Crissey Smith and Susan Shampine are the co-founders of Mini-Blessings. Both share a life-long love of horses and were brought together by the shared compassion and desire to enrich the community through the power of equine healing. Early in Crissey's adult life, she saw first-hand how the love and companionship of a horse made a positive impact on her autistic daughter. It was through this experience that Crissey developed an innate desire to be able to provide these experiences to others. She bought her first miniature, Little Bits, in 2005 on "doctor's orders" for positive interaction and stress relief for herself and her husband, whom had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. A short time later she turned to Chance’s Miniature Horse Rescue for an equine companion for Little Bits and adopted Cody, a miniature, black gelding. With the herd slowly growing, Crissey began participating in community events in order to share the horses and their healing power with the local community.