Pint-size horses -- without the attitude
Posted: 7/30/2009
By Mary Jo Harrod
Mary Burks photo
Charlotte Chowning already owned several horses when her neighbors in Waddy visited the Kentucky Horse Park and later purchased miniature horses. After Chowning helped them show their minis, she was hooked on the smaller equines and bought some for herself.
Now living on Happy Critters Farm, Chowning and Patty Lieber are co-owners of more than 35 minis, including 11 black geldings or stallions.
Chowning is a past president of the Bluegrass Miniature Horse Association, which has a membership of about 160 families in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois.
"Miniatures are the same as big horses," said Chowning, who taught health and physical education at Shelby County High School and coached girls' basketball, softball, and track and field. "Minis are not ponies. Ponies can be mean, and we don't like the miniatures to be called ponies. Minis are good for kids and people who cannot handle the big horses. They want to be pleasing and talk to you when you come into the barn. Some of them stick their heads up for kisses."
Bred down in Europe to pull carts in coal mines where traditional-sized horses would not be practical, an English queen noticed the smaller horse and introduced the breed into the royal court. Minis were brought into eastern Kentucky to use in the coal mines.
Miniature horses weigh 300 to 350 pounds when full grown and are strong enough to pull three times their body weight. A single driving horse can easily pull a cart with two adults. These intelligent horses are very loving and caring and can eat from a bale of hay for weeks, as opposed to the quantity of hay needed for a big horse.
Miniature horses do not require the same amount of land as the bigger equines, Chowning said. "Since the miniature is maintained through the hay and grain, grazing is limited to a couple of hours each day. To graze all day like the larger equines, the miniature horse would be too fat, and I would just as soon clean the stalls of 10 minis than one big horse."
Foals weigh around 25 pounds and measure 16 or 17 inches high when they are born. Minis tend to have the Arabian look with an upright head, pencil nose and small eyes.
Minis have the same lifespan as a big horse. Another interesting fact is that miniature horses have just as many hair follicles on their bodies as a regular-sized horse, which means that miniature horses tend to get woolly and have to be shaved every 10 days when competing in shows. How close the hair is clipped depends upon the horse's color. A newly clipped horse may look gray until the oils come in, and then the horse will turn black. Show competition for miniatures is much the same as for the standard-sized horses. The minis go to the "beauty shop" and get baths using rosewater conditioner.
In the two years that Chowning and Lieber have been showing their horses, they have won several awards. Nostalgia Money in the Bank in 2007 was reserve national champion yearling gelding, and in 2008, he was in the top 10, finishing fourth in the nation for 2-year-old geldings.
HCM Navajos Tomahawk (Hawk) and his half-brother, HCM Navajos Raven (Raven), are 10 years old and were in the top 10 in the Two-Horse Draft Hitch category in 2007, finishing fourth. In the Team Fine Harness category in 2007, they finished third or were in the top 10 in the country.
In 2008, Hawk and Raven were National Champion Fine Harness at the nationals, and they were also top 10 in the Two-Horse Draft Hitch. Chowning recently received an award for Hawk and Raven being named All-Star Fine Harness Team for 2008, when they won more points than any fine harness team in the country.
"In 2009, our draft hitch will also compete in the Four-Horse Draft Hitch, and we will be adding three more horses to the show string showing Hawk, Raven, Sting, Affair, Money, Bo, and Major Bucks," Chowning said. The first show will be in late April.
Other show categories include Hunter Jumper, Versatility, Obstacle Halter, Costume, Driving, Pleasure, Western, Youth, Amateur, and AOTE (Amateur-owned, trained and exhibited). No person who has received pay to train or work with a miniature horse can be in the Amateur category. In the Western competition, the horse's head is down like a quarter horse's and has a long, loopy stride. The Country Pleasure, said Chowning, is "a real nice driving horse on a Sunday afternoon."
One of Chowning's favorite classes is the Liberty class.
