This feature, originally aired in 2018, takes you behind the scenes of Little America Miniature Horses, where being small is a big deal! From Hollywood stardom to youth programs, our minis have been capturing hearts for decades.

Watch the video to learn about:

• How our miniature horses found their way to Hollywood and TV stardom.
• Our past Thursday Kids Program, where young horsepeople bond with these incredible animals.
• What makes miniatures the horse for everyone—no matter your age!

While this story is a treasured highlight from our past, Little America continues to thrive today. With 130 miniatures and many babies on the way, we’re proud to carry forward our passion for these wonderful minis.

Share your memories with us or schedule an appointment to find your new mini!

Transcript

Reporter: Being small is a big deal here at Little America Miniature Horses.

Tony: They’re called the horse for everyone because I had a friend who was 97 who had about 45 miniatures, and then my daughter started showing when she was three. So they’re for everybody, whether you’re in your 90s or in your beginning years.

Kayla: They’re a lot of fun, but they’re all different. Yes, some like the camera; others prefer to be left alone.

Reporter: But at Little America Miniature Horse Ranch, there’s bound to be a horse for anyone. Sometimes they even end up on the big screen.

Tony: And he has a sister that’s two years old, and she took up a jet plane to Hollywood where she appears on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills with another one that went with her. They’re two of our horses that Lisa Vanderpump owns. A young lady from Teen Mom OG, Farrah Abraham, bought his one-year-old sister.

Reporter: Tony Greaves has been raising mini horses for 54 years.

Tony: We have about 175 horses right now, and we usually have anywhere from 30 to 60 babies in a season. They have to be 34 inches or less to be registered with the AMHA [American Miniature Horse Association].

Kayla: They’re just really fun to be around. They all have their own little quirks and different personalities, just like people.

Reporter: Kayla is part of the Thursday Kids Program, something Tony’s daughter started over 10 years ago as a way for younger kids to get to learn more about the minis.

Kayla: I learned how to train your horse and how to establish a bond with your horse and how to get your horse to trust you and for you to trust your horse.

Tony: When we have shows, the kids will come out to work with the horses, getting ready. Some that are home-schooled will come out maybe every day to work with horses.

Reporter: I can see why they enjoy hanging out here at the ranch. And to put it in perspective, here’s me with a mini; here’s me with a Clydesdale! So now we have one of your favorite little minis here.

Tony: Yes, this is Los Arboles Idols Pequeno, but we call him PQ. My daughter actually bought him for me for Father’s Day two years ago. He’s really little and very correct to be as tiny as he is.

Reporter: Well, nice to meet you, PQ! Not for sale, by the way.

Tony: But maybe we’ll have some of his babies that you’d like.

Reporter: So what makes them so unique besides their size? There are open classes for showing.

Tony: Everybody can show in the open classes.

Reporter: And hey, good things do come in small packages.

Tony: Miniatures can take the place of a [full-sized] horse. So whether you’re young or old, a lot of people get into miniatures because maybe they’ve gotten to where they’re afraid they might be hurt by a big horse or maybe they don’t have the room that they used to have. They don’t want to ride.

Reporter: I’ve had a great time out here at Little America Miniature Horses.ther’s Day gift turned fan favorite. (Sorry, PQ’s not for sale, but his adorable offspring might be!)

The post Being little is a big deal at Little America Miniature Horses appeared first on Little America Miniature Horses.

Lots of wonderful pictures. Take a look.

See more pictures here on the Optical Women’s Association website.

The post Optical Women’s Association “Meet the Minis” Event appeared first on Little America Miniature Horses.

The basic rule of thumb for both miniature and big horses is eleven months and five days as an average length of pregnancy. This is figured from the last date of breeding. Of course, there are always exceptions to that rule. We have had mares foal full-term, foal at ten months and have had them carry as long as a full year.

How will I know when my mare is ready to foal?

When foaling season is approaching we bring all the mares that are pregnant into a pasture next to the foaling barn. At night we put them in a lot, referred to as the maternity ward, which is observable from our house and by cameras and is lighted during the night so we can look at them to check what is going on at any time.

