Today.

First of all since there have been many questions about how they can be so small and elegant and also since some say that they are almost “freaky”. The most common size of a wild horse is usually 120-140 cm. There were bred enormous horses to carry a rider in full armer, up to over 190 cm. Do also think about that the horses ancestors were even smaller than the miniature today…So, a miniature horse at 65-85 cm is not so strange and freaky at all. Most horses were bred up in size and the miniature horses were bred down in size.

Miniature horses are pint-size equine that are fairly unknown in Europe, but are quickly gaining in popularity. Ponies, on the other hand, have been well known for hundreds of years. People often get the two confused, or think that they’re synonymous. While the two do share many characteristics, of course, they’re entirely different types of equine.

A pony is typically considered an equine under 58 inches tall when it reaches adult height, but a pony also has other distinctive characteristics other than just its small size. For example, most small pony breeds have thick broad bodies, pot bellies and thick necks. They also have legs that are proportionately shorter for their body than a horse exhibits. They also have broad and not propotional heads. This ponies also have large hooves for their size.

Miniature horses are even smaller than this pony breeds ( Max 34 inch). A miniature horse is also built differently than a pony. A mini shall be a scaled-down version of a horse, with a slimmer build than a pony, and longer legs for its size. The head is also in proportion to the body, as are the feet. Also, a miniature horse does not have the heavy bone often associated with pony breeds. In essence, a miniature horse is and shall be more refined than a typical pony. A mini is longer lived than most ponies, too. They have an average life span of 25-35 years.

I have been around and succesfully bred horses most of my life. When I discovered the miniature horse, I spoke with a lot of breeders, was reading everything I could find and tried to learn as much as possible about the breed. There is something you can´t learn from others or read, that is experience. You do need experience to breed this small horses. There are now a lot of “breeders” that have bitterly experienced the problem with f.ex. foaling and to breed on animals not suited for breeding. If you want to breed, find yourself a good mentor and be interested in learning and to find the good animals suited for your breeding program and your goals. Also, figure out if you are willing to put in all the time and work needed to making it a succes. AMHA Show results f.ex. does not tell you anything about the animals quality of or breeding capacity, but are made so everyone can go out and have a good time with their horse, therefor all the different classes. There has been a flow of animals into Europe just now, mostly because of the economy in USA. That do not mean that we get quality for low prices, but that everything they do not want to be stucked with, comes overhere for almost nothing. ” Guess you all know that usually, you pay nothing and also get nothing” Most of this animals are qualified as pets, usually not for breeding. This small horses deserve to come to a good loving home, for the correct reason. A showhorse is a showhorse (also with a good handler, because the AMHA judge do judge the whole equipage just like in horsemanship, not each individ the way we do in our breeder associations here. If you are the only one in an AMHA class, you are automaticly a champion) A breeding horse is to be choosed for several good reasons and can not be choosen from AMHA showresults! A pet because you fell in love and it puts a smile on your face when you see him is not wrong at all, because most people just want or need a wonderful pet. Some people choose to be whatever suites them at the moment ( one day a handler / trainer, the other day a breeder and next day a dealer. This can get very expensive for the unexperienced buyer and devestating for the horse) So please, be aware. To breed any type of animal it takes knowledge,dedication and a lot of time and work. Please be picky and take your time to choose the right animal that will fit just for you! This little horse can get very old and be your beloved companion for many many years. There are so many horses around in Europe now suffering for several reason, but mostly because of bad not thought trough choices. This small equine is so easy to handle because of size and gentle mentality that people easy forget that they are horses, and deserve the correct care and some horsesense please. So, with this said and out of  my heart…….

My experiences so far with this small equine is that it is a healthy breed that don´t have more problems than other breeds. Different problems yes, but not more. To know them is really to love them and they give you so much back…..A  unique breed in so many wonderful ways.

What can you do with a miniature horse? Lots of things! They pull carts and sleds, they make pets and companion animals, and they’re used as guides for the blind. Small children can ride them, and there’s special tiny tack made just for the minis.There are shows with many different classes, so eveybody,young,old or handicapped do not matter, they can still have a great time with their little horse. Also because this small equine has such an open and pleasant temperament. You should only see how a miniature horse can jump!

Miniaturehorse History.

This tiny breed is a result from more than 400 years of selective breeding. Even though miniature horses has been found buried in tombs with the Egyptian Pharaohs.

Miniature horses are referred to as “horses”, not ponies, because of their proportions, elegance and size. They are smaller than pony breeds. They also have a very different behaviour compared to the stronger and more stubborn pony.

Actual documentation of the miniature horse goes back to the Renaissance period during the 14th and 16th centuries.

Trough the 15th and 16th century, the miniature was bred by the European nobility. In ca 1650 King Louis XIV had miniaturehorses in his zoo in Versailles. There are suppose to be articles and paintings from 1765 about the miniature horse. In the 1850’s in France, the Empress wife of Napoleon III had a miniature horse to pull a small carriage. In England Lady Estella Hope together with her sister carried on a breeding program to around 1850.

The smallest were crossed with the smallest to keep as pets. These small equines were very exclusive and very expensive.They more or less disappeared during the end of this period with the war and the starvation that was a problem all over Europe, but the hardest hit against the breed was actually King Henry the VIII, he ordered that all horses under 140 cm of height was to be destroyed. But some of them were well hidden and survived this period. Some were found with gypsies and small circuses.

In USA a group of people started to breed on this small and elegant type of horse. One of them was Norman Fields from Virginia that brought over a few very elegant ones. He actually bred mini equine for 53 years.

In Buenos Aires, Argentina in the mid -1800’s, Mr. Patrick Newtall and his son-in-law, Mr. Juan Falabella discovered some unusually small horses among the tribes of the Pampas Indians. Through successive crossings, they gradually built the first well proportioned miniatures under 38 inches tall. Even today, the Falabella bloodline is a pure strain with all ancestors tracing their origins to the Falabella Farm. As these small horses were being imported to the United States in the early 1900’s, Mr. Norman Fields of Bedford, Virginia started to raise them. By 1964, he had 50 miniature horses in his herd.

Another breeder whom contributed the most to develop and promote miniature horses in America was Walter Smith McCoy of Rodderfield, West Virginia. In 1956, as a hobby, he began collecting miniature horses under 32 inches and at that time had the largest herd in the world.

South Africa’s Miniature Horses were developed in that nation and are known as the South African Miniature Horses, a recognized breed in its own right. Mr. Wynand de Wet of Lindley, South Africa, started in 1945 with two Shetland mares and a stallion. Through strict selection, their offspring became smaller and in 1991 Mr. de Wet bred a mare that was only 66 centimetres (26 in) tall

We will probably argue forever about how and where this breed came to or from, what crosses was made and for what use. One thing is for sure, its a beautiful healthy friendly little horse that can be enjoyed by anyone. I have seen big men fall on their knees to pet this small horses and small kids afraid of horses put their arms around their neck for a good hug. I have seen how a very disabled little boys eyes started to shine and how a grin lightened up his face when a miniature carefully pushed her little noose into his cheek and softly bloowed her nostrils.. Go and meet a miniature horse and make up your own mind. I have for sure made up mine.