Weekend with a mini horse. A trip to the mini-horses at the Kostin Dvor farm

Program

Since the time of Hippocrates, the concept of "hippotherapy" has been known - treatment with a horse. Indeed, these animals have a unique ability to lead a person out of a closed internal space, awaken the desire to communicate with people, learn about the world around them, and enjoy life. When you get nervous or tired, it's worth talking to the horses for half an hour - you become a completely different person. We invite you to spend the whole day in the company of these amazing animals. In addition to recreational recreation, cognitive excursions are waiting for you, filled with entertaining, amazing facts from the life of horses.

First, we will introduce you to the Elitar horse breeding farm, the main purpose of which is to breed breeding and sports horses of the Hanoverian breed. This is an amazing breed of horses, distinguished by its gracefulness and royal exterior. The Hanoverian breed is one of the leaders in the world ranking of the World Federation of Sport Horse Breeding. During the tour, you will learn the history of how a horse became a domestic animal, the variety of breeds that exist in the world, and what requirements professional sports horse breeds must meet. You will be introduced to the cycle of reproduction of horses from breeding to rearing, training and factory testing of young animals. Of course, there will be time to communicate with these amazing animals, the opportunity to treat them with fresh carrots, to feel the warmth of their rough tongue and the softness of velvet wool.

The "hippotherapy session" will continue in the hospitable kingdom of mini-horses - the Kostin Dvor horse breeding farm. Here, on a picturesque territory of 4 hectares with its own pond and orchard, there is a modern stable. Its inhabitants are miniature horses. Their main distinguishing quality, of course, is small stature and a special kind horse character. Miniature horses are not ponies, but an independent, rare breed. Their height does not exceed 86 cm at the withers. At the same time, there are horses and 38 cm, while they weigh from 20 to 65 kg.

You will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with these funny horses, to learn the history of this breed and their distant Paleolithic ancestors. Children love these horses very much and call them “Humpbacked Skates”, and they also remember the rhyme: “I love my horse, I will comb her hair smoothly!”, Moreover, you will have this opportunity. "Miniki" are very fond of when they braid their braids and decorate them with colorful bows. After tea drinking, there will be an opportunity to ride in a horse-drawn cart.

09.00 - Departure of the bus from metro station Turgenevskaya. Travel information.

Visit to the Elitar Horse Breeding Farm: a story about Hanoverian breed horses, a tour of the stable, a demonstration on the arena (parade ground) of mares with foals and stallions.

Visiting the Kostin Dvor mini-horse farm: visiting the stables, getting to know Shetland ponies and mini-horses, a hairdressing master class, tea drinking, horseback riding (for an additional fee - 300 rubles per person. Payment at the office).

A small hobby for a huge pleasure. The first farm in the Urals miniature horses again waiting for replenishment. Tatyana Mustyakimova, a resident of Chelyabinsk, changed her job to an unusual hobby two years ago.

American miniature horses have a Ural idyll. After a delicious breakfast of hay, muesli and some carrots, each inhabitant of a small farm is busy with a very important task. Someone on the sand is sunbathing or washing. Someone walks on a leash, and someone learns the basics of training. While Khatenka is doing "Up", Lyalya starts with a simple one. If the dog gives the owner a paw, then the mini-horse gives a leg.

Lyalechka is not only smart, but also very musical. In his free time, he likes to stand on a wooden barrel and play it like a drum. Tiny horses are generally distinguished by a cheerful and playful disposition. For breeder Tatyana Mustyakimova, a small horse is an ideal pet.
“They are all quite curious, quite sociable, always ready to communicate with any child. They will never bite, they will never kick,” says Tatiana Mustyakimova, a mini-horse breeder.

Horses are carried on the hands here - both literally and figuratively. Reduced copies of riding horses weigh little, they also eat at a minimum. Now there are already 15 guests on the farm: Shetland and mini ponies, Appaloosa ponies and Tatiana's special pride - American miniatures. “The mane is curly, because this girl is only a year old, she is small,” Tatyana Mustyakimova explains. “But she will not grow any more - the breed standard is up to 86 centimeters in total.”

“I was roller-skating, I see: it’s like a horse and not a horse, some small ones. And so, I changed big horses for small ones, and I really like it,” says Ksenia Taran, a volunteer.

