It’s a horse, of course

Hutchinson residents Lisa and Steve Synstelien didn’t know that when they bought their miniature horse, Thunder, they were getting two horses for the price of one.

After they got Thunder home, they found out she was pregnant. And baby Starlet was born May 18. Starlet wasn’t an ordinary miniature horse though, she was smaller.

When Starlet was born, she was about 12 inches tall and weighed about 15 pounds. The Synsteliens knew their horse was different, so they asked friends, Wade and Sheila Kutz, to do research on Starlet. The conclusion was that she was, in fact, a dwarf miniature horse.

Starlet has a lot of the same features as a miniature horse except her legs are shorter and she has clubfeet.
“She’s awfully sweet though,” owner Steve said.

Starlet is now about 18 inches tall and weighs about 30 pounds.

The Synsteliens have big plans for Starlet. Lisa wants to bring Starlet into nursing homes to visit residents. And Steve wants to show her off at the McLeod County Fair this year.

The couple, who live along State Highway 15 South, said Starlet has brought a lot of interest from passersby, “... we’ve had over 150 people stop to see her.”

(Melissa Sullivan is the copy editor at the Hutchinson Leader. She can be reached at sullivan@hutchinsonleader.com.)