How Tiny Tails Miniature Horse Farm Began...

Miniature Horses? I had never heard of them until just a few years ago.

I grew up with horses but when I married and raised children, we really didn’t have the space for grazing or money enough to care for full-sized horses. I really missed having horses. Later in life, after the children were grown and gone I moved from a home on a half-acre lot to a 5 acre farm, it was time to get horses again. My husband wasn’t comfortable around horses. So I thought that I was not to have a horse again, until someone mentioned MINIATURE horses.

I began asking questions, gathering information and locating others in my area that raised minis. I learned that these are REAL horses, just smaller in size.

We started with 2, a mare and her foal, but soon added a rescue animal to the mix. We later found a good home for her. Soon we were encouraged to build a 7 stall barn, which we quickly filled, then expanded to 10 stalls.

We have been successful in breeding our mares, producing great foals and finding caring homes for them.

Along the way I discovered miniature horse shows in our area and got my nieces involved. (They show their own full-sized horses, but love to work with the minis as well). While the horse shows are competitive, they are great fun and promote a wonderful sense of camaraderie among miniature horse owners. There are several miniature horse clubs in the area, each with its own series of local shows, leading to combined events in the Fall at some of our NH State Fairs, such as Hopkinton and Deerfield. www.yankeeminiaturehorseclub.com

I have found the minis safer to work and play with and easy to train. They cost much less to feed than a full-sized size horse and caring for them fills that part of my soul that wants to interact with a horse. These little horses keep us active and outdoors and they are my source of mental and emotional renewal after a stressful day at work.

We really enjoy sharing our minis with visitors. And who knows? When you come to visit you might even catch Jim in one of his impromptu Sunday afternoon concerts. Go to links to connect to his website to check out his music.

Our ‘interactive farm’ features flower, perennials, herbs and vegetable gardens, Chickens, Eggs, Rabbits, a fruit orchard, Christmas trees and a maple syrup operation. Visitors and supervised children are welcome on Sunday afternoon, (1-4 pm, or by appointment). There is no cost to visit. We do accept donations. You can brush and handle the horses and tour the farm. We might even hitch up a cart and take you and your children for a ride! But call first (603-364-5834) to let us know you’re coming. We sometimes have family commitments such as grandchildren's birthdays to attend to in the afternoon. So, please check in to see if we will be home.

At the top of the page is the 1st mare, Maggie, we owned and here is her foal , Bleu, that was born at an auction in South Carolina on April Fool's Day. These were our 1st two horses. We have come a long way since these horses. The photo next to the foal is Bleu all grown up as a 5 year old and as a great cart horse.

Below is a photo of our 1st barn built, the horses were in the 14'x12' section to the right. We also had 6 Scottish Blackfaced Sheep as well in the left side.  It was a few years later before we built our 24'x32' barn. Jim was eager to turn the original barn into a workshop.