"You pick music to play for 90 seconds," Chowning said with a grin. "Then you remove the horse's halter, and the horse runs free until the music stops. At that time, you have 90 seconds to catch your horse!"
Now living on Happy Critters Farm, Chowning and Patty Lieber are co-owners of more than 35 minis, including 11 black geldings or stallions.
Chowning is a past president of the Bluegrass Miniature Horse Association, which has a membership of about 160 families in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois.
"Miniatures are the same as big horses," said Chowning, who taught health and physical education at Shelby County High School and coached girls' basketball, softball, and track and field. "Minis are not ponies. Ponies can be mean, and we don't like the miniatures to be called ponies. Minis are good for kids and people who cannot handle the big horses. They want to be pleasing and talk to you when you come into the barn. Some of them stick their heads up for kisses."
Bred down in Europe to pull carts in coal mines where traditional-sized horses would not be practical, an English queen noticed the smaller horse and introduced the breed into the royal court. Minis were brought into eastern Kentucky to use in the coal mines.
Miniature horses weigh 300 to 350 pounds when full grown and are strong enough to pull three times their body weight. A single driving horse can easily pull a cart with two adults. These intelligent horses are very loving and caring and can eat from a bale of hay for weeks, as opposed to the quantity of hay needed for a big horse.
Miniature horses do not require the same amount of land as the bigger equines, Chowning said. "Since the miniature is maintained through the hay and grain, grazing is limited to a couple of hours each day. To graze all day like the larger equines, the miniature horse would be too fat, and I would just as soon clean the stalls of 10 minis than one big horse."
Foals weigh around 25 pounds and measure 16 or 17 inches high when they are born. Minis tend to have the Arabian look with an upright head, pencil nose and small eyes.
Minis have the same lifespan as a big horse. Another interesting fact is that miniature horses have just as many hair follicles on their bodies as a regular-sized horse, which means that miniature horses tend to get woolly and have to be shaved every 10 days when competing in shows. How close the hair is clipped depends upon the horse's color. A newly clipped horse may look gray until the oils come in, and then the horse will turn black. Show competition for miniatures is much the same as for the standard-sized horses. The minis go to the "beauty shop" and get baths using rosewater conditioner.
In the two years that Chowning and Lieber have been showing their horses, they have won several awards. Nostalgia Money in the Bank in 2007 was reserve national champion yearling gelding, and in 2008, he was in the top 10, finishing fourth in the nation for 2-year-old geldings.
HCM Navajos Tomahawk (Hawk) and his half-brother, HCM Navajos Raven (Raven), are 10 years old and were in the top 10 in the Two-Horse Draft Hitch category in 2007, finishing fourth. In the Team Fine Harness category in 2007, they finished third or were in the top 10 in the country.
In 2008, Hawk and Raven were National Champion Fine Harness at the nationals, and they were also top 10 in the Two-Horse Draft Hitch. Chowning recently received an award for Hawk and Raven being named All-Star Fine Harness Team for 2008, when they won more points than any fine harness team in the country.
"In 2009, our draft hitch will also compete in the Four-Horse Draft Hitch, and we will be adding three more horses to the show string showing Hawk, Raven, Sting, Affair, Money, Bo, and Major Bucks," Chowning said. The first show will be in late April.
Other show categories include Hunter Jumper, Versatility, Obstacle Halter, Costume, Driving, Pleasure, Western, Youth, Amateur, and AOTE (Amateur-owned, trained and exhibited). No person who has received pay to train or work with a miniature horse can be in the Amateur category. In the Western competition, the horse's head is down like a quarter horse's and has a long, loopy stride. The Country Pleasure, said Chowning, is "a real nice driving horse on a Sunday afternoon."
One of Chowning's favorite classes is the Liberty class.
"You pick music to play for 90 seconds," Chowning said with a grin. "Then you remove the horse's halter, and the horse runs free until the music stops. At that time, you have 90 seconds to catch your horse!"
 |
 |
 |