2018 Miniature Horse World Magazine FALL- Volume 34, Number 6 | Page 26

member
Spotlight
5 Things
You Don’t
Know About...
Sheryl and Salsa
Sheryl Peterson
Oak Bay Acres
As told to Lynne Francis
Grandaughters,
Megyn and Emily.
24 Miniature Horse World
FA L L 2018
1 .  What was your career before you began to
raise and show Miniature horses?
2 .  How did you become involved in
raising/showing Miniature horses?
I started out my “pre-horse” career teaching Special Education, and
later went back to school to obtain my nursing degree. I have been
practicing Psych Nursing for the last 30 years. One of these days I hope
to retire!
My beginning in Miniature horses was for the most part accidental.
In 1980 I was raising Arabians and Morgans. We bought a property
just outside of Boise, Idaho on which to build our house and horse
facility. When our friends down the road told us they were leaving
on a one-year job tour, we moved into their home and took care of
their horses. Six months later they called to ask if I could also take
care of a herd of Miniature horses they had just purchased. Of course
I said yes, and in the middle of an icy, snowy Idaho winter, a huge
semi-truck arrived with my seven new little charges- one stallion and
six mares. I can’t say it was love at first sight, but it certainly didn’t
take long for those horses to worm their way into our hearts. But one
event that really convinced me these were amazing equines happened
that spring. The house was located at the end of a very long driveway
which came up between two hay fields from the very busy road below.
As I was standing in the kitchen washing dishes I saw this little herd
of horses starting down that driveway, heads down, being very quiet,
the little scamps knew exactly what they were doing. What to do? I
knew I couldn’t run fast enough to cut them off, so I did the first
thing I could think of. I ran out on the porch and in my very best
school teacher/nurse voice yelled at the top of my lungs “Just where
do you think you are going?” Amazingly, the whole herd stopped dead
in their tracks! So I followed that inspired command with my second
pearl of the day. I shouted “Turn around and march right back to your
stalls! NOW!” That must have been a command they knew, because
they all immediately turned around and headed back up the driveway
to their stalls. You can only imagine my relief that I didn’t lose my
friend’s entire herd of horses before they even got home to meet them!
When the owners returned they gave me one of the newborn colts
as a thank you for wrangling their “wild horses” so expertly. I named
him Kim’s Kianti and he was my first Miniature horse. Kianti became
a most beloved fixture in our household. Never did I worry about him
running off, spooking, or pulling the multitude of ingenious tricks as
my full-size horses did. My children were totally safe with this hilarious
little horse. That’s when the Miniature horse became my ideal horse
for his temperament, trainability, loving nature, curious personality, and
dependability. Suddenly the full-size horses lost their appeal and before
I knew it I became a staunch Miniature enthusiast and breeder.