Only in Quincy – tiny horses out for a downtown stroll

When the weather’s nice and crisp, and the winter storms are on hiatus, folks often walk their dogs in downtown Quincy — but little horses? On leashes?

Well, actually those are leads being held by Quincy’s Elizabeth Page of Plumas Rural Services and her daughter Rayn, an eighth-grader at Quincy Junior/Senior High School.

The ladies said their miniature horses, which they pasture off Highway 70 on the west end of town, need exercise just like anyone else.

“In fact, I keep telling them I’m going to put them on a Jenny Craig diet!” Page laughed as the 4-year-old black stallion, Russell, tugged on his lead, trying to reach some grass growing across the street from the Dupont Power Tools shop.

“We only bring them out two at a time because walking all four is a handful,” she added.

Daughter Rayn, walking their 12-year-old chestnut mare, Sadie, said, “We walk them along Spanish Creek all the time, but today we decided to head into town.”

Page and her family have four miniature horses, including 20-year-old Jasmine (Russell’s mom) and 12-year-old Scarlett, another chestnut mare. Their walk would have to wait for another day, it seemed.

Make no mistake, the tiny horses are not ponies and can live to be 40-years-old.

Watch for Russell, Sadie, Jasmine and Scarlett at the upcoming Children’s Fair in May down at the fairgrounds where they are an annual hit with little ones. Human ones, that is.