We check the bag (mammary gland) of each mare when we feed morning and night. When it starts filling we make note of it. Any big change from one observation to the next is the best sign that she is going to foal very quickly. They will surprise sometimes, but it is the best guide. Usually, when there is a big change, the mare goes into the foaling barn where we can observe even closer. Sometimes there will be tiny balls of wax on the tips of the teats. This waxing usually is within 24 hours of foaling.

What equipment should I use to watch for foals?

Once we see a mare’s bag fill up, we bring her into the foaling barn at night and let her graze in the lot outside the barn during the day.

We have used Breeder Alert for many years through a number of upgrades. There are others that are available, and we have tried several but have stuck with them because of excellent customer service. The current system has capability to use a beeper and also a dialing system that will call a list of numbers. It will call according to an assigned sequence. If the first does not answer, it goes on to the next.

When a mare is restless or just acting differently than usual, we will put the beeper on to make sure that we are alerted when she lies down flat. If we are asleep, the beeper will wake us. We will look at the monitor and if she is just laying down, we will go back to sleep. If she is up and down, pawing at the ground or walking in circles, we know that the time is near so we pay close attention.

Currently, we have a camera system by Arlo Security Systems. We have ten cameras and have them distributed throughout the barn and maternity ward. We can see it on TV, Amazon Echo Show and on our phones, even when we are out of town. Some of our friends and family have access to it and have been known to alert us if a mare is in labor. The cameras are rechargeable and portable so sometimes during the day, we will move them outside the barn to cover the yard where the mares are.

What do I do after a foal is born?

After a foal is born, we immediately worm the mare. We generally use paste Ivermectin set for an average-sized AMHA-sized mare, about 200 pounds. We never use Quest because it requires very exact weight dosage. We usually worm before she even stands up if possible. When the foal stands and the umbilical cord breaks, we treat with 2-10% iodine by dipping the foal’s navel in a small dish of the iodine.

When the mare passes the placenta, we put it in two shopping bags to prevent leaks and put it in the freezer to dispose of it on the next trash pickup day. It is suggested that the placenta be inspected to make sure it has all been expelled. We then leave the mare and foal alone and make notations in the office of the time of birth and start the foal’s webpage.

Then we go back to check on the mare and foal and usually by this time the foal is nursing. We make sure foal passes meconium (first poop) and is actually nursing. The meconium is almost black, very thick, and sticky. Sometimes it comes out fairly long. If all this happens as normal, we leave them alone to bond and if it’s night, go back to bed. If we see after several tries that the foal is having trouble, we may give an enema of warm water with a dash of dishwashing soap, or you can use a regular Fleet enema.

Another thing we keep an eye out for the first few days is the eyelashes of the foal. They can frequently turn in and if left untreated, can cause eye infections or even blindness. A vet can put a stitch in the eyelid to keep the eyelashes out, but we usually just brush them up with our fingers. If that doesn’t work, we will carefully cut them off entirely. They generally will be okay as they grow, but check from time to time.

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BUDA – Tony Greaves was born in West Texas, Lamesa, where he grew up with Shetland ponies all his life. His mother said he learned to walk holding on to a halter of a little filly they called “dappled filly.” Greaves couldn’t say dappled at such a young age, so they settled on the name “Daffy.” He had her for many years until she died.

Greaves raised his first miniature horse, Greaves Big’Un, in 1963 when he was a senior in high school. In 1978, when the American Miniature Horse Association (AMHA) was founded, Greaves registered Big’Un at 15-years-old. His family always had Shetlands, but he always loved the smallest ones.

“When we would go to an auction or something, I would search the barn and find the smallest one and beg my dad to buy it,” Greaves said. 

When Greaves was younger, he had a comic book of Bozo the Clown. Bozo had a miniature circus of animals he carried around in his briefcase that would perform when placed on a table. Greaves said that that was the size of animals he wanted.

Photo by Amira Van Leeuwen
31” Melton’s Fantazon’s Boogie Nights.

He remembers telling his dad that he wanted to raise 22-inch horses.

