Meet Kiwi, a tiny horse with a big personality who helps humans with their mental health
When Jacques Belliveau was auditioning actors for a pivotal role in his new film, “Reggie,” one of them bit him.
And that’s how Kiwi, the miniature horse, landed the role.
“He was the smallest horse with the biggest personality,” Belliveau said. “So I immediately fell in love with him.”
Even by miniature horse standards, Kiwi is short. If you lined up two rulers head to head, Kiwi’s shoulders would pass them by a single inch. But he makes up for what he lacks in stature with character. Lots of character.
“He’s a fireball going 1,000 miles a minute, while also being very wholesome and caring,” Belliveau said. “It’s weird. It’s like a comet about to destroy the earth, but you can also hug that comet.”
Kiwi plays the part of Reggie, a miniature horse in a movie Belliveau wrote, produced and directed. The film — his first feature-length project — had its world premiere last month in Salisbury and will be screened at Raleigh’s Rialto theater Aug. 23.
The semi-autobiographical film seeks to dissolve the stigma around mental health by following the story of Mitch, played by Belliveau. Mitch is a young man diagnosed with depression and anxiety who struggles to connect with other people. When he gives up on therapy, he decides to adopt a temperamental miniature horse, Reggie.
Kiwi’s role on the big screen is just the latest of the little horse’s exploits, with his experiences perhaps making him the perfect fit to play Reggie. Belliveau saw himself in the tiny horse.
“Kiwi is basically my anxiety in a tiny horse,” he said.
At 7 years old, Kiwi has been a presence around the Triangle for years, including taking part in the Raleigh Christmas Parade, posing in children’s portraits, and marching in the Fourth of July parade in Washington, D.C. He also visits children’s hospitals throughout the Triangle to provide emotional support and has an active social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Stampede of Love
Kiwi is one of five miniature horses owned by Tara Needham, who runs a non-profit, Stampede of Love, in addition to working full-time for the state of North Carolina in Rocky Mount.
Stampede of Love seeks to connect people with miniature horses through equine therapy. Needham and her mother, Mary Needham, have raised, trained and spoiled the animals in their backyard, where they also keep two goats.
In addition to Kiwi, there’s Lola, a white horse who sometimes wears a unicorn horn, and Leo, Kiwi’s dad, who ambles about the farm.
Watching Kiwi’s stubby front legs comically sticking straight out as he performs a Spanish walk next to Needham — for a cookie he knows is in her pocket — you’d never guess that his first few months of life were a struggle.
Kiwi was born in April 2014 in a little barn in southern Raleigh, where he still lives. Two days later his mother coliced, a severe abdominal pain that can be fatal if left untreated, and the pair were admitted to N.C. State Veterinary Hospital. In those first few months, Kiwi got to know the inside of that hospital well.
He also suffered from a busted tooth and resulting abscess, as well as a sudden tendency to eat sand. Already a miniature horse, he also has dwarfism and the resulting issues with his legs have required special care and shoes.
“His first shoe was actually a metal washer, that’s how tiny he was,” Tara Needham said. “So, they glued washers to his feet to try and get him to straighten his legs. It worked pretty well in the front, but his back will always be a bit interesting.
“They always say, well it’s a good thing he’s little, because, if he was a big horse, he wouldn’t be able to get around.”
Kiwi has been awarded an honorary degree at the UNC Health Sciences Library — a degree in Library Shenanigans in recognition for several years of visiting students, faculty, and staff during finals week at the library.
The program was run by Lynn Gunther as an effort to provide animal therapy. The events were a hit, drawing around 500 people from around the campus the first time it took place
“Kiwi came every time, he’s a ham, he is just amazing, and everybody loved him,” said Gunther, who has since retired, in an interview with The News & Observer.
“I really hope he takes off and brings awareness to mental health issues, plus what the benefits are that animals can provide,” she said.
