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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.
Doug Stanley feeds hay to some of his miniature horses |
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
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.
But the horses can show a streak of mischief. They've been known to chew on visitors' shoes and climb out of their stalls.
"Sometimes you'll sit on the ground, and they'll crawl up and get in your lap just like a dog will, " said Doug Stanley.
Miniature horses have been kept as pets since the 17th century. However, the official breed was established in the 1970s.
In recent years, the registry has become more selective, allowing only those horses whose parents were considered miniature horses to qualify.
Pure-bred minis descended from the illustrious bloodline of Boone's Little Buckaroo, a three-time national champion stallion, can fetch up to $400,000 in the show-horse market.
But pet miniature horses usually run in the $800-$1,500 range, said Byrd Minter, who owns Spotsylvania County's Dunrovin Miniature Horse Farm with his wife, Gail.
The Minters have been in business since the late '80s and have taken their miniature horses to shows up and down the mid-Atlantic.
Minter said the farm currently has 33 head. Dunrovin may sell up to a dozen horses in a year, or none at all, he added.
"We buy a few and we sell a few and we raise a few."
The Minters fell in love with miniature horses after seeing one at an auction in Oklahoma many years ago.
Several of the Stanleys' horses hail from Dunrovin. One is a 10-year-old stallion, Onyx, and another, his 12-year-old mare, Topaz. The mare, very pregnant, grazed beside Onyx at Fairway on a breezy day in early March.
When the mares are expecting, the Stanleys keep close tabs on them via closed circuit television mounted in the barn.
"You have to be a midwife when you raise horses," said Alice Stanley.
Due to the mom's diminutive size, giving birth can be a risky process. The average size of a foal is around 19 inches, said Minter.
During labor, the Stanleys keep a veterinarian on call. But often it falls to them to guide the newborns into the world.
A stillborn foal can be a devastating experience for both mother and midwife. Still, Alice Stanley wouldn't give up raising the tiny horses for the world.
"If you can take maybe losing a baby once in a while or some of the heartache, there's always 10 times the joy."
To reach BEN SELLERS:
Email: bsellers@freelancestar.com
