ESTEVAN - The Happy Little Hooves pony and donkey sanctuary is inviting the public to its facility southwest of Estevan.
An open house is slated for Oct. 19 at 11 a.m. Not only will people be able to meet the animals who call Happy Little Hooves their home, but there will be tours, demonstrations and a celebration as Happy Little Hooves marks five years since it opened in 2019.
Laura Stock, who operates Happy Little Hooves with her sister Rhonda, said there will be tours throughout the day. Demonstrations will cover grooming; vitals; first aid; hoof trimming; the difference between ponies, donkeys and mules; and ground driving, since one of the miniature animals knows how to pull a cart.
"It will be a come and go. People will come for certain demos that they want to see, or they come for the tour," said Stock.
There will also be a ribbon cutting for the new shelter that was made possible by support from the Rotary Club of Estevan. Rotary donated $3,000 to Happy Little Hooves last year, which covered the cost of the shelter and all of the materials.
Stock said the finishing touches are being applied to the structure, and the ribbon cutting will be around 3 or 3:30 p.m.
"It will give the little guys shelter in the winter from the cold, and also it will be available if we need to partition it off to halter the little ones that are difficult to halter," said Stock.
Animals can also use the shelter in the summer months.
Happy Little Hooves currently has 47 animals that all have special needs. They have four mules, four donkeys, six larger ponies and 33 miniature horses.
The open house was supposed to happen on Oct. 5, but had to be postponed due to the powerful winds that plowed through the southeast that day.
Admission to the open house will be by donation.
To get to Happy Little Hooves, take Highway 18 west of Estevan to Range Road 2100, then head south for 6.4 kilometres.
