Andrew is an itty-bitty horse with a sassy, over-sized attitude.
When annoyed, he rears up on his hind legs and bucks in the air, said his Rimbey-area owner, Jaynie Williamson, 15. “Only it’s not very scary,” she added — since Andrew stands only 24-inches high.
Even by miniature horse standards, that’s short.
Jaynie, who does gymkhana events with her regular-sized mount, Pedro, and has spent her childhood moving in equine circles, says she’s never seen a horse as tiny as Andrew. Neither has her mother, Joy Williamson, who used to keep other miniature horses that were about a foot taller.
Joy calls Andrew “a silly little horse who thinks he’s the boss of our big horse … It’s really funny.”
While Andrew is kept in a separate run, so he doesn’t get stepped on by quarter-horse Pedro, the little guy takes every opportunity to join his bigger pal.
“He’s broken out about four times and he always ends up in the big field with Pedro … You’d think Pedro would be the boss, but he follows (Andrew) everywhere,” said Joy, with a chuckle.
The pint-sized steed was gifted to Jayne by family friends. They were moving to Medicine Hat from Blackfalds and didn’t have room for Andrew at their new home.
As Jaynie always loved frolicking with the mini-miniature horse, she agreed to take him in — and there hasn’t been a dull moment since on the Williamson acreage, west of Rimbey.
Pedro, who was initially wary of Andrew, quickly warmed up to the shaggy yearling. However, the family’s black lab/Belgian shepherd cross, Jack, continues to give him a wide berth.
Jayne believes it’s because the dog towers over Andrew, and doesn’t yet know what to make of him. Is he a dog or a horse?
“Jack was smelling his bum … he didn’t know what he was,” said Joy.
Their wiener dog, Rudy, took to Andrew, as did their two cats, Herman and Farley, who curled up with the horse while he was napping on a dog bed in the shed. Joy admitted she isn’t sure what to do next winter.
Most miniature horses are hardy, but Andrew is so undersized “We might have to put him in the garage,” said Joy.
While he isn’t supposed to enter the house, Jayne admitted that she and her younger brother, Joel, 13, have snuck Andrew indoors a few times when their parents were away. “We carry him up the stairs and put him on the couch.”
She feels the little horse prefers the comforts of home to his own unheated shelter.
The Grade 10 student at Rimbey Junior/Senior High School said little Andrew has been a big hit with her friends. “They come over so we can go riding, but we end up playing with Andrew instead.”
Jaynie plans to train him to pull a cart so she can show him off at a local horse driving club show. But it will have to be a custom cart, since even a little red wagon is too big for Andrew.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com