Mini horses are Lovely’s second passion

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
MINI KISSES — Cheryl Lovely tries to get a reaction out of her newest miniature horse “Carla Maxine.” Lovely is opening Mini Tack and Horse Supply at her Drews Lake Road residence, adjacent to her other business, Mini Music Shop and Country Store.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    NEW LIMERICK — If there are two things Cheryl Lovely knows, it’s music and horses.
    And based on the success of her music store business, it only makes sense that a similar venture for horses was long overdue.
    Last summer, Lovely opened the Mini Music Shop and Country Store — a musical instrument and supply store next to her home on the Drews Lake Road. That business has done so well, that Lovely wondered if she could strike gold a second time by opening a mini-horse supply store in a building adjacent to her music shop.
    Thus, the Mini Tack and Horse Supply business concept was born.
    “We will try to carry a little bit of everything, but if we don’t have it, we can get it for you,” Lovely said. “It will have everything for a miniature horse.”
    Used and new saddles, carts, reins, wagons and harnesses are but a few of the many items that will be available in her shop.
    Lovely has about 22 mini horses on her 35-acre property, but only a small portion of that land is used for the horses. She knows the name of each animal and is eagerly awaiting the arrival of three new foals in the next week. Miniature horses range in size from 22 to 36 inches in height.
    “I’ve been raising mini horses for about 10 years now,” Lovely said. “I have some real small ones, and I have a few that are as big as ponies. I wasn’t able to find much in the way of products for miniature horses, so I thought this might be a good business to get into.”
    Some of the horses will only be sold as tandems that can be used to pull a small wagon or cart. Small children are able to put a saddle on the horse and ride it, but their best use is pulling.
    “They have weak backs, but their legs are very strong,” she said. “One mini can easily pull two adults in a cart.”
    Lovely said she raised miniature horses with great success while living in Florida. She got started with the business when a spouse of one of her friends passed away.
    “We wound up with the horses and fell in love with them,” she said. “We decided to start a business with them, which led to adding carts and teams. It was really a big business in Florida.”
 Recently, she brought the remainder of her horses to New Limerick from a home in Indiana. She also had many of the supplies in her shop tucked away in storage.
    So who are her prospective clients?
    “Anyone,” she said. “Anybody that likes animals or has small children that they want to get used to horses, mini horses are the way to go. You do everything the same way with a mini that you do with a regular horse, only there is not much chance of them getting hurt.”
    Lovely said mini horses can be used in a number of ways, but they make exceptional pets.
    “Mini horses are very, very smart,” she said. “They are being used as seeing-eye guide animals because they are so easy to train. They are probably easier to train than a dog.”
    Lovely said because the animals are smaller, they don’t require as much room as regular-sized horses.
    “The only thing you need is a lawn,” she said. “They are really more like a pet.”
    Lovely’s previous business background includes operating Mainely Music in Houlton for many years, with branches also located in Ellsworth and Bangor.
    She plans to have special events at her business this summer offering cart rides to children.
    The average price for a mini stallion is between $500-$1,000. Some horses are only sold as teams. Prices were considerably higher in Florida, starting at $1,500. She once sold a stallion at an auction in Texas for $35,000.
    The Mini Tack and Horse Supply store will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. A grand opening for the business will be held this Friday and Saturday with special offers available. For more information, call Lovely at 532-4300 or 694-4928.