Mini Appaloosas Make Great Pets

2014 - Volume #38, Issue #6, Page #24

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Ethel Morro is sold on her mini Appaloosas. The little horses keep up her spirits and even carry her home when she needs a lift. In fact, she credits the horses with improving her health.
  “I’ve had a lot of problems since I first got my minis, and they’ve helped me get through them,” says Morro. “Their hearts are as big as Texas, and they’ll bend over backwards for you. If you treat them well, they’ll do anything you ask of them.”
  Morro describes being stranded when her car broke down, and health problems made walking home impossible. When her husband spotted her off in the distance, he hooked their stallion up to a cart and came to the rescue.
  “The stallion carried us home without even breaking a sweat,” she says.
  That stallion is less than 34 in. tall and weighs just 150 lbs. However, she says minis can pull 3 times their weight and carry up to about 65 lbs.
  The gentle nature of her minis was borne out when her 3-year-old grandniece slipped off a stallion while being given a ride. Morro said he stopped, turned and went back to her as if to see if she was all right. Even around mares in heat, the stallion doesn’t react to them if children are close by, says Morro.
  “They’re intelligent and can be housebroken,” she says. “People are even training them as companion animals because of their longevity. They can live to be 40.”
  While she has a waiting list for her mini Appaloosas, the price is not what it once was. Having bred them for 14 years, she has seen the investment bubble build and burst. People who bought minis to sell to other breeders have lost thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars. Morro tells of one breeder who bought a stallion for $17,000 and eventually sold it for $500.
  “We didn’t go into it with expectations of making handfuls of money,” says Morro. “My husband and I fell in love with them when we saw our first minis and bought a farm so we could have some.”
  Though she was unable to breed them for the past 2 years, she plans to breed a number of the mini Appaloosas in 2015 for the 2016 season.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Morro Mini Acres, 6886 280th St., Hartley, Iowa 51346 (ph 712 728-3149; tinyhooves51@hotmail.com).

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Mini Appaloosas Make Great Pets LIVESTOCK Horses/Mules Ethel Morro is sold on her mini Appaloosas The little horses keep up her spirits and even carry her home when she needs a lift In fact she credits the horses with improving her health “I’ve had a lot of problems since I first got my minis and they’ve helped me get through them ” says Morro “Their hearts are as big as Texas and they’ll bend over backwards for you If you treat them well they’ll do anything you ask of them ” Morro describes being stranded when her car broke down and health problems made walking home impossible When her husband spotted her off in the distance he hooked their stallion up to a cart and came to the rescue “The stallion carried us home without even breaking a sweat ” she says That stallion is less than 34 in tall and weighs just 150 lbs However she says minis can pull 3 times their weight and carry up to about 65 lbs The gentle nature of her minis was borne out when her 3-year-old grandniece slipped off a stallion while being given a ride Morro said he stopped turned and went back to her as if to see if she was all right Even around mares in heat the stallion doesn’t react to them if children are close by says Morro “They’re intelligent and can be housebroken ” she says “People are even training them as companion animals because of their longevity They can live to be 40 ” While she has a waiting list for her mini Appaloosas the price is not what it once was Having bred them for 14 years she has seen the investment bubble build and burst People who bought minis to sell to other breeders have lost thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars Morro tells of one breeder who bought a stallion for $17 000 and eventually sold it for $500 “We didn’t go into it with expectations of making handfuls of money ” says Morro “My husband and I fell in love with them when we saw our first minis and bought a farm so we could have some ” Though she was unable to breed them for the past 2 years she plans to breed a number of the mini Appaloosas in 2015 for the 2016 season Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Morro Mini Acres 6886 280th St Hartley Iowa 51346 ph 712 728-3149; tinyhooves51@hotmail com

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