From Quarters to Miniature Horses
Located in the far southeast of Bexar County where the Medina and the San Antonio River meet, is the small town of Buena Vista, which has been called home for the Southern Heart Ranch for the last 20 years.
In the beginning, our focus was on breeding and selling AQHA quarter horses. Our quarter horses were of the Doc Bar bloodline with a lot of Leo, San Peppy and Poco Bueno. The lineage goes all the way back to Traveler and beyond.
Looking back at their ancestry, the whole gang, all of the famous great horses were there. All these wonderful AQHA Horses will always be remembered in our hearts and all their off springs today will do them proud.
In 1999, there was a major change on the horizon and the Southern Heart Ranch changed direction right in midstream, when we were introduced to the wonderful world of miniature horses, from seeing them on a television program. We knew right then and there, that we would have to know more about these beautiful little horses.
As luck would have it, there was going to be a Miniature Horse Show put on at the San Antonio Rose Palace by the San Antonio Area Miniature Horse Club in the weeks to come. Seizing the opportunity, we were compelled to attend and see what it was all about.
We attended their show, were thrill, and over whelmed at how wonderful and helpful all the people were that were showing their horses. These people were so kind that they acutely took the time to talk to us and explain their views about the miniature horses, what they thought was a good confirmation and head, what halters were in style, the driving classes and all the other type classes that you could enter a miniature horse in. In addition, they also elaborated on what they thought would not be a good investment. We were in awe as to how wonderful these people were to talk so openly about their horses and even giving away some great tips. We found out fast that you could do many things with a miniature horse.
Well after the show, there was no stopping us, as we just had to acquire some miniature horses for ourselves. We started by checking advertisements in papers and then went looking. We visited many farms and ranches and saw many beautiful horses. It was very hard to decide on which ones we wanted to get. Nevertheless, we decided on our first two.
As time progressed, nothing ever stays the same. We have sold all the quarter horses that we are going to sell and just keep a few for our enjoyment of riding. Now we have entered into the World of Miniatures Horses
These little horses have captured our hearts in ways it’s hard to say. They are so small that you can’t help but love them.
They greet you with kindness and always love to be brushed or rubbed. They follow you about wanting to be close to you. It's very hard not to spoil these little creatures of God as they have so much love to give in return and today we are 19 headstrong down from 39 as we are downsizing our herd. We also belong to the San Antonio Area Miniature Horse Club and I was Editor and Webmaster for the club for a while and President for the year 2007.
We just never know where our life will lead us, as having been breeding quarter horses and then just from watching a television program about miniatures, who would have thought that we would have had a major change in our lives and start breeding, raising and showing miniature horses. Life has a funny way of sending you in a different direction, but we are sure glad it did. |