“Oh, you’ll never get them that little,” his dad replied. 

“Well, I’m going to try,” Greaves said. And fortunately for Greaves, his father lived long enough to see him get his horses down to 28-inches.

Now, Greaves is continuing his dream.

“I had one stallion that I sold two years ago — I didn’t really want to sell him, but I had somebody who just absolutely had to buy him. I popped off and gave her a price that I thought she would never pay, and she did. He was only 24.5 inches tall, full-grown,” Greaves said. 

Greaves now has one horse named Jackpot, about one-year-old and 21.5 inches tall. According to Greaves, several buyers are interested in him, but he has held onto him because the horse’s father is 26-inches tall. Greaves thinks Jackpot will be about 23-inches tall when he is fully grown.

Little America Miniature Horse Farm is a family-owned miniature horse farm in Buda. Tony Greaves and his wife, Carol Greaves, purchased the land in 1995 and have registered over 1,500 horses. Greaves and his wife have two children and have been married for 56 years. 

The name was inspired by Greaves’s time touring with Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians in 1966 and 1967. 

“We did a lot of patriotic music, and I always loved patriotic music. Carol said, ‘Well, what about calling our farm Little America Miniature Horses?’” Greaves said. 

Initially, Little America Miniature Horses used the United States map as its logo, and then they came up with the logo of the horse head with a flag pattern.

“It’s worked out really well because we use flags when we go to the horse shows; we use flags on the stalls and we use flags in our advertising,” Greaves explained. 

One of the first expensive horses Greaves sold was to Paolo Gucci for $50,000.

While the COVID-19 pandemic was at the forefront of many business owners’ minds, Greaves said he thinks it ended up increasing his business because of their website because people had time to tour the ranch digitally..

“It just seemed like last year, I had more interest,” Greaves said. He also attributes his business increase to the internet and consistently updating the website. 

“A lot of people don’t keep their website up. I mean, people will call me and ask me, ‘When was your website last updated?’ and I say ‘An hour ago, you know, sometimes literally,’” Greaves said.

Greaves’ favorite thing about Little America’s Miniature Horse Farm is the horses and foaling season. The couple has ten cameras in their foaling area to check on the pregnant mares. Greaves checks on the mares twice daily, in the morning and at night. Once the mares appear close to giving birth, they put the horses in their foaling barn just outside the house. If Greaves thinks the horse will give birth in the next night or so, he will put a beeper on them. The beeper will go off when the horses lay down for 15 seconds and set off an alarm that will wake Greaves up.  Greaves said if they are in labor, he will go out to the barn and be with them while they give birth to ensure everything goes okay. 

“The problem is that sometimes the babies are so little that they don’t break out of the amniotic sack, and they can suffocate, so we try to be there with them, especially the tiny ones,” Greaves said. 

Greaves said he also loves to show his horses and miniatures all over the United States yet they are lucky because most of the larger shows are in Texas. 

The Greaves family has shown horses in Virginia, Ogden, Utah and Reno, Nevada. For about the last 10 years, the world show has been in Fort Worth, which will be coming up the last week of Sept. through Oct. 1. Little America Miniature Horse Farm has 13 horses it plans on taking to the world show.

Most of the time, Greaves will put the stallion’s name in their name, which gives him a clue as to remember who they are. He comes up with names for the horses based on his surroundings. 

“One night, I was watching Mr. Selfridge on PBS, and the beeper went off. I ran out and delivered a baby, and her name was Lady Selfridge Boogie; her daddy’s name was Boogie Nights,” Greaves said.

Another of Greaves’s favorite names is Little America’s It’s a Trip.

“I almost stepped on this one [cat]and kind of kicked it out of the way as I was running out, and it got in my way again, and I tripped over it,” Greaves said.

Greaves also has what he likes to call his “private collection,” which comprises some of the smallest miniatures in the world.

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There are several different tools used in the driving world to help horses have better action. Some use weighted boots, others chains, bands, or there are “flip flops.” Flip flops for driving horses consist of a strap that’s buckled around the horse’s pasterns with a length of hose hanging off. When the horse moves, the hose dangling makes them pick their legs up higher and helps get them in better shape and stepping bigger.