Among the small horses that were bred in Europe in the 70s and then transported to America, today, it turns out, there are big and serious competitions. There is also agility in the world - a track with obstacles, and show jumping, only without a rider, and driving - this is when mini-ponies race on carts. Tatyana dreams of holding such competitions in Russia. Her tiny horses have more than once stated the ideal height, excellent weight and the straightest legs.

Fante is only a year old, but in Russia she is already a rising star: this spring she won first place at an exhibition in St. Petersburg. The blue-eyed affectionate beauty was recognized as the best in her age. However, none of the horses has star disease. The main thing for them is not public recognition, but love, communication and attention. And Tatyana plans to expand the boundaries of her farm so that small horses coexist there with large ones.

For all animal lovers, and especially horses, in the Moscow region there is a unique Kostin Dvor farm, where very rare breeds of mini-horses are bred. And since there are long New Year holidays ahead, it will be easier to make time for a short but interesting trip. Children will especially like such a trip, for whom in late December and early January the farm organizes New Year's programs with gifts and horseback riding.

mini horses

You can come here as part of an excursion group. In this case, tourists leave Moscow at about 12 noon, so there will be no need to get up early on weekends. An interesting entertainment program will await the children at the place: at first they will be able to take part in various competitions and quizzes, where the children will be able to show their ingenuity and ingenuity. Then they will have the opportunity to ride big and small horses. And later Santa Claus will give gifts to everyone. But in order to get on such a holiday trip, you need to be puzzled by buying a ticket in advance.

We decided to go to Kostin Dvor spontaneously and on our own, when we were tired of the monotonous weekend. In addition, we had a five-year-old niece visiting us, who really wanted to see the little horses.

Since we went to the Kostin Dvor farm for the first time, we got up early, decided to lay time for traffic jams so as not to get there by the arrival of the excursion group, then, of course, we would not have had the opportunity to ride our niece on mini-horses. However, we arrived very quickly.

The Kostin Dvor farm is located 50 kilometers from Moscow in the village of Senkino-Sekerino along Kaluga highway. We were moving along the navigator, and at the end of the path we were helped by signs on a country road. Therefore, we arrived quite early, around 10 o'clock in the morning, at first we did not see people at the farm at all.

Then the stable workers came out, and we asked if we could ride horses. It turned out that until the tour group arrived, we can walk around the territory, look at mini-horses and ride a niece on a horse in the arena for a fee. I understand that the cost of one lap will be as agreed with the workers. The official cost on the website is 300 rubles for two laps (150 rubles for one lap).

The farm "Kostin dvor" is located on 4 hectares. It has its own stable, riding arena, a small pond, summer houses and gazebos. In summer, of course, everything looks more fun: here you can fry kebabs and go fishing in the pond, and you can stay overnight in wooden houses. In winter, the main joy is the horses, for the sake of which we came here.

Farm Territory Kostin Dvor

stable building

We are all used to the fact that a small horse is a pony. However, mini-horses are an independent species of animals. When exactly they appeared is unknown. One thing is clear that such horses were the result of many years of work of breeding farms, where the smallest individuals with a good-natured and calm character were selected. They differ from ponies in the proportionality of the body, characteristic big horses. They have fairly long legs for their size and small hooves. At the same time, their growth reaches a maximum of 86 cm. And there are also very short individuals about 40 cm in height.

Mini horses on the farm

There are several breeds of mini-horses that were bred in the North and South America. In Russia, such horses appeared around 2004, and now there are not many private farms involved in their breeding. Because of their small size and very friendly nature, mini horses are ideal for teaching young children how to ride. Such a horse will be able to withstand a child weighing up to 35 kg. More adult children are already riding ponies.

mini horses

And parents can ride standard horses, there are some on the farm. For riding there is a special arena for riding.

The niece was chosen a mini-horse and put on a protective helmet. Then, accompanied by a stable worker, she rode a few laps on the horse. These cutest creatures caused great delight in the child, all the way back we listened to how much she would like to take such a “mini car” home.

Riding a mini horse

During excursions, children are allowed to feed the horses and braid their pigtails. But, even communicating with these cute animals through a small fence, you get great pleasure, because they themselves come up and poke their cute muzzle in their palms. The threshold of mime-target rolls over.

After riding a little more down the hill and bypassing the entire territory of the farm, we got ready to go back. In addition, it got colder and the next visitors began to arrive. In general, I highly recommend the Kostin Dvor farm for a short trip with young children. Communication with mini-horses will benefit and delight kids and adults.

