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Little hooves, big winners

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@tampatrib.com

Published: August 24, 2009

PLANT CITY - You'll never catch them putting the cart before the horse at Oak Run Farms.

Pam and Craig Gordon's 10-acre property is home to 27 miniature donkeys, including prize-winning animals adept at pulling show carts, as their Mediterranean ancestors did while working in the vineyards on the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia.

But winning awards is only a part of the Gordons' miniature world northwest of Plant City.

"We breed for pet quality and for show quality," two different markets, Pam Gordon said.

"The demand mostly is for pets. The emphasis is on selling quality babies for what people want in a pet," she said. "People like them for carting."

The animals are known for their sociable dispositions. Miniature donkeys are easy to maintain, rarely get sick and eat only two cups of feed daily, supplemented by grazing or some coastal hay, the Gordons said.

Their animals sell for $500 to $1,200. Miniature donkeys average 32 to 34 inches at the withers. There are an estimated 17,000 to 20,000 of them in the United States.

George Wilkens

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