Supplies Needed to Make Flip Flops For Your Driving Horse

• 2 9″ lengths of hose
• 2 1 1/2″ split key rings
• 4 or more #10 split/lock washers
• 2 nylon dog collars
• 2 or more #10 x 32 – 1″ machine bolts with nuts (these are 1/4″ longer)
• Lighter
• Scissors
• Pliers
• Drill and 3/16″ drill bit
• Optional: Leather punch
• Optional: Duct tape

Steps to Make Flip Flops For Your Single or Country Pleasure Driving Horse

1. Cut the dog collar to be 10″ long, then use the lighter to burn the end so it doesn’t unravel.

2. Use either the drill or a leather punch to punch holes in the newly shortened collar and the lighter to burn them and prevent unraveling.

3. Next, take one of the key rings and install it on the collar’s leash loop. In the past I’ve used solid metal rings for this, but they had to be sawed to install on this piece, so I’m trying key rings this time. We’ll see how it goes! Another option is to have solid rings and put them around the collar itself, I just prefer to keep the metal off of my horse’s legs.

4. Fold the hose in half and use the drill to put holes going straight through both ends of the hose (four holes).

5. When the holes are drilled, slip the ring onto the hose so it hangs in the fold.

6. Place one washer on the bolt. Using your pliers to help squeeze the hose down a little bit, run the bolt through the four holes to hold the flip flops together. Once you get it through all four, place another lock washer on the other side and the nut. Make sure to not squeeze down on the hose too much, you don’t want a lot of excess metal from the bolt sticking out.

7. Optional: For extra durability and to help cover up the metal portions on the hose, wrap the flip flops in duct tape.

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Over the years we’ve had many customers who were either new to the horse world or purchasing their first miniature horse. This guide will walk new owners through caring for their miniature horse(s). As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to us!

Watering Miniature Horses

All livestock should access to clean water all the time. Be sure to have a bucket in their stall or trough in their lot or pasture with water. An animal can live for days without feed but will die quickly without water.

Feeding Grain to Mini Horses

Feed according to the instructions on the feed bag that you choose. It varies across manufacturers, but we feed about 1-2 pounds of whole oats per 100 pounds of the horse’s weight. We split this amount into two feedings:  morning and evening. A full-grown miniature mare around 30″ tall will weigh around 200-250 pounds, so we would feed about three to four pounds of grain per day.

If they have good grass, you can cut back on the grain. If they are losing weight, increase feed gradually. We feed whole oats to our broodmares and if they don’t gain enough weight we supplement with alfalfa cubes. When we feed alfalfa cubes, we soak them in water for about an hour before feeding. Then we’ll usually feed about a hand full of the alfalfa. If a horse develops a pot belly it is usually from lack of nutrition, or too little feed, NOT overfeeding.

For young horses, weanlings and yearlings, there are many excellent feeds for growing animals. I highly recommend Purina Equine Junior.

Letting your Miniature Horses Graze

I suggest free access to coastal Bermuda grass hay when the grass is lacking. That said, they probably will not even eat it when the grass is available because they prefer fresh growing grass.  Because of the drought we are going through, I would introduce them to the grass gradually.  Perhaps letting them graze an hour or two a day for the first few days and gradually increasing the time. 

Once they are used to it, you can leave them on the grass. That said, you may want to limit their time for the grass’s sake so you don’t create a dry lot from overgrazing. 

Protect any trees in their lot as they will sometimes eat the bark out of boredom which can kill the tree. In the past, we have wrapped chicken wire loosely around trees in the lot to protect them.

Salt for Your Mini Horse

Salt should also be available. Salt blocks, available at feed stores or Tractor Supply, come in three types:

• White which is plain salt
• Brown which is a trace mineral block
• Yellow which is sulfur

I recommend and use only the brown blocks which supply some of the minerals that the horses may need. They are available in 50-pound blocks and in smaller individual blocks of about four pounds.

