Dancing Ponies Delight Visitors at Chelyabinsk Horse Farm
«You came to us on your own, but actually, editorial offices love to invite us over with a horse. The main thing is that there»s an elevator, otherwise — no problem,« says Tatiana Mustyakimova, the owner of the Pinto Breeze farm, with a smile.
«Will a horse fit in an elevator?» we ask.
«Easily! Our ponies will fit into any elevator; you»ll see for yourself how miniature they are. And they can even dance,« Tatiana intrigues.
We believe that not seeing the dancing Sheddy in the Year of the Horse is a crime. The correspondents of 74.RU happily watched this pony themselves and are showing it to readers.
The horse farm is located very close to Chelyabinsk. There live 70 baby horses. The owner is ready to talk about each one for hours. Mini-ponies — they are like big dogs, 65 centimeters at the withers (about 2 feet 2 inches). American miniature horses are a bit taller. There are no others like them in the region. Or here: Friesian, Dutch harness — an elite horse. The state carriage of Elizabeth II was harnessed with these black beauties. The cost of horses of this breed reaches up to 10 million rubles (approximately $100,000 at current rates).
Tatiana Mustyakimova — by education, a decorative artist. 15 years ago, she moved with her husband to their own house and realized it was time to fulfill a childhood dream — to get a horse. From the internet, she learned about an interesting breed — American miniature pony.
«My husband went on a business trip to St. Petersburg and there, at a breeding farm, bought two horses — Peggy and Ovation. They brought them by horse transport,» recalls Tatiana. «He arrived, and we nervously started hammering together a shed, building paddocks. They were both in foal, pregnant, so to speak. After 11 months, they gave birth to two fillies; I exchanged one for a stallion, our dancer Shedda. Since then, the number of small horses has grown.»
Then Tatiana enrolled her son in equestrian sports; he was 10 years old at the time. For training, they had to buy a horse.
«The coach said that until I buy him a big horse, he won»t ride,« continues Tatiana. »What to do — we bought one, placed it at «Rifey» (an Olympic reserve school for equestrian sports and modern pentathlon. — Ed.). My son started training on it, jumping, but then he suddenly grew, and we had to buy another horse. And then another and another. Our horses were kept everywhere: at «Pegasus» (an equestrian club. — Ed.), at «Rifey», at friends« places, because we had a small plot at home. Then we started looking for a place to build our own stable.»
They found a place near Chelyabinsk, in the Sosnovsky District. Now three hectares are more than enough for both mini-ponies and large horses up to two meters tall.
«Ponies are very popular with children; from the age of three, kids start training with us,» says Tatiana. «Children learn to properly care for a horse, saddle it correctly, and also learn to ride. Naturally, with an instructor, gradually. And the main entertainment — braiding manes. The horses stand calmly when children, and even adults, braid them. Now a new direction has appeared — ippoventsiya. This is precisely close communication with a horse. You pet it, hug it, braid its mane — this is already a kind of therapy, one might say.»
To our question about whether it«s expensive to maintain the farm, Tatiana smiles and says that she has stopped and no longer expands the business.
«This whole venture is mostly unprofitable,» admits the owner. «We have no sponsors, except for my husband. Keeping a stable is hard. Yes, we sell foals of American miniature horses, because there are none elsewhere except at our farm and at a farm in St. Petersburg. But you can»t really earn much from it.«
The price for a purebred pony is 250,000 rubles (approximately $2,500). But in the world of horses, as we understood, this is peanuts.
«Lukas, our beauty, of the Friesian, Dutch harness breed — an elite horse, the state carriage of Elizabeth II was harnessed with these horses. He has been with us since 2013, and now this breed costs up to 10 million rubles (approximately $100,000),» says Tatiana. «And we also have an Orlov Trotter — this is a treasure of Russia, one might say. Once, Count Orlov created this breed by selecting various Dutch and European mares.»
