A little old-fashioned horse sense. (Small Business).

The owners of Red Barn Feed and Saddlery knew they couldn't build the business on hay alone, so they added everything from camel food to cat litter to attract all kinds of pet owners.

ANIMAL lovers: unite and take over.

That's the mantra running through the veins of the owners and the 22 employees who work at Tarzana-based Red Barn Feed and Saddlery.

Phil Carter, a retired Cal State Los Angeles sociology professor, and his wife, Patricia, bought the business in 1984 for roughly $20,000, which included a $10,000 feed and seed inventory, changed the name and moved it from Reseda to its current location on Oxnard Street on a slice of land owned by the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

When it opened half a century ago, Reseda Feed and Seed was the primary source of supplies for horse owners living in the San Fernando Valley. But when Carter and his wife bought the business, urban growth had long since taken over.

"After the first day in business, I said to myself that the horse business was fine, but it wasn't going to grow much from there," said Carter. "So we decided to expand the inventory to serve all pet owners."

In addition to the 62 tons of alfalfa Carter sells each month, the aisles of Red Barn are loaded with everything from camel food to cat litter. The horse feed, tack and grooming business is still strong, representing about 25 percent of annual sales. But clearly the decision to expand the product line was a solid one. Revenues have grown from $300,000 in 1984 to $4.5 million in 2002.

Be prepared to buy in bulk, because that's pretty much how the inventory is sold and, said Carter, the key to the company's success.

"We beat the prices at the smaller chain supply stores because we cut deals with our vendors because we can buy large quantities of product," said Carter.

Carter's $1.5 million inventory also includes fresh-cut firewood, Red Barn-brand wood shavings, live chickens and baby ducks.

Red Barn also offers monthly low-cost vaccination clinics and discounts for many of the Valley's animal rescue and adoption agencies.

Sherri Seligman, owner of Happy Tails Moblie Dog Grooming in Reseda, spends about $200 a month in Red Barn stocking up on grass and hay for the six miniature horses she raises for appearances on live shows and TV, as well as supplies for her dog grooming business.

Seligman said Red Barn prices are competitive, but that's not what's kept her coming back for five years.

"It's the people," she said. "They are the most wonderful, happy and knowledgeable people. They know me by name, they'll research for me and, when I have a question, they go to any length to get me an answer."

Carter said more than half of his staff has been at Red Barn for 10 years or longer, and many came to work for him with strong livestock backgrounds and experience working with animals.

One of the challenges is keeping up with industry trends relating to animal and livestock care, as well as the ever changing lineup of animal products on the market.

To remedy that, Carter invites vendors in each quarter for seminars to help him and the staff keep up.

"Things are always changing in this business," Carter said. "A decade ago it was plain old clay kitty litter. Now you have everything from clumping to non-clumping to crystals, so it's important to keep up with what's new and what's being said about it and what's true and what products are bogus."

Red Barn nearly went under following the Northridge Earthquake in 1994. The roof of the main building caved in, destroying roughly $40,000 worth of inventory. Carter said he was ready to shut down the business. But his employees wouldn't have any part of it.

"I was ready to take a walk," said Carter. "I didn't think anyone was going to come in for work that day, but they did. They came and opened the store. I said, 'What are we going to' do?' and they said, 'We're going to get back to business.' And we were up and running three hours later. We had people calling us making sure we were okay and open."

As they did in 1994, Red Barn customers rallied around Carter a year or so ago when roughly 1,000 of them signed a petition to save the company from having to shut down to make way for the planned East-West Valley Busway, which will eventually run parallel to the back of the business.

The petition was presented to MTA officials, and the agency has since re-designed part of its plans to allow Red Barn to remain at its location.

That pretty much says it all," said Carter.

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Red Barn Feed and Saddlery

Year Founded: 1984

Employees in 1984: 6

Employees in 2002: 22

Revenues in 1984: $300,000

Revenues in 2002: $4.5 million

Goal: To build on the customer base by focusing on new trends in pet care.

Driving force: A profitable and growing pet care industry.