Owner Plans to Defy Order to Oust Tiny Horse

The owner of a 27-inch-high miniature horse said Sunday that she will defy a City Council order to remove the tiny stallion from her Thousand Oaks tract home, where the animal has been living illegally since last summer.

The horse’s owner, Patty Fairchild, said she will fight in court a city order to remove Ragtime, a 1-year-old American miniature horse. The City Council in a vote May 7 refused to amend a city law prohibiting farm animals in the neighborhood to allow an exception for miniature horses.

Fairchild was given until today to take Ragtime from her home near Oakbrook Village.

Neighbors who opposed granting an exception for the stallion have said that the city is obligated to uphold city zoning restrictions. If Ragtime were allowed to stay, then other people might be encouraged to violate city laws, representatives of the Oakbrook Village Homeowners Assn. said during council hearings last month.

But Fairchild has argued that Ragtime is not a farm animal, and, because of its size, the horse should be considered a domestic pet.

Jan B. Tucker, a Redondo Beach private investigator who is donating his services to Fairchild, said he will confront city workers who are expected to conduct an inspection of Fairchild’s home today.

“If anyone wants to enter her premises, then they’d better have a search warrant,” Tucker said.

Fairchild said Tucker and an unnamed attorney who is active in animal-rights cases will represent her throughout any civil or criminal actions by the city.