Doug Stanley of Fairway Miniature Horse Farm in Spotsylvania visits with one of the miniature horses he and his wife raise at their farm. They have been doing this for about 16 years. SUZANNE CARR ROSSI/THE FREE LANCE-STAR View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

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Tiny horses make gentle family pets 'The older you get, the smaller you want your horses.' Alice Stanley

Foal lotta love: Miniature horses go way beyond your average beasts of burden.

Date published: 3/23/2006

By BEN SELLERS

As has happened many times before, Alice Stanley and her husband, Doug, are getting ready to be proud parents this spring.

Several pregnant mares are in the pastures at their 9.5-acre Fairway Miniature Horse Farm in Caroline County.

One of the hardest parts of this process, Alice Stanley said, is coming up with new names. She keeps a running list of potential monikers for when a foal arrives.

"I look at the baby, look at the names, and see if one fits."

For the Stanleys, keeping the horses is a labor of love.

Alice is involved with local search-and-rescue-dog operations, while Doug helps maintain the fairways and greens as assistant superintendent of Fredericksburg Country Club.

Indeed, when folks ask why they collect the pint-sized equines, Alice Stanley's usual answer is that they're fun.

"A lot buy them as pets; others buy them to show; some buy them because they want a driving horse. They're extremely gentle, excellent for kids."

Not to mention portable.

Doug Stanley said that at one convention he saw the proud new owners of a miniature horse remove the back seat of their Cadillac to put it in.

And when harnessed to a rickshawlike cart, the petite pets can easily pull an adult human, he said.

Miniature horses are what is considered a "height breed." There are two classes: those under 34 inches and those between 34 and 38 inches.

The Stanleys started collecting the larger class of minis around 1980. About 10 years ago, they sold that herd and used the money to establish a new herd of horses less than 34 inches tall.

"I had [regular-size] horses when I was a kid," Alice Stanley said.

"The older you get, the smaller you want your horses."

The couple also keeps German Shepherds in a kennel opposite the stalls. But while the dogs rival their "neigh"bors in size, their barking stands in sharp contrast to the horses' mild manners.

About every two weeks the Stanleys host visitors, such as senior citizens' groups, at the farm. And one of Fairways' horses has also marched in the Fredericksburg Christmas Parade.

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Date published: 3/23/2006