So what can you do with miniature horses?

  

Miniature horses are the perfect animal for use in therapeutic work to enrich the lives of individuals with disabilities through hands on activities.  The miniature horse is so gentle and loving.  They acclimate to situations so quickly and quietly that it is just amazing how easy they are to train for anything.

We have used our miniature horses for other hands on experience.  We offered a summer- camp for children ages 5 years and up.  To our surprise we even had adults come so they could get experience and knowledge without being intimidated by the size of a full size horse.  The camp went over with great success with returning campers the next years. 

There is an organization in North Carolina that is training miniature horses for Seeing Eye services.  The advantage of the horses over the dog is their life expectancy is twice that of the dog and they can be trained for the same things.  To be accepted in the program the miniature horse must be 25” or smaller.  That is where our miniature horses shine as we have very small and perfect horses. 

Another area of use that is now being adapted to the miniature horse is in Hospice programs.  One of our miniatures was just recognized in the Associated Press for working in a Hospice facility.  Our miniature horse was brought into the Hospice facility and then made rounds into the rooms were the residents lived to bring a little comfort, joy and companionship to the people there.

Our list goes on for what you can do with a miniature horse.  Because my husband is a Veterinarian we hold seminars in the spring for graduating Veterinarians from University of Wisconsin to get real hands on with our plus 50 miniatures.  They experience doing ultra-sounds on our mares for breeding timelines, ultra-sounds for pregnancy checking, cleaning the mares and stallions before breeding for optimal sanitation protocol, putting the miniatures in a sling and hanging them in the air for blood testing, hoof trimming and body shaving.

Over the 28 years of breeding our miniature horses we have had so many different reasons why someone would like them.  One that really warms our heart is when a family wanted to buy one for their 75 year old mother and father who needed a reason to get up in the morning.  They still lived on their farm but without animals anymore.  They were retired dairy farmers.  The children thought that if they had something to take care of that was easy and small they might get some zeal back into their life.  Well, that is exactly what happened and they even came back to get a second miniature so they both had one to play with and take care of each day.