Worming Miniature Horses

We worm our horses every two to three months with a paste wormer that can be purchased at your local feed store. The tube is marked to administer by weight and one tube usually worms a full-sized horse of 1,250 pounds. That same tube will take care of a miniature five times, so set the gauge to 250 pounds.

Ivermectin is the wormer we use most of the time. However, your veterinarian may suggest that you rotate wormers so that they don’t build up a resistance to one type or another. DO NOT use Quest wormer. It is very specific as to weight and has been fatal in some instances if overdosed.  Most other wormers have a wide tolerance and even accidental dosing of an entire tube would not be fatal.

Vaccinations and Hoof Trimming for Mini Horses

Every area has its own needs as far as vaccinations.  I only give an annual booster of FluvacEWT, but in your area, your vet might recommend additional vaccinations.

Hoof trimming should be done usually every two to three months as needed, depending on the individual horse.  Find a farrier in your area through references or feed store. 

Here is a good piece written by a friend of mine, Joanne Ross, which may be of interest too:

General Care and Health of Mini Horses

• Miniature horses consume the same feeds as full-sized horses. These are primarily pasture grass, hay, and grain.
• A single miniature horse can be reasonably maintained on as little as 1/4 acre of land provided that its feed is supplemented with hay on a daily basis and the horse is also provided with a structure for shade or to get in out of the rain or other inclement weather conditions
• Miniature horses, depending on their age, size, and whether they are also on pasture, will consume in the range of two to five pounds of good quality hay per day.
• Generally, hooves of miniatures are trimmed at two-month intervals. This may be necessary more often with younger horses (yearlings and younger) while they are growing to assure proper bone development, leg conformation, and gait.
• Horses are usually wormed on a two-month routine with one of the modern wormers or fed the daily supplement that has a wormer included.
• Veterinarians should be consulted for advice on annual vaccination programs for horses to prevent common diseases. Annual dental care is very important in miniatures.
• In the winter the miniature horse gets a very long coat and it can be very deceiving about how their weight is holding. It is important to actually check the horse’s condition by rubbing the fingers across the ribs of the horse just below the backbone. If a “washboard” feel is evident, the horse is probably underweight and the feed ration should be increased.

The post How to Care for a Miniature Horse appeared first on Little America Miniature Horses.

Montserrat and Yaya, I LOVED your video! It made us so happy to see you so happy and the colts in such wonderful hands!!! Sorry Texas hadn’t shed his baby teeth when the others came in, but your vet took great care of it. We loved your showing our foals playing when you were here to choose your babies! Wonderful video!

Next is another video of the beautiful barn they’ve built for their new horses. As you can see, a LOT of hard work went into it!

The post Montserrat Oliver and Yaya Kosikova’s Mini Horses appeared first on Little America Miniature Horses.

Get started! How to clean a mini horse harness:

Supplies Needed

• Pledge
• Brasso brass cleaner
• A soft cloth or two to clean with, preferably microfiber or an old tshirt
• Rubber glove (optional)
• Old toothbrush (optional)

Instructions to Clean a Mini Horse Harness

1. I start with the brass on my harness because the cleaner can get on the leather. Put on your glove and either put some Brasso on the cloth, or on your glove, and rub it in a circular motion on each brass part of your harness. The more tarnished the brass is, the more you’ll need to rub to clean it up.
2. Once you’ve restored the shine, use a clean portion of your rag to wipe off the rest of the product.
3. Repeat for the rest of the brass on your harness. TIP: Unbuckle each piece to work on it, then redo the buckle before you continue so you don’t change the way your harness is fitted for your horse! You can use the opposite side of the harness to remind yourself where to redo the buckle.
4. If your cloth is covered in Brasso, use a different cloth for cleaning with Pledge. Spray the pledge on your cloth (NOT on the harness) and rub it on the leather portions of the harness, taking care to avoid the embroidery.
5. For hard to reach areas of the harness, spray Pledge on the toothbrush and gently use it to clean those areas, then wipe them dry with the cloth.
6. Repeat until you’ve finished cleaning your harness!
7. Head to an AMHA show and get it dirty again!

