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Tiniest Horse Provides Big Therapy

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 6, 2007

TAMPA - Tiny Thumbelina munched on hay and gazed over the 18-inch high plastic fence at the children 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, who reached down to pet the dwarf offspring of miniature horses.

Thumbelina, if she could, would identify with many of these children who are patients at Tampa's Shriners hospital on the grounds of the University of South Florida.

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

He said that 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 weighed 8.5 pounds when she was born on May 1, 2001, and she was just 10 inches tall. Now, she's 17.5 inches tall and weighs a whopping 57 pounds.
Thumbelina is on a yearlong tour of the lower 48 states, Goessling said. Florida is the 42nd stop.

Keith Morelli

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