Walks or a trot in the snow, warm fuzzy horses, sled rides, dishing out hay, and admiring snowflakes in manes are a few of our favorite things. 🥰❄️🐴
Do you love winter?
We've got something exciting coming your way very soon and! Any guesses from this little teaser what Isabel and Sweetie are up to?!
A look back at our fun Friday this past weekend with our 2024 Family Mini Day Camp crew! We had a great day, shortened slightly by the heatwave we experienced last week, but still fun! Not captured were some water games and time splashing in the creek!
Feel free to tag us in photos or videos you took during camp!
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#summercamp #ponycamp #horsecamp #familyfun #summer2024 #agventures #horsesofinstagram #miniaturehorses #sunnyday #heatwave
Music Credits:
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/mood-maze/trendsetter
What is Hiking with Horses?
It's so much more than just taking a Miniature Horse for a walk... Miniature Horses are horses and we have to realize that before working with them or hitting the trails. With that said, no prior horse experience is required! We spend time working with you and our Miniature Horses before we hit the trails to make sure you are properly equipped. We'll also have an assistant with each horse to guide you and help make sure our walk is the best it can be. Guests will take turns leading one of our horses during the walk.
We'll be outside, enjoying nature, hanging out and learning with Miniature Horses, exercising, maybe catching a sunset or splashing in the stream or puddles. Hiking with Horses is recommended for our adult friends or older children, but younger children can have fun too!
Depending on your chosen trail, you can add some special elements like a scavenger hunt card (great for kids, rock or nature enthusiasts!) or a hilltop picnic (bring your own supplies).
Some fun stuff you may get to see during your visit: Bald Eagles (a pair frequenty roost and fly through), Blue Heron, Fish, wild Turkey, White-Tail Deer, Sparrow Run (the stream nearby), Furnace Glass, Fossil Rocks, and more!
Come adventure with us in our barn's 'backyard'!
All pricing information and other details are live on our website now!
Did you get to see the total solar eclipse today? Did we get to see it here in Port Matilda, PA? Watch and find out!
#totality2024 #solareclipse #minihorsesofinstagram
Join us for lessons or session(s) in 2024!
Sessions are a shorter-term way of learning. Come for one or a few to acheive a smaller goal: learn a new skill or hone an existing one.
Lessons are a longer-term way of learning. Come throughout the lesson season to acheive larger goals: learn new skills or hone existing ones. Lessons are recommended to be scheduled twice/month.
Learn with your group or as an individual!
We have an emphasis on groundwork and horsemanship with our Miniature Horses, but riding can be included for children who fit the minimum age requirement and do not exceed height and weight requirements.
Learning is tailored to each student... We always work from the ground up to the saddle (if a student is also learning to ride).
Learn or hone existing skills... basics like grooming tools, leading, horse care, horsemanship, and more advanced skills like beginning riding, trail walking or riding, training, balance exercises, lunging, round pen work, tricks, obstacles, and more!
Contact us now for more information about lessons or sessions for the 2024 season (May-November).
Will we see you at the barn?
#horsebackriding #horselessons #horsemanship #miniaturehorses #miniaturehorsesofinstagram #summer2024 #education #SummerFun #calendarofevents #tricks #trailriding #learningisfun #horseriding #horsecare #obstaclecourse #challengeyourself #funforeveryone
Get ready for our 2nd annual MINI Model Horse Show!
Featuring...
-Prize drawing for entrants
-1st-3rd ribbons
-Breyer categories
-Stuffed/Plush Categories
-Misc. Categories
-Display/Diorama Categories
-Visit with our herd
-NEW Business Card Trading Area
-NEW categories
-NEW entry limit
-and many more NEW features for 2024!
Our model horse show is open to the avid Breyer collector (adult or child) right down to a child with their favorite plush or model horse!
Hobbies are more fun with friends... our new business card area is for those who want to connect with others in model horse showing, collecting, and custom design... bring some business cards and take some!
For 2024, we'll be adding more categories (especially for Breyer lovers)!
With our new entry limit, you can bring even more of your favorites to enter.
This event is free to attend, but there are entry fees for exhibitors (this information is available upon request).
We'll see you in September, 2024 for this event, date and more info coming soon!
