Looking for Miniature Horses for Sale
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The thought of having a miniature horse sounds like
fun for me and company for my Palomino mare, Buttercup.
I’ve done a little research on the pros and cons of
different breeds.
The Falabella is one of the smallest
breeds of horse
in the world. It seldom stands taller than eight hands
in height at the withers. It’s a rare breed, with only a
few thousand worldwide, so I’m sure I won’t be able to
afford one. It isn’t considered a pony, but a true
miniature. According to “Toyhorse International” the
Falabella is an Argentinean breed that descended from
one stallion with a ‘dwarf’ gene. Though I was a
teenager at the time and was a Kennedy devotee, I never
realized that the Falabella family provided three midget
ponies to Robert Kennedy in 1962. He put them under the
Christmas tree for Caroline and John-John..
In the early 20th century there was an
effort to downsize Shetland ponies. Teddy Roosevelt’s
son Quentin had a 39 inch Shetland named Algonquin who
he rode around the White House lawn.
Some miniature horse breeders in the US used only
dwarf horses such as the famous Bond Tiny Tim, an AMHA
registered dwarf stallion that was sired many AMHA
champions.
The Dartmoor Pony in Dartmoor National Park in
southwestern England is home to thousands of miniature
ponies who roam freely across the large moor there.
The Micro Mini has been created by breeding programs,
further reducing the size of their horses.
The Midget Pony was popularized in the 1960’s by the
McCoy stud who was created by selective breeding, using
Shetland Pony stock. These midgets were the foundation
stock for many of the US miniature horses.
I found an interesting bit of information while
researching these ponies. Personal Ponies, a US national
organization dedicated to the belief that the life of a
child with disabilities can be immeasurably enriched by
having a tiny pony to care for and love, rejects
American Miniature Horses in favor of the UK Shetland
Pony breed. That breed stands between 28 and 38 inches
tall.
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