Thistle Bury Downs Miniature Horse Farm

About Us

     In 1996, I had been breeding Arabian Pintos for ten years.  My children had been gone from home five of those years and the job of taking care of those big horses alone was overwhelming.  Then one day I went to a Miniature Horse show and it was love at first sight.  I went home and in two weeks I had sold my Arabians and was the happy owner of two Miniature Horses.  What started out as just a hobby then has turned into a breeding and showing operation today.  We have twenty Miniatures now with three new babies on the ground and three more due soon.  My daughters moved back home and are now my partners in raising and showing these beautiful little horses and loving every minute of it.  My youngest daughter Andrea has been showing and training big horses for 20 years.  My oldest daughter, Laurel did not care for the size of big horses but she fell in love with the Minis.  With them as partners, I am having a wonderfull time and we have high hopes for our Miniatures.

      In 2004 we went to our first show with two of our yearling stallions and a two year old.  My oldest daughter went into the show ring for her first time and the horse's first time as well.  We all go to horse shows to win.  The  first show is somehow different than any of the rest to follow.  Your first show is all about learning what to do and not to do.  Seeing that all of your work and preparation has gotten you that far.  That first show is so confusing and exhausting that by the time you get into the show ring you are almost numb.  Once you are in the ring you are only concerned about what your horse is doing or not doing, you don't think about anything else.  Once the judges are finished, you are so relieved it is over that the thought of winning anything is far from your mind.  Then the steward starts calling out the winners.  When your horse's name is called for the first time you can't believe you heard it right, it must have been a mistake.  Then you hear your horse's names being called out again and again.  It is then that you realize your horses are good.  More than good.  They really are show quality.  Others now know what you have thought all along and you have the ribbons to prove it. 

     If you are a horse person,  there is no other emotion like the one you experiance when your horse is a winner.  At that first show, the steward called out our horses names over and over again.  Now at Thistle Bury Downs we can truly say we have show quality horses.

We have been showing now since 2004 and we have done very well.  Our horse have placed in the top ten at all the shows we have attended and in many cases have placed in the top three.  We are very proud of our little guys and hope to continue for many more years to come.

  We are planning to continue showing  on the AMHA, AMHR, and the Pinto circuits in Western Washington and Oregon.  If you are at any of these shows, please look for us under the Thistle Bury Downs banner.

"So long for now, come back and see us soon".

On Memorial day, we lost this mare.  She was very special to us as she was our first brood mare and also my very special girl.  She had liver failer and we new she would not make it, so we made the decision to do a terminal c-section to try and save her foal.  She had a beautifull chestnut colt.  He was 15 days premature so for the first several days it was very iffy.  He was on intervenus drip for 36 hours and we bottled fed him every 2 hours in shifts.  He made it.  We now hang a keg on the fence and he nurses by himself.  We just fill it three times a day.  He has buddied up with our 21" yearling fill, Azahmi.  We call him Lucky but my husband named him after his mother whos  name was Starlite, we called her Star.  My husband named him, "Stars Breath".  Here is his photo.

We would like to hear from you, if you have any questions please contact us at:

HORSEMOMMY@OLYMPUS.NET