How to get to the farm Kostin Dvor to mini-horses

Address: Moscow, Troitsky TO, Senkino-Sekerino village (about 50 km from Moscow along the Kaluga highway).

Opening hours from 10 to 18-00 (from 13-14 feeding horses, no riding).

Tours are held at 12-00 and 16-00.

Official site

We went to the village of Senkino-Sekerino, where the mini-horse breeding farm is located, at the end of April. This is a short (only 5 hours), but very interesting excursion, especially considering that we are not talking about ponies, but about real horses, only very, very small ones. Less than an hour drive from the Yugo-Zapadnaya metro station along the Kaluga highway. The excursion program is designed in such a way that it immediately becomes clear that the most important tourists on this trip are children. Guide from the travel agency The travel store was waiting for the group near the metro station near McDonald's, which is very convenient - there is where to run, if anything. On the way to the farm, Pavel told in a very interesting, detailed and most importantly accessible way for a children's audience how such small horses appeared, what mini-breeds are, about the habits and character of animals. It turns out that mini-horses have a very kind disposition, and they do not sleep standing up, like ordinary horses, but lying down. The mini Faladella breed is considered the smallest horse on the planet - its height at the withers is only about 70 cm. This breed was bred by an Argentine farmer and received his sonorous name. There are also American miniature horses, which are excellent guides for blind people - they are very calm, even phlegmatic, and remember the area well. The third mini-breed - Appalusi - is distinguished by an unusual color, similar to the color of the Dolmatian. In horse breeding, this color is called "chubary". Appaloosians have another feature - striped hooves. The farm breeds not only mini-horses, but also Shetland ponies, which are also considered the smallest in their class. The owner of the farm is called Konstantin Viktorovich, so the farm is still very sincerely called "Kostin Dvor". The bus parked almost near the stables. The building is very modern and doesn't look too much like a stable. On the first floor there were stalls for horses, on the second - living quarters, a toilet, a living room, where we were given tea after the tour. The rooms are very clean, there is not even a specific smell of a stall. Opposite the stables is a spacious paddock, where we immediately saw cute and fluffy little horses that looked like plush toys. They turned out to be very curious and one after another ran up to the wooden fence, affectionately poked their funny faces into the outstretched children's hands, got to know each other. It was necessary to see the faces and eyes of the children, how many emotions at once - joy, tenderness, tenderness, care. Children suffering from cerebral palsy (infantile cerebral palsy) are often brought to the farm for hippotherapy sessions - there is such a service on the farm. It happens that communication with a small horse does wonders. A female guide appeared from the stable, who with difficulty gathered the children around her who were keen on horses. to start walking around the farm. At the entrance to the stable, there is a leaflet on the wall with the rules of conduct and safety precautions for handling horses. Children and adults were warned not to slam doors, run, shout, make noise, put their hands between the bars of the stall in the stable. You can not approach the horse from behind - it can get scared and hit hard. It is forbidden to treat animals roughly. I liked one phrase in the rules - "The horse is noble by nature, not prone to hostility. If he becomes stubborn and even vicious, consider that it is not his fault. Horses will not love you more if you are excessively soft. They feel in safer, happier and better behaved when boundaries are clearly set." Of course, this rule is not only suitable for horses. The boundaries are drawn, the children are serious. We went around all the stalls, saw where the horses sleep, what they feed them, how they take a shower, found out what horse ammunition is. We were shown a real miracle - a newborn foal a little larger than a toy poodle - so tiny, legs like matches, but already standing firmly, resting its hooves on the floor, covered with clean, dry sawdust. The smallest Appaloosie horse on the farm is Roderick, with a gray spotted coat, fluffy bangs falling over his eyes and a fluffy tail that looks like a light train. Roderick knows how to bow beautifully, stretching his front leg slightly forward. The guide showed how to properly approach the horse a little from the side and give it food on the outstretched palm. If you brought gifts for the horses (peeled carrots are best), there is a special table in the stable at the entrance where you can put a treat. Each child, guided by a guide, approached Roderick and fed him a piece of carrot. The stallion quietly, with his lips alone, removed the delicacy from the palm of his hand and grunted with pleasure. It was funny. The guide explained that it is forbidden to feed the horses on your own. Firstly, for safety reasons, and secondly, horses do not have a satiety center in the brain, and it is easy to overfeed them. The stable has its own feeding regime, which is strictly observed. Horses are fed 8 times a day. Each horse eats 5 kg of hay, 1 kg of oats and 1 kg of apples or carrots. The stalls are equipped with automatic drinkers. After talking with Roderick, the children were given colorful brushes and invited to go to the street corral. There we were shown how horses are groomed. Work began to boil, soon the small herd was all in hairstyles, ribbons and bows. And our clothes are all in assorted wool. In spring, horses shed heavily, shedding their warm and fluffy winter coats. Cats live on the farm. In the oats that horses are fed, mice often start up - they rustle, and the horses are frightened by the rustle. Therefore, cats are welcome here. There is an arena behind the stable building - you can ride there. On a small horse, you can put a child weighing no more than 35 kg. Older and heavier children ride Shetland ponies or in a cart. When riding on a child's head, be sure to wear a protective helmet. Skating is paid either immediately when buying a ticket, or at the farm after the fact. The ticket costs 250 rubles. Two hours flew by. Before leaving, there was some time to walk around the farm. Behind the stables is a large pond where fish are bred. Fishing is paid.) There are several guest houses on the hill - if you wish, you can rent it for the weekend. Nearby is a playground and another open paddock for dressage. Geese swarm at the water's edge. Near the decorative wattle fence with clay jars sticking out on stakes, a very charming straw scarecrow flaunts.
Watching the children while walking around the farm different ages, concluded that it is better to bring children over 3 years old to this excursion. Kids express their emotions very violently, while they do not perceive either their parents or the guide (which is understandable at their age), and it is forbidden to scream and make noise in the stable. Also during the tour it is very difficult to organize a group of children if the parents themselves do not follow the established rules. And yet - in the stable there is a very beautiful horse named Kazbek. He is allergic to women's perfume, the smell of which makes him cough violently. Therefore, if you are going on this excursion, refrain from using perfume on the day of the trip, take pity on the horse's health, which is not so strong.

