Just when you thought Clayton couldn’t get any more Norman Rockwellian, along comes a tiny horse and cart, clip-clopping along the Cardinet trail.

Look closely—it’s likely driven by Karen Farlow and pulled by one of the eight miniature horses from her Morgan Territory Road ranch.

Farlow’s love affair with the minis began in the early 1980s, when she saw them marching in the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena. By 1985, she had found Sweet and Fancy, a black mare she dubbed Mama who came with high expectations.

When she was 6 months old, Mama was stolen from her original owners and spent the next six months hiding inside the thieves’ house. When her captors were arrested, Mama was in the living room, asleep on the sofa.

After coming to Farlow’s ranch, Mama quickly adjusted to the horse life and the great outdoors, eventually having two babies. “These guys make great companion pets,” says Farlow. “They live to play. They don’t bark and their poop doesn’t stink. “They are so much fun,” she adds with a laugh. “They’re pranksters and won’t leave anything alone.”

The most fun she has with the minis is out on the trail in the cart. The 300-pound miniature horse can pull three times its weight, and the small carts fit just fine on the walking and bicycling trails around the county.

The little horses are quite useful as draft horses, Farlow says. In Europe, they are used in the coal mines and as plow horses.

The miniature horse is extraordinarily gentle and calm, especially around children. “Little ones up to about 60 pounds can ride them,” Farlow explains. “I put my grandkids on them and they are so sweet with them.”

During the summer, Farlow participates in the Walnut Creek Adventure Camp. For one day during the camp, young children who might be frightened of a standard size horse can spend a day at her Blue Oaks Ranch with the minis – walking them, grooming and even riding them around the arena on a small, non-scary scale. “Children have to touch animals to keep their humanity,” says Farlow.

A miniature horse is not the same as a pony. A miniature horse is a scaled-down version of the standard size horse and includes several body types, such as draft and Arabian. A miniature horse must not be taller than 38 inches. A pony refers to size only – any horse under 14.2 hands (58 inches) tall is considered a pony.

Farlow and her husband Gehn bought their Blue Oaks Ranch in 1980 and raised four children together. Along with the eight miniature horses, the ranch is home to several standard size horses, two goats, four dogs and half a dozen peacocks.

To learn more about the miniature horse, visit the Janet Read Memorial Miniature Horse Show on May 22 and 23 at the Equestrian Center at Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek. Show hours are 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. See the little horses in action in hunter/jumper classes, pleasure driving and obstacle driving. Meet Farlow, Mama and Liberty Lord Jim – a national champion in roadster driving – at hands-on demonstrations 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Children can learn how to groom and lead a miniature horse. Cost is $1.

For more information on Blue Oak Farms, the Walnut Creek Adventure Camp or the Janet Read Memorial Horse Show, email kblueoak@aol.com or call 672-5672.