08/21/2026
Mini-Blessings is grieving the loss of their beloved miniature horse Corey. He died suddenly in his paddock Thursday afternoon of a heart attack or aneurism at the age of 24. Corey was loved by the many visitors to the farm and those he visited off-site. He frequently traveled to Avery-Parsons Elementary School working with 5th graders on leadership and to the Grove School working with pre-K children. He could be seen wandering the halls of Columbine Manor Care Center visiting the residents in their rooms. He also participated in many community events such as the annual July 4th Parade, Library Destination Storytime, Colorado Texas Tomato Wars, and the Chaffee County Symposium on Aging to name a few. During his 18 years at Mini-Blessings, he worked with thousands of people, especially young people.
Corey was a unique little horse. He was a brown and white pinto with one blue eye and one brown eye, standing only 27” tall at his shoulder. He had a double row of top teeth, carried his head low and walked stiffly due to his dwarfism characteristics. This led to him be affectionately nicknamed “Eeyore”. Corey’s other nickname was “Mr. Nibbles” because of his habit of checking out everything on his visits to Columbine Care Center, where he liked to nuzzle through residents’ trash receptacles. He was also fond of nibbling at children’s pockets checking for candy.
Corey had several claims to fame having appeared in an episode of Dr. Jeff Rocky Mountain Vet where he took Dr. Jeff through an obstacle course at Mini-Blessing Farm in Buena Vista. Shortly after his birth, he appeared with his sire, Ragtime, on Animal Planet. He was brought out on stage as an “encore” to a performance by his sire - hence his name Corey.
He came to Mini-Blessings in 2009 following a short stint at a Long Hopes Donkey Shelter in Bennet, Colorado. He had been surrendered to the shelter along with a group of donkeys. Kathy Dean, the founder of Long Hopes, recognized Corey’s unique gifts and wanted to make sure he could share them with as many people as possible. Through a member of the Denver Humane Society, she had heard of Mini-Blessings and thought Corey would be a perfect fit.
While having learned at a young age to take care of himself, Corey had immense empathy for people. During one school program, a young boy was very despondent and left the group of schoolmates to go lay flat, face-down on a bench.
Corey noticed the boy, walked over to the bench, put his head and neck over the boy’s back, and started swaying back and forth, stroking the child. Instantly the boy sat up, hugged Corey, and rejoined his classmates.
He could go anywhere and do most anything a miniature horse could do. He traveled in GMC van and people enjoyed watching him walk or jump up the ramp into the van. He also loved to jump obstacles. Many children experienced a great sense of accomplishment when they took him over jumps in the arena. A common trick of his was to break free of someone leading him up the hill at Mini-Blessings, then racing to the top to eat dandelions, his favorite snack.
As Linnea Simons, a Mini-Blessings Board member said, “He was a little horse, but he’s had a big impact on a lot of children in this community.” Corey, we miss you and hope to meet you again while you’re grazing at Fiddler’s Green.
