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Tiny Horse Brings Big Smiles To Shiners Kids

JULIE BUSCH / The Tampa Tribune

Jaron Johnson, 15, pets Thumbelina, the world's smallest horse, before entering Shriners Hospital For Children on Monday.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 5, 2007

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TAMPA - Tiny Thumbelina munched on some hay and gazed over the 18-inch-tall plastic fence at the kids in wheelchairs or in the arms of parents. In this case, a horse is not your average horse, of course.

"She's soft," said 14-year-old Jerry Lauer, reaching down to pet the dwarf offspring of miniature horses.

Thumbelina, if she could, would identify with many of these children who are patients at the Shriners Hospital for Children on the grounds of the University of South Florida. She was born with physical problems, and those problems continued throughout her six years. Nobody thought she would make it this far, but she has. Her only malady now is a gimpy-looking right rear hoof, that, when she stands is at an awkward angle.

"She does have some orthopedic issues," said Thumbelina's owner, Michael Goessling, who runs Goose Creek Farms in St. Louis, a miniature-horse farm.

He said any day now, a specially built brace will arrive to help the horse stand at ease.

Thumbelina has a connection to ailing children, something he can't fully explain, Goessling said. "She can pick them out of a crowd."

Thumbelina is on a year-long tour of the lower 48 states, Goessling said. Florida is the 42nd state. She visits sick and injured children, kids in shelters, victims of abuse and troubled kids, Goessling said. Tens of thousands of children have seen and petted Thumbelina on the tour, he said.

Through it all, the horse remains even-tempered and calm.

"She's never stressed," he said. "She just likes to hang out." He looks down at her. "For a 17-inch-tall horse, she's absolutely beautiful."

Pictures of her on the Internet have been popular. They show Thumbelina standing next to a full-size horse and another comparing her size to that of a German shepherd. She has been featured in National Geographic and is a fixture on some television shows, Goessling said.

Oh, and she's in Guinness World Records as the world's smallest horse, he said.

She weighed 8.5 pounds and was 10 inches tall when she was born May 1, 2001. Now, she's 17½ inches tall at the withers and weighs a whopping 57 pounds.

Miniature horses, by comparison, weigh an average of 200 pounds.

"She's a dwarf of a mini," Goessling said. "That's why we all call her a mini mini."

She's an anomaly, he said. And she won't be bred. "Dwarfism is not something you want to breed into your herd," he said. There are about 50 miniature horses on Goose Creek Farms, he said.

Nobody knows how long Thumbelina will live. "She's such an oddity," he said. "We're hoping for another 10 to 15 years, but we just don't know."

She is in perfect health, he said, which is contrary to dwarfism in the equine community. She has kicked the farm dog out of its dog house and once nipped at a massive horse brought in for a National Geographic photo shoot. "She rules the roost," Goessling said.

All the children at the hospital got chances to pet Thumbelina, including Jerry, who, in his wheelchair, was the first to give the horse a pat on the back.

"I think she's really great and special," the beaming teen said.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or at kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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