Surrounded by these miniature creatures, any person will feel like Gulliver, suddenly finding himself in the country of the Lilliputians. The spectacle seems fantastic, almost unreal - real horses, but growing to the waist of an adult. And these are not undersized ponies with short legs and an elongated body familiar from childhood - no, all animals have the proportions characteristic of riding horses.

Does it happen? - you ask. Of course, everyone who wants to see this miracle of nature can go with us to a mini-horse farm in the Moscow region. The tour will be interesting for both children and their parents, because there are not many farms in the world that raise tiny horses. But here, near Moscow, you can admire mini-horses of different breeds - from the graceful farabella to the exotic and rare mini-appaloosa.

What are the advantages of mini horses?

• This is not a reduced copy. ordinary horse as is commonly thought. Skittish mini-horses simply do not exist, and every visitor to the farm will be convinced of their friendliness and meekness.
• These little ones can be ridden. Moreover, there are practically no age restrictions for young children - already at 6 - 8 months, kids enthusiastically ride such a horse. Children learn the basics of riding from the age of 3 under the guidance of an experienced instructor. For some of the guys, visiting the farm will be the first step into the world of equestrian sports, while others will just have fun communicating with rare animals and caring for them. As a rule, there is simply no end to those who want to wash a horse or braid its mane.
• Adults will also be able to ride mini-horses, but only in a harness on a light cart. Those who know how to ride will be provided with a "full size" horse.
• A visit to the farm is also a wellness session, because Hippocrates wrote about the healing effect of communication with horses on the human body. The beneficial effects of hippotherapy are felt by almost all visitors to the farm, and a wide range of diseases that can be cured surprises and inspires hope. Well, children, of course, are more drawn to such four-legged babies, feeling completely safe with them.
• Mini horses are superbly trained, so it is easy to teach them to perform various commands. Your four-legged friend can not only sit, lie down and stand on command, but also neigh, give a hoof (instead of a paw) and even ... play ball. Why is he worse than a dog?

A tea party with sweets will end the day full of colorful impressions, and as a memento of the excursion you will have a souvenir bought in a local souvenir shop.

Excursion program

The price of the tour includes:

• Accompanying the group throughout the trip (the bus is served to the school)
• Delivery to the place of the excursion and back on the insured transport of a certain capacity with adjustable seat backs, air conditioning, TV, seat belts
• Excursion program at the mini-horse farm

Useful information about the tour

• It is possible to conduct excursions on weekends, in this case the cost of the excursion increases.
• Part of the program takes place outside, dress for the weather