Find your next miniature horse driving prospect with Little America. We have foals by LR Phantom’s Secret Storm, son of 35-time World Champion Single Pleasure Driving and Roadster horse, Silver Meadow’s Phantom Storm.

We also own 22-time AMHA World Single Pleasure Driving and Roadster winner, Lymrick’s Irresistible Force, “Guinness” and have his progeny for sale. Not only has Guinness won World Reserve Grand Champion Single Pleasure Driving Horse in both open and amateur, but he’s also been World Grand Champion Roadster Horse at AMHA World!

The post How to Clean a Mini Horse Harness appeared first on Little America Miniature Horses.

By Alyssa McCarthy Parker in From The Field on on Feb 23, 2015

I don’t know if there is ANYTHING cuter than a miniature horse. I fell in absolute love with the little guys and gals at Little America Miniature Horses. Tony and Carol Greaves were fantastic hosts and it was great to learn so much about a breed of horses that none of us really had any experience with.

It was also heartwarming to meet Tony’s “Thursday Kids,” a group of young kids from the surrounding areas that come to the barn after school to work with the minis. They learn all about grooming, training, handling, they work on an obstacle course, and several of them practice showmanship.

Among the Thursday Kids is a young man named Kameron, who is legally blind, but comes alive with confidence while he works with his favorite horse Rainbow. Together the pair has won several World Championships.

We can’t wait for y’all to see the segment on Little America Miniature Horses! Stay tuned for updates on when it will air!

Until next time,

Alyssa

– See More Here

The post Wild About Barns Behind the Scenes: Little America Miniature Horses appeared first on Little America Miniature Horses.

I quickly finished putting out feed for the mares and drove the Gator back to the pasture to check to see if I was right.  As I got closer I saw a big flash of white on the “something laying in the grass” and thought, “Yea!  An appaloosa hopefully.  Just hope it is okay.”  As I got closer I saw the tail swish and breathed a sigh of relief to know that it was indeed a tiny little appaloosa, and best of all alive!

His dam, Little America Color’s Mandy, is a six-year-old mare and this is her first foal.  She is more difficult to handle than most of our mares and I knew that I would have a difficult time catching her in the eighty-five acre pasture, but figured that I could carry her foal and she would follow us back up to the barn.  When I reached them the foal sat up, but didn’t stand, so I was able to catch him and examine him all over.  I found that he was very correct, tiny, bay with a star and snow cap blanket.  I also found that the lashes one of his eyes were inside his eyes, so I brushed them out and checked both eyes.  They were very red but that is not too unusual for a newborn.

I picked up the tiny guy and put him in my lap between me and the steering wheel.  Mandy started running around the Gator, but I finally got her attention and she located the foal, so we started driving slowly to the barn.  As we went along I started thinking about a name, first thinking of Little Man, but as I thought more, I decided on Little America’s My Color Man.  We generally use part of the sire (stallion/father’s) name.  Since his sire is Little America’s My Oh My, I used “My”.  His grandsire is Winner’s Circle True Colors, I used “Color”.  And since his dam (mother), I used Man.

Sire:  Little America’s My Oh My

Grand Champion at the Ft. Worth Exposition and Livestock Show in January 2012

Once we got to the barn I wormed Mandy since we worm all our mares within twenty-four hours which seems to cut down on foal heat scours.  I noticed that one of her hooves needed trimming so I trimmed a little on both of her back feet then took the pair to the foaling barn which is next to our house where we can keep a close watch on new babies and mothers for a few days.

When I put them in the yard I watched long enough to note that the dam was moving away every time that he tried to nurse.  Since this was her first foal and she was “ticklish” I guess.  I brought them into the barn and tied her up and held him to try to get him to nurse.  He wouldn’t try because be had been scared trying to nurse before I found him.  I finally decided that I had to get something down him, so milked the mare and luckily he took to drinking from a syringe quickly.  I was able to get about fifty cc of colostrum down him so that was a relief.  At first I had to put a twitch on her to get her to let me milk her.  This went on every couple of hours for about thirty-six hours.  Thank goodness he finally started nursing and she started letting him nurse and is now progressing nicely.

Here he is at six days: 

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