Summer

Summertime Gayle, more fondly known as Summer, is a registered miniature horse that was born on August 16th, 2003. John and Gayle Gordon of Stayner, Ontario bred this mare and Summer's registered name is in honour of Gayle.

Her owner had this story to tell of her horse:

"I came upon Summer by pure accident on April 5th, 2004. My neighbour and I were visiting a farm to see some of their minis. I was looking for a companion for my other miniature horse, Whinny. We looked at a number of horses and I was finally forced to choose between two of them. John was not keen on me picking Summer as she was a companion for another one of his little ones. Finally, with my promise of a lifetime of love, I chose Summer and so our adventure began together.

It took some trial and error to find our base herd consisting of Summer, two Belgians and a Paint gelding. My other miniature horse, Whinny, has been sold.

Your jaw might drop when you see our small herd out in the paddock. Summer is 8.1 hh and 180 pounds. Buster is a 17.2 hh, 1600 pound Belgian gelding. His half sister Sally is a 16.2 hh, 1500 pound Belgian mare and our registered Tobiano Paint horse, Billy Tass, is 16.1 hh and 1200 lbs.

Believe it or not Summer holds her own with these giants! Or at least she tries too. Summer will get right underneath the other horses and give them a painful shot in the hocks. Regardless, they are all kind to her and Summer will stand under them to get away from the flies or find a nice piece of hay that they had missed. This mini is faster and sleeker than her companions in play and can avoid the bigger horses if they get a bit too pushy. It is amazing the respect our horses have for each other in out little paddock! I can pony Summer along side Billy down the road to help keep her in shape. Now there is a sight that gets the neighbours smiling!

Summer, as well as her big brother Billy, are well known around the community for their Santa Claus parades and OSPCA Mutt Struts. One of Summer's many nicknames is Sassy because she can get so 'mare-ish' at times. Even the vet calls her Sassy girl!

In the winter she is well known as our 'little bison', or the 'wooly mammoth'. I swear she gets more hair then the other three horses combined! It takes forever for her to shed out in the spring.

And so Summer will live on with us forever. She will keep on being our sassy little girl as well as the occasional show mascot and OSPCA representative. Summer may not have the world's best confirmation but she has a personality that will leave her memory in our hearts for a lifetime."

Congratulations to Summer for being our August 13^th, 2007 Horse of the Week!