‘Reggie’
In one of the film’s scenes, as Belliveau’s Mitch bares his soul to his love interest, an observant watcher will notice that in a few frames, one of Belliveau’s elbows has been entirely encompassed by Kiwi’s mouth.
“On my blooper reel I have 19 minutes of me being bitten by Kiwi,” Belliveau shares with a laugh.
In a testament to their relationship, no other actors were ever bitten.
Kiwi assumed the role of a diva both when the camera was on and off. Belliveau said that multiple times, Kiwi would catch a glimpse of himself in the street windows in downtown Salisbury, come to a full stop, and look at himself attentively.
On the outside, Belliveau is a 270-pound, red-haired power-lifter. He has a pilot’s license, co-owns a food truck, has been a stand-up comedian for 15 years, and has just finished his first feature-length film. To say that the man who wrote that film’s script in a single night in 2018 has had an impressive career is to undersell him.
He also has ADHID, or Attention Deficiency Hyperactivity Disorder, that’s predominantly impulsive. He was diagnosed with depression and anxiety three years ago.
“Which is why I went and wrote a movie all in one night; which is why I make decisions and just frickin’ go with it,” Belliveau said.
The movie is a story about Belliveau as much as it is about Mitch. Like Mitch, Belliveau struggled to accept his need for therapy and medication after he received his diagnosis.
In the film, Mitch struggles to seek help. When he adopts temperamental Reggie, played by Kiwi, he begins to make headway in his struggle with mental health.
“Basically, the whole movie is about me being able to connect with another living being,” Belliveau said. “If it’s not a person, it’s Reggie. And through that connection, I’m able to connect to my friends.”
The movie, which was filmed in 43 days, finished production shortly before the pandemic began. Many of the set designs, paintings and background art were pulled together from local artists.
The movie also stars Gary Busey, an Oscar-nominated actor, and includes music from hip-hop artists Watsky and Spose. Spose even agreed to appear briefly in the film. The score was composed and produced by Belliveau’s close friend Iain Rocco and brother-in-law Marty Rogers.
Belliveau had never met a horse up-close before deciding to add one to his film. In creating the character of Reggie, however, he discovered early on that he was very allergic to the animals.
“I probably could have made two films with the amount of money I spent on Allegra,” he laughed.
The team had planned to premiere the film last summer, but postponed it due to the pandemic. The world premiere took place in June in Salisbury, where most of it was filmed.
Belliveau plans on a national tour with dates in Raleigh, New York City, Charlotte, Boston, Atlanta and Seattle.
Fighting the mental health stigma
Having struggled with mental health himself, Belliveau is well-acquainted with the stigma around seeking therapy.
“The goal of the movie was to get people talking about mental health and that there’s a stigma around it,” Belliveau said.
That stigma was the reason that it took him years to seek therapy and medication for his own depression and anxiety. Even as recently as January 2019, when the film had just entered production, Belliveau began medication for the first time.
Although the movie has only been shown in Salisbury, Belliveau is already seeing the impact it has on audiences.
“The night of the movie I had, which is not something I had prepared for, grown men coming to me and crying and hugging me, telling me how much they related; it was just a lot,” he said.
Belliveau knows of at least six people who have begun therapy after seeing the film.
“Reggie” has been part of a journey towards dealing with his mental health, a journey that is long-term. Belliveau plans on continuing to help the Needhams and Stampede of Love, and will join them in visiting hospitals and attending events with Kiwi and his buddies.
After a showing in Salisbury, Belliveau was asked by an audience member if he was “fixed,” after going through therapy and working through the movie.
“That’s just not how it works,” he replied.
‘Reggie’ movie details
“Reggie” will be screened, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. at The Rialto, 1620 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh. Tickets are $15 through eventbrite. For more on the film, go to hafcafproductions.com/reggie.html.
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 12:40 PM with the headline "Meet Kiwi, a tiny horse with a big personality who helps humans with their mental health."