In some ways, the Picture Rocks Miniature Horse Ranch is a lot like Disneyland.
With 17 American miniature horses and 15 Nigerian dwarf goats, the seven-acre compound, owned by Connie and Al Kazal, can be considered a small world after all.
Many of the animals have cute, sometimes goofy, nicknames such as Billie Bird, Raisins, Cookie and Mad Max.
And while it might not officially be the happiest place on Earth, the ranch did manage to produce hours of smiles and giggles during a recent visit from students attending Just for Kids Preschool.
Amid the clucking of bantam chickens, an army of nearly 40 tiny tykes and their chaperoning mommies moved through rows of holding pens and corrals, bringing the children eye-to-eye with some of the Tucson area's most unique equines.
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The curious children watched with excitement as horses frolicked and played with one another, occasionally letting out mini-whinnies during sporadic gallops.
Photos taken with bleating kids (of the goat variety) and newborn chicks followed.
"It's very hands-on," said school owner Dana Elmer, who has been taking classes to the ranch for more than a decade.
"A lot of kids don't ever get to come out to the country," said Al Kazal, 80. "There are so many people in today's world who don't know where meat, milk or eggs come from."
The Kazals have run the miniature-horse ranch for more than 20 years at 6611 N. Taylor Lane.
Both Connie, 78, and Al came from ranching families in the Douglas area and have always had animals in their lives.
Their first purchase as husband and wife was an Appaloosa horse in 1976, when they owned a ranch on North Silverbell Road.
They fell in love with American miniature horses while living in Mesquite, Texas, in the 1980s, when Al was working heavy construction.
Connie was delivering Manx kittens, which the couple raised on the side, to a rancher in the area, when she noticed his collection of miniature mares and stallions.
She bought one soon after.
"We didn't have a trailer, so I opened the back door of our Ford van and loaded the colt inside," she said.
By the time the Kazals moved to their current home in 1991, the couple had 36 miniatures in tow.
"They are easier to care for than Appaloosas and you can have twice as many," Al said. "You can feed six little ones for the amount it would cost to feed a regular horse."
Today, the ranch attracts more than 3,000 visitors a year, many coming on field trips from school districts throughout the Tucson area.
Elmer discovered the ranch, located just south of West Picture Rocks Road, as part of a mother's group field trip 12 years ago.
"When I started my preschool, I knew that this was something that I'd want to do," she said. "This was and still is our No. 1 field trip."
The animals were enough of a draw for Tamara Turnidge to bring all four of her children - her sons Kaleb, 8, and Porter, 6, and daughters Mylee, 5, and Camren, 13 months - for a visit.
Turnidge's grandfather was a rancher so she has always had a fondness for horses.
"Maybe when my kids are old enough, I can send them down here to do some volunteer work," she said.
The school visits are a nice supplemental income for the Kazals, who also sell the horses and goats to make ends meet.
Al says there is nothing like caring for the creatures on his property, especially his miniatures.
"It's what keeps us going," Kazal said. "You have to get up in the morning to take care of them. It gets the blood pumping."
If you go
• What: The Picture Rocks Miniature Horse Ranch
• When: Tours by appointment, 682-8009
• Where: 6611 N. Taylor Lane
• Cost: $5, with discounts available
Contact reporter Gerald M. Gay at ggay@azstarnet.com or 807-8430.
