CLAYTON, Ohio – Gordon and Bonnie Harris never in their wildest dreams ever imagined they’d be owners, breeders and showmen of miniature horses.

The couple bought the farm in Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1988. They had two riding horses. They also had three children at that time, ages 2, 6 and 8.

“I grew up in New York and I was a city kid,” Gordon said. “The day I signed the contract on this place I said, ‘I can’t believe I own a farm,’ thus the name IONA farm.”

They settled on a farm along a windy road in Clayton, which lies northwest of Dayton, Ohio. The landscape includes rolling hills, tall trees and a pair of two-story houses that were built in the late 1800s. The property was ideal for their three kids and two horses.

“But one day our 6-year-old came home from kindergarten and received two tickets to the Ohio State Fair from her teacher,” Bonnie said. “It was Miniature Horse Day at the fair, and as we were going through one of the barns a lady handed the reins of a miniature horse to my 6-year-old daughter and asked if she wanted to take her horse for a walk. From that time on we were in trouble.”

Trouble, as in there was no way of saying no to a little girl who immediately fell in love with the miniature pony. A month after the Ohio State Fair, the Harris family purchased their first miniature horse.

“Our intention was to have one or two in our backyard,” Bonnie said. “But we obtained more. Our stable at one time grew to 100 and that was ridiculous. We have 62 miniatures to this day.” 

Their miniatures occupy several barns, including an Amish-made barn from the 1870s, one with original 40-foot beams.

In the beginning, the Harris clan decided rather than compete in local county fairs, they dove headfirst into competition of the American Miniature Horse Association (AMHA).

“We had no idea what we were doing,” Gordon said. “Our first show was in Eaton, Ohio. Our goal was not to make fools of ourselves. We were first timers. But just the opposite happened. We won just about everything there was to win. We were winning awards that we didn’t know what they were for. That was our first AMHA show and we were hooked on the minis.”

The couple and their children made their way to competitions in Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan as well.

“All of the kids showed the horses,” Bonnie said. “Our youngest now has her own miniature horse farm in Brookville, Ohio.”

The family had the acreage and barn space, so why not expand. They did just that.

“We were breeding 23 mares at one time and you figure two-thirds of your mares would get in foal, and two-thirds of those will carry to have live foals,” Gordon said. “We had planned on getting 14 to 15 babies. Well, all 23 mares had live goals. We were growing fast. So instead of buying horses to add to our breeding program, which would be costly, we kept the best of what we bred. Most people would keep one or two breeding stallions. We have a whole lot of ’em.”

And after working with miniature horses, standard-sized horses never again entered their minds.

“For one, miniatures are smaller, making them easier to take care of. And, they eat less,” Gordon said. “Feed-wise it costs one-fifth of what it takes to feed a big horse. You’re feeding by weight. I tell people it costs as much to feed one mini as it does to feed my cocker spaniel.

“They each get a flake of hay per day along with two cups of a grain,” Bonnie added.

As their children aged and moved on, Gordon and Bonnie still compete and show their miniatures. They used to show at the annual Lebanon Carriage Parade in Lebanon, Ohio. They’ve frequented Roberts Arena in Wilmington, Ohio. They even performed miniature horse demonstrations at the Dayton Horse Show in Dayton. The still attend quality shows, just not as many.

“When we started with the minis there were numerous, large farms with 30 to 40 miniature horses at each one,” Gordon said. “Nowadays, there aren’t as many of those big farms. More people are showing the minis but these people have far fewer miniature horses than we did.”

Bonnie said, “The cost to show miniatures nowadays is a lot higher, too. The five of us would show in a lot of classes when we started. Now, with just the two of us showing it costs more than the five of showing all together.”

The Harrises now have 34 years’ experience in the miniature horse business. Their breeding program is based on the top bloodlines in the breed.

Historians tend to support the miniature horse breed as a derivative of many sources. In prehistoric teams, small horse breeds were most likely the products of surviving harsh natural climates and limited feed. Today, knowledge of genetics has made the possibility of breeding specifically for size a reality.

The first mention of a small horse being imported into the United States was in 1888 and research shows little public awareness of true miniatures until 1960. Popular belief is that American miniature horses utilized the blood of English and Dutch mine horses brought into this county in the 19th century and used in some Appalachian coal mines as late as 1950.

Measuring at base of the last hair of the mane, the mature miniature horse must not exceed 34 inches.