Sign up for our email newsletter at mini-w-horsemanship.weebly.com/upcoming-events to stay in the loop for all upcoming events here at the barn!
#modelhorses #modelhorseshow #summerfun #2024fun #annualevent #miniaturehorsesofinstagram #FallFun #activitiesforall
Paint a Pony!
This activity is for the artistic, the animal lovers, the individual or group looking for something fun to do! We hold 1-2 public Paint a Pony events each year that are for specific age groups, then anytime May through October you can schedule a Paint a Pony party for YOUR group!
We love making learning FUN! This event is tailored to the amount of prior horse experience each group has. NO prior horse experience is required! For each party, guests will learn about and work with our Miniature Horses. We'll spend time brushing, leading, playing a game with them, then for the finale--painting ON the horses!
We use washable finger paint so it is safe for human and horses. Guests can use hands, foam shaped stamps, and brushes to paint on the horses. Feeling uninspired? Roll our inspiration dice to see what you should paint or what color to use! Our Paint a Pony party kit is constantly growing with new ideas to help guests make a work of art!
Once the group is finished painting, we snap some group photos for you with our 'I paint a pony!' sign and when the group heads home, we wait for the paint to dry and we take a few minutes to use a curry comb and brush the paint right off! Some colors can stain our horses' hair, so we'll use some shampoo and water to finish cleaning, then our horse is clean!
This activity is GREAT for families, children, adults, and groups!
Sign up for our email newsletter or follow us here on social media to keep an eye out for our Paint a Pony dates for this year.
Interested in booking a party for your group? Contact us!
#PaintaPony #ArtisticExpressions #SummerFun #FallFun #horsesofinstagram #activitiesforkids #activitiesforall #MiniHorsemanship #learningisfun #painting
Have you heard about our free MINI LIbrary here in the barn?
The MINI Library is a collection of horse themed books here at the barn. We began collecting books in 2022 and launched in the spring of 2023. It exists to be a free resource to guests to our barn and our community through our free MINI Library Miniature Horse Read-alongs throughout the summer! Dates for this summer are coming soon!
What do the Miniature Horse Read-along events look like?
They're always free! Take your seat on a hay bale and we'll read a book from our collection alongside our Miniature Horses. After, the remaining time of this one hour event can be used to create a bookmark, go for a walk on the nature paths, visit with our horses, and more! Activities vary for each event and book title is always announced ahead of time.
Do you accept book donations?
Yes! We couldn't have grown this collection if it wasn't for your help! Our collection has reached 60+ books as of the end of 2023 and we're excited to continue to see it grow in 2024. We accept gifted books and monetary gifts to help the collection grow. Your gift can be brought to a read-along event, or you can contact us about gifts if you are unable to attend an event.
Did you know?
We're currently in search of an outdoor storage cabinet so we can give our collection a 'permanent' home in the barn during the summer-right now we only bring the collection to the barn when requested for events, lessons, and during our read-alongs. Help us give this collection a permanent summer home in the barn so it is available for all activities and events.
We can't wait for you to jump into a good book with us this summer!
#Freelittlelibraries #minilibrary #horsesofinstagram #community #jumpintoagoodbook
Hermie and Snickers conveniently brought a basket to the barn so we could take them for a ride on Sweetie!
They know even though our horses have a break from lessons that they still get some saddle time and rides for training and to keep them in shape!
#elfontheshelf #horsesofinstagram
Our Miniature Horses have turned into little elves and have been helping us deck the stalls! Though some of our fall decorations are still present (because Thanksgiving 🦃), we’re also getting ready for Christmas!
Our November lessons will have built in activities for Thanksgiving and Christmas:
•thankful pumpkins 🍁
•decorate the Mini Christmas Tree 🎄
•pin the nose on the snowman barrel⛄️
We’re still a little sad that this is the end of our 2023 activity season, but we’re not going to let that spoil our fun!
We’re revamping our website! Our website is currently under construction, but if you have questions about any activities or want to visit, send us a message or an email. We hope to have our website back up and running with NEW updates by July 14!
Schedule your summer fun with us here at The Mini Whinnies at Quarter Acre Wood!
-Paint a Pony events
-Lessons
-Pet & Paint Parties
-Barn Parties (birthday parties & more!)
-Group Tours/Field Trips
-Camps
-On the Go visits
-and much more!
