His Little Pony Cadillac, A Dog-Sized Horse, Forges A Special Bond With Her 83-Year-Old Master

When passers-by spot her out in her yard, they don’t always believe their eyes.

So cars pull over and people get out. “Look at that,” they say.

But Cadillac is not just another roadside attraction. “She’s part of the family,” said Jim Richardson.

Cadillac is a horse, of course. She’s a dwarf miniature. “That’s nicer than saying ‘freak,’ ” said Richardson, 83.

Though heavier, she’s about the size of her canine pal, Josie, a golden retriever. But the thing that really makes her special isn’t her size. It’s how much she’s loved.

“I’ve got to stay well long enough to take care of her,” said Richardson, a retired furnace dealer who came to Spokane from Iowa in the 1930s aboard a freight train. “Got to.”

Cadillac was named by Richardson’s niece, Chrysty Boggs, who lives near Yakima. It’s not a moniker Richardson would have picked. “A little too pretentious for me,” he said.

So he calls her “Caddy.”

A little more than three years ago, Boggs - who had rescued the animal from a bad situation - brought the diminutive horse to Richardson’s home near Moran Prairie Elementary School. Out of the blue. She had decided that the old man and the tiny sorrel needed each other. “I just knew,” she said.

Richardson recalled that it took about two days for an attachment to form.

“Two seconds is more like it,” said Boggs.

In any case, they’re together now. When you see them, it’s clear that that’s the way they like it.

“Best thing that ever happened,” said Richardson, who has some vision problems and uses a walking stick. “Best pet I’ve ever had.”

And the most unusual. Strangers routinely show up at Richardson’s home, which he shares with his wife, Palma. They want to meet Cadillac.

The little horse doesn’t seem to mind. People taking pictures of toddlers on her back is a small price to pay for scoring some extra snacks. (In addition to grazing on the lawn, she eats popcorn, carrots, puffed wheat, prunes, raisins, orange juice and a molasses drink. But watermelon is her favorite food.)

Richardson said that, at his age, it’s nice to have visitors. Thanks to Cadillac, he’s had hundreds.

Even Cadillac’s veterinarian has been over with his children.

Cadillac sleeps on fresh straw in a cozy little barn out back. When she wants some attention or a bite to eat, she makes her way up onto Richardson’s porch and peers inside. The look.

But she knows she’s equine. Richardson’s place is near some riding trails. And when riders on full-size horses stop at the big yard’s fence and call to Cadillac, she perks up. She kicks her heels up, in fact.

When they depart, she sometimes tries to go with them.

“That’s the one time she gets up a full head of speed,” said Richardson.

The truth is, of course, the tiny horse has got it pretty good right where she is.

In addition to being smaller than normal for her breed, Cadillac has several deformities - splayed hind legs, for instance - that make life something of a challenge.

“Her tail is long enough for a full-size miniature and her head is big enough for a full-sized miniature, but the rest of her didn’t quite make it,” said Richardson.

Some would write the animal off as a genetic mistake and doom her with neglect.

But Cadillac has a friend.

Richardson whistles, and she comes. Well, sometimes.

“She has a sense of humor,” he said, smiling.

So once in a while, he has to call her name. “C’mon, Caddy. C’mon, Caddy.”

And off they go, across the yard, together.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo