Top Shelf Ink

Under the dappled shade of majestic post and live oaks, just off State Highway 4 near the tiny community of Patillo, Texas, sits a little farm that is a big labor of love. When I say a “little farm,” I’m not referring to acreage, although there isn’t an overly large amount of land there. No, I’m referring to the inhabitants of the farm, the horses, that is, not the people.

When Daniel and Carla Crider bought their land on Sunset Mountain Road in 2003, they knew they needed animals in order to qualify for the agricultural tax exemption. “We went down the list,” Daniel said. “We looked at a variety of animals. We knew we didn’t want sheep, and we didn’t have enough land for cattle or quarter horses. We had first seen miniature horses on a trip to Arkansas in 1987, and had been fascinated by them, so Carla thought they would be perfect for us.”

Though a city girl, Carla Crider had grown up around horses. She and her family lived in Bedford during the school and work week, but they owned land near Patillo, so the family spent the weekends riding horses and enjoying the country life. Daniel, on the other hand, had desperately wished for horses as a child, yet the only experiences he had ever had were at youth camps where he could occasionally go on trail rides. Because Carla was the one with equine experience, the couple decided that she would be the bloodline expert. So, the first year they owned the land was spent researching bloodlines and going to horse shows. [More…]