feisty three-year-old joined by our young mare Mesa Verde. The two of them were very attached so although our interest at the time was mainly in adding Verde to our herd, we took in Conq as well because of the obvious inseparable tie between them. Conq can still be found following her around being not only protective but also fresh as siblings often are. 

Mesa Verde – Our lovely and ethereal Verde joined the herd in 2013 at the age of 2 with her bestie Conquistador. Verde is full of Arabian attributes. She is completely white with delicate features and just like her buddy, she sports two differently colored eyes. She is graceful and it is simply breathtaking to watch her run across the pasture. While she is kindhearted, she does not trust most people and can be a challenge to handle. While she typically does not interact much with strangers at the fence line – she will curiously hover behind the others while they do.  

Alan met Verde when she was born and had his heart set on training her and establishing a relationship with her that would rival that of Roy Rogers and Trigger. Unfortunately, her training was also waylaid by his passing. Alan had a wonderful calm and confident way with horses, an energy I am not sure I have ever quite been able to replicate, and I believe they all felt his loss. When we lost Chakotay we were hopeful that Verde could fill the role of inside leader (which is always a mare,) but sadly she just does not have the skills or presence for that role. 

Star – Star is our resilient and feisty little chestnut mini horse. She is short, round (but very healthy), and full of personality. She can often be found hanging around Wolf or Verde. We adopted Star in 2019 from another farm that was closing in hopes that she would be able to provide companionship for Fiona, a mini that we had been given in 2018. Fiona was not particularly robust and was not able to join the big horses, so she had to live alone. Afraid that the loneliness was negatively affecting her heath, we brought home Star to keep her company. Star ended up bullying Fiona a bit – keeping her from food and paying her no mind. Best laid plans, eh? 

We were forced to separate them as Fiona grew older and frailer and needed individual attention. We kept Fiona in her own space, but Star was interested in the herd. We introduced her slowly and intentionally – creating a 3-week plan starting with just the mares, then adding our big softy, Wolf. It was going well until the others busted the fence and let themselves in to meet her. A dramatic moment for us that thankfully ended just fine. Turns out, Star is one very tough cookie and was just as eager to show them she could belong. We were fascinated by her spunk and ability to enforce her boundaries with the big guys. Within a day or so they settled into their new arrangement and Star officially became a part of the herd during the winter of 2020. 

How do we care for these animals?

We keep them as natural as possible. They forage in our pastures/woods once the grass is established in June and until growth slows again in November. At that time, we move them to the winter pasture where they are provided a run-in shed for shelter and are fed round bales of first-cut hay until the grass grows back.   

Once in a while in the fall, we may have to supplement with a bale here and there if the grass dies off early. They get so excited for this, and if you are here in the fall, you may get to see the ‘zoomies’ they get when you drop a bale into the summer pasture. We store 70-80 round bales in our hay tent each year in anticipation of the winter. 

With a deep understanding of their natural lifestyle, our dear mobile vet Dr. Brian Lampert (also of KL Ranch) helps us ensure their health. At a minimum, he visits once per year to keep them up to date with their vaccinations, but he also visits any time their health needs call for a visit.

Do you ride the horses?

There was a time when we rode regularly around the trails here at the farm, but we do not do that much anymore. We cannot offer horseback riding to the public either, but we love to facilitate interactions, understanding, and conversations with/about these wonderful animals, regardless. 

Why do you have so many?

Horses are herd animals. We believe it is the most natural and safest way for them to exist here in our somewhat wild mountainside to have each other. There is safety in numbers, and we enjoy seeing them grow and fulfill their roles within the herd. 

Will we always have horses?

As long as we are able to care for them the answer is emphatically, YES. Caring for these majestic beings brings us immeasurable joy, keeps us moving, and is generally good for the soul. They have taught us so much and we believe we have become better people for the experiences we have gained while having the honor of being their caretakers.

Can we take photos with them? 

Absolutely, as long as you are being safe and respectful of their space. Safety is our number one concern when allowing you to interact with our animals. They are intelligent animals with incredibly sharp memories.  Although they are very sweet, improper interactions can have lasting effects on their behavior, so this is something we would like to avoid at all costs. 

Please let us know if this is a priority for you during your event, and we will make sure Diane is out there to help facilitate a positive interaction.

Thank you so much for visiting our blog! We are grateful to you for taking the time to read a little bit about our lives and the lives of our four-legged friends. As a small, locally owned wedding and events venue, we like to utilize this space to support other small businesses as well. We find that small businesses tend to be more client-focused, often providing a more personalized experience and better overall value. We hope that you consider locally owned businesses for all of your event planning needs. In an effort to support fellow locally owned venues, we will be linking some awesome venues and vendors to each of our blog posts. 

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Photography Credit: Lisa Smith Photography