MONROE, Wash. -- Winsome, etc. started in 1983 with Jane Taylor's purchase of just one mini. Having been around big horses since she was six, she said having a mini satisfied her need to smell, brush, and love a four-legged thing that whinnied.

She now owns six mature mares, each chosen for overall type, balance, correctness and pedigree.

She does it for the love, but is this a small business that can be profitable?

"I have done the math to figure out how you could really make money at it," Taylor said. "I've chosen to not follow that path because I can't keep horses that way, but it really would require close to 25 horses -- most of those to be producing mares to make money."

The cost of keeping a mini might not be as much as you might think.

"It's just about $800 a year per horse. That does mean showing, vet bills, breeding expenses, or anything else you might choose to incur, but if you just had to feed them and keep them in reasonably clean indoor conditions, that's what it would cost."

The amount you need to buy one or sell, well that can vary.

"You will see pet-quality horses as cheaply as $500 the highest selling miniature horse that we know of on record sold for $110,000," Taylor said.

"I would say the average for a baby from good parentage is $5,000-$6,000."

Find more information at www.winsometc.com