Recently my husband and I decided to take Kiera to her first petting zoo! We had a few local options, but we chose to visit Green Horse Farm. It is newer than some other animal parks comparatively, and it appeared to be smaller than others as well. It is also the closest to our house.
We weren’t sure how Kiera would react to all the animals and a new location, so we thought smaller would be better.
Arrival
We had driven past the farm a few times, but never when it was open. I was unsure where the entrance was, where to pay for admission, and where to get on the wagon ride. I get a little nervous in unfamiliar situations. But my husband was with and it was actually quite easy to navigate.
There is a large arch by the dirt township road that the farm is located on. It leads into a pasture filled with animals. I thought surely this could not be the main entrance because of the animals. But it is! The gate stays open and cars can come and go as they please, and the animals seem to stay put. I’m not sure what the secret is, but it works!
Once you wind through the pasture, there is a small shed where a friendly woman and her son welcome you. This is where admission is paid.
After that, there is a simple loop around the shed to the parking lot and you are free to explore!
Admission
Admission prices are $12 for adults, $8 for children 3-12, and $2 for children 3 and under. You can stay as long as you would like!
A bucket of feed is $2. We discussed that purchase before we arrived, and decided not to get the feed. The farm’s website instructs patrons to feed animals with an open hand to protect their fingers. We knew Kiera would not do that, and we didn’t want her to get hurt. So we decided to forgo the feed altogether.
In hindsight, the buckets were such that the animals could eat directly from them. We may reconsider on our next visit.
Facilities
The farm is not near any enclosed buildings, which means portable toilets. We did not need to use them, but I’ve had experience with the rental company, and their potties are always clean and well-kept.
There is a very nice playground for kids, a pavilion with large wooden picnic tables where we ate lunch, and a petting zoo under roof.
There was a portable hand washing station outside the petting zoo. Boy, was I thankful for that! I don’t like to put hand sanitizer on Kiera’s hands. Plus, it doesn’t make my hands feel clean after petting farm animals. Having a place to wash hands is such a good idea!
Wagon Ride
Each admission includes one horse drawn wagon ride. The driver was a friendly man named Earl who welcomed all of our questions. Two large Belgian horses pulled the wagon on a trail around the edge of a field where several different species of animals grazed. Many of them knew the people on the wagon give them food, so they came over to visit or followed the wagon.
Probably the most impressive were the watusi. These are African cows with large horns. They came right up to the wagon! There were also cute little pigs wandering all over and rolling in the mud!
Petting Zoo
The petting zoo consisted of a handful of different kinds of animals, mostly in large pens. The goats were so excited to see people! As soon as we walked in their direction, they all charged over to us and wanted to be petted! (Or fed. Probably mainly fed.)
My favorites were a little goat and baby horse who were wandering around outside of their pens. They were both so sweet! They loved Kiera! And she liked them too, just not when they approached her or followed her. She wanted the interactions on her terms, and anything else made her nervous.
Animals
I couldn’t begin to name all the specific breeds of animals we saw. (I go for a more generic approach…pig, cow, goat, etc.) Fortunately, there is a list of all the animals on the farm website!
Our favorite animals were probably the goats and baby horse. My husband and I enjoy playing with baby goats, and these were so friendly! One little goat got to roam free and was like a little greeter! There was also a baby horse that was wandering around and he was very sweet! The pigs on the wagon ride were adorable as well!
I think our least favorite was the peacocks. While they were beautiful, they were sooo loud! We were walking past their pen and one left loose. It scared Kiera and she cried.
My husband also had a camel burb in is his face and spit on him. He was chatting with the two camels, and evidently one camel was not impressed!
We enjoyed our first experience! We were anticipating it to be on the smaller side, because we thought that would be better for Kiera, and we were correct. The family that owns the farm was super friendly and accommodating! The environment was very relaxed as well, which I appreciated.
We certainly will take Kiera back to play with the animals again! Have you visited Green Horse Farm before? What was your favorite part?
