Horse Farm Near Chelyabinsk Features Ponies Worth Millions
«You came to us on your own, but generally, media outlets love to invite us with a horse. The main thing is that there»s an elevator, otherwise — no problem,« says the farm owner of »Pinto Breeze« Tatyana Mustyakimova with a smile.
«Will a horse fit in an elevator?» we ask.
«Easily! Our ponies will enter any elevator; you»ll see how miniature they are. And they also know how to dance,« Tatyana intrigues.
We believe that not seeing the dancing Sheddi in the Year of the Horse is a crime, so we watched this pony with pleasure and are showing it to you.
The horse farm «Pinto Breeze» is a few kilometers from Chelyabinsk. There live 70 horses. The owner is ready to talk for hours about each one: mini-ponies are like large dogs — from the withers 65 centimeters. American miniature horses are slightly taller. Such horses are not found anywhere else in the region. Or here — Friesian, Dutch harness horse — an elite horse. The ceremonial carriage of Elizabeth II was harnessed with these black beauties. The cost of this breed reaches up to 10 million rubles (approximately $100,000 at current rates).
Tatyana Mustyakimova is by education a graphic artist; 15 years ago, she moved with her husband to their own house. And then she realized it was time to fulfill a childhood dream — to get a horse. From the internet, she learned about an interesting breed — the 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 Tatyana. «He arrived, and we nervously started hammering together a shed, building paddocks. They were both pregnant, so to speak. After 11 months, they gave birth to two fillies; I exchanged one for a stallion, for our dancer Shedda. Since then, the number of small horses started to grow.»
Then Tatyana 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 go,« continues Tatyana. »What to do — we bought, placed it in «Rifey» (a school of Olympic reserve 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: in «Pegasus» (an equestrian club, — Ed.), in «Rifey», with friends, because at home we had a small plot. 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 Tatyana. «Children learn to properly care for the horse, saddle it correctly, and definitely learn to ride. Naturally, with an instructor, slowly. And the main entertainment is braiding the mane. The horses stand calmly when children, and even adults, braid them. Now a new direction has appeared — hippotherapy. This is precisely close communication with the horse. Here you pet it, hug it, braid its mane — it»s already a kind of therapy, one could say.«
To our question of whether it«s expensive to maintain the farm, Tatyana smiles and says that she has stopped and is no longer expanding the operation.
«This whole story 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 miniatures because they aren»t found anywhere else except with us 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 at current rates). But in the world of horses, as we understood, this is peanuts.
«Lukas, our handsome horse, of the Friesian, Dutch harness breed — an elite horse, the ceremonial 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 at current rates),» says Tatyana. «And we also have an Orlov Trotter — this is a treasure of Russia, one could say. Once Count Orlov created this breed by selecting various Dutch and European mares.»
