Monday, May 10, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Miniature horses become big business
Popular animals not meant for riding
By SEVIL HUNTER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rick Moser of Reno works with Sister on jumps in April in the outdoor arena at the Meachams' south Reno ranch. Miniature horses are smaller versions of horses, possessing the same characteristics as most equine breeds.
Valantino a 2-month-old miniature horse sleeps in his yard last month at Meacham Ranch. The small horses have become big business in Northern Nevada and the West, where ownership has more than doubled in the past decade.
Michelle Meacham drives Sister, a horse in training in the outdoor arena last month at her south Reno ranch. Each cart is custom built for the height of the horse.
Photos by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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RENO -- Her labor pains began as wicked winds blasted down the canyon and across Meacham's horse ranch in south Reno. No 50 mph wind gust could compare to the battle ahead for Kismet, a 3-year-old mare about to give birth.
"She's miserable," said Michelle Meacham, Kismet's owner.
She poked her head into the miniature horse's stall and met Kismet's eye.
"You're stubborn, Kismet. I'll go inside and wait for your signal."
Meacham slapped her hand on her Liz Claiborne jeans and walked away. Her boots clicked on the clean cement hallway leading to the CD player at the front of the horse barn. She put on music and turned off the lights.
"Music calms them when they are about to deliver," she said.
As winds howled, Nora Jones' "Come Away with Me" played, and Kismet whipped her tail in irritation and paced for hours.
Next door inside the living room of the Meacham home, a black-and-white TV monitor kept track of Kismet's every move. So did Meacham.
"She will pace, sit down, pace again and then find her place to have the baby," Meacham said. "As soon as her water breaks, it's lightning fast. I'm watching for her to stop pacing and sit down so I can go out and help her along."
Meacham and her husband, Monty, have turned their 10 acres into a paradise for Kismet and dozens of other miniature horses. The small horses have become big business in Northern Nevada and the West, where ownership has more than doubled in the past decade.
Membership in the American Miniature Horse Association has skyrocketed from fewer than 70,000 in 1990 to more than 140,000 throughout the country today.
"They are becoming so popular because they are the horse for everyone," said Bob Kane, president of American Miniature Horse Association and Miniature Horse World Magazine.
Kane owns 22 miniature horses on his Vacaville, Calif., ranch.
"Miniature horses are for people who can't have a big horse," he said. "They are easy for kids to work with and for the elderly to be with. They are simply great."
Miniature horses are smaller versions of horses, possessing the same characteristics as most equine breeds. They come in all colors and types and are no taller than 34 inches. One acre can support as many as three miniature horses, and they munch on $10 a week in feed.
Price tag for a mini: $500 to $100,000. The disclaimer: No one, not even a child, should ride a miniature horse. It will break the horse's back. Miniature horses pull carriages custom-built for their height.
What started as a cute novelty for the Meachams has turned into serious work. Their south Reno ranch is known as the place to breed, raise and train champions. The Meachams even turned down a recent $80,000 offer for their prized stallion, Sami's Mr. Banana Chip, the miniature responsible for Kismet's female offspring and most of the 44 championship plaques that line the barn's walls.
"We just love our horses," Meacham said. "Sometimes all the money in the world can't replace what you love."
Meacham said her husband bought two miniature horses in 1994.
"He saw one on the neighbor's lawn and knew he needed not one, but two," Meacham said. Her husband raised and trained Tennessee Walking Horses at the time.
"I didn't even go out to look at them the day he brought them home. Once I went into the barn, it was over. They were my babies."
Over the years, miniatures have come and gone from the Meacham miniature ranch. Outside in a special holding area, several pregnant mares and foals run around. Kismet's unnamed female foal is the most recent addition.
"Miniatures are extremely versatile, epitomizing strength, agility and intelligence," said Kim Sweat, an owner of three miniature horses and a national competitor who lives in Reno.
She became involved with the breed six years ago after a horse riding accident broke her back.
"I am quite passionate about my horses," she said. "If I had to choose what I most love about owning these incredible horses, it would have to be the time I spend with them every day at home, feeding and caring for them. They are wonderful companions."
