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A Tiny Horse

1904 Views 22 Replies 17 Participants Last post by  ponygirl, 
Nikki's Mom
Science news videos from Scientific American
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Hunter's Mom
I saw this on the news!!! That horse is so tiny - she weighs less than Hunter! I find it so selfish that they haven't altered her yet because they are 'thinking' about breeding her. DISGUSTING people!
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heartmadeforyou
I want to play devil's advocate for a minute... the many different dog breeds we have today are the result of selective breeding for size, color, ability, etc. Is breeding miniature horses for size so different as long as the good health of the animal is kept in mind?

I agree that some unscrupulous people breed to extremes at the detriment of the animal (modern English Bulldogs could even be an example) but I don't believe breeding for size in and of itself is wrong (within healthy limits, of course.)

I don't know the specifics of this story, but I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in...
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EmmasMommy
In minature horse breeding it is forbidden to breed a dwarf mini because they have so many medical anomalies. But this colt is not a dwarf and its a HE (colt) vs a SHE (filly). Frequently in mini horses the male is half the size of the mare. If this tiny one was a filly they would NOT be breeding her.

I have 2 mini's and my small guy Tinseltown Flashdance had a very small sire ( half the size of his mother)

Flash is small like Dad ( 28") His dad is a Champion driving mini.

Here are photos of Flash when he was about 2 weeks old, he is 3 years old and will not be a colt anymore after his 3rd birthday in June. After they are three they are deemed a stallion (unless they are gelded) We have not gelded Flash as he has excellent conformation and has won many ribbons. He also doesn't display stallion aggression. We have not bred him. Also in horses mares are never spayed..males are gelded and horses in general don't run wild and have accidental matings.

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Nikki's Mom
EmmasMommy said:
In minature horse breeding it is forbidden to breed a dwarf mini because they have so many medical anomalies. But this colt is not a dwarf and its a HE (colt) vs a SHE (filly). Frequently in mini horses the male is half the size of the mare. If this tiny one was a filly they would NOT be breeding her.

I have 2 mini's and my small guy Tinseltown Flashdance had a very small sire ( half the size of his mother)

Flash is small like Dad ( 28") His dad is a Champion driving mini.

Here are photos of Flash when he was about 2 weeks old, he is 3 years old and will not be a colt anymore after his 3rd birthday in June. After they are three they are deemed a stallion (unless they are gelded) We have not gelded Flash as he has excellent conformation and has won many ribbons. He also doesn't display stallion aggression. We have not bred him. Also in horses mares are never spayed..males are gelded and horses in general don't run wild.
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He's beautiful.
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The A Team
I saw that little guy on TV too, oh my goodness he's tiny! Ava could ride him :thumbsup:!!!

Cat, your horse is adorable! Do you have any current pictures for us???
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Hunter's Mom
your horses are really pretty! I was then misinformed - I recall the news channel stating it was a female. I apologize for that.

How do you determine dwarf vs. mini - is it done via DNA testing or some other form?
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Cosy
I saw that too! Isn't he darling! Just perfect but tiny!
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EmmasMommy
A vet can tell a Dwarf from a normal mini. They have certain deformities and congenital anomalies. I do believe that they can tell via DNA too but its not needed. Certain horse registries insist on DNA now, such as the Tenn Walking Horse Assoc, but I don't think the Mini registries do.

With Dwarfs the proportions are incorrect, they have heart ailments, and hoove problems and curved bones in the legs.

In comparison the correct conformation desires a small horse that "looks" like a big horse proportion wise. The different mini registries have different size categories.
Miniature horse are NOT ponies.

I will try to take some new pictures of the minis this weekend.


Here are images of Dwarf Minis and another of regualr minis Note the differences

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=dwarf%20minature%20horse&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

http://images.google.com/images?um=...aqi=g-s1g-sx6g-msx3&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&start=0
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EmmasMommy
By the way Miniature horses are very easy to keep. They eat very little and they are very healthy in general. They have to have their hooves trimmed every 6 weeks and an equine dentist 1 x a year or 2. Normal immunizations/worming. But food is only about $30 for a month including grain and hay. They can even be trained to be therapy animals and to do tricks or pull a cart. They can be ridden by kids but just until 40-60 lbs depending on the mini size.
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heartmadeforyou
I love to visit the mini's at the Iowa State Fair in the summer. We walk through the barns and they are just so cute. I grew up riding horses (barrel racing, hunt jumping, and just for fun) and loved my time with them.

Cat, your Flash is a beauty!
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EmmasMommy
I bought him when I was in treatment for Breast Cancer.........

He was the best medicine.

I picked him out at 12 days old and gotr him when he was 4 months old. He is a still a little doll. He was my first horse and now we have 4 ( 2 mini , 2 big)
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Furbaby's Mommie
That little guy on TV is really a cute thing! Looks like a mini to me. What do you think Cat? I would be tempted to treat him like a dog instead of a horse. I had Quarter Horses years ago, but never minis.
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maltlovereileen
Those minis are ADORABLE!!!! Just too too heartmeltingly cute!!! Flash is a doll!!!
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Matilda's mommy
Cat I would love to meet Flash, what a beauty:wub: I have never seen a mini horse
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jodublin
Thanks for the info Cat ,i would love a miniture horse your very lucky to own one.
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Alice Ana
(i didnt exactly read all the messages, sorry if i repeat something already said)

since she's young, they don't know any health problems yet. she may seem fine until 5 years old, then what if they already bred her and she produces sick offspring and she passes away? this can't be healthy in any way. its like speeding up evolution. why would you make a horse tiny if it's not going to be used for anything? idk, i'm confused. but still..
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R
He's so cute! :wub:
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pinkpixie1588
Wow! I wonder how big he'll get. I saw a horse in France that I thought was the tiniest ever, but I guess not! (I'll attach a pic...I'm 5'1, so the horse was prob. 2.5 feet tall or so.)

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EmmasMommy said:
In minature horse breeding it is forbidden to breed a dwarf mini because they have so many medical anomalies. But this colt is not a dwarf and its a HE (colt) vs a SHE (filly). Frequently in mini horses the male is half the size of the mare. If this tiny one was a filly they would NOT be breeding her.

I have 2 mini's and my small guy Tinseltown Flashdance had a very small sire ( half the size of his mother)

Flash is small like Dad ( 28") His dad is a Champion driving mini.

Here are photos of Flash when he was about 2 weeks old, he is 3 years old and will not be a colt anymore after his 3rd birthday in June. After they are three they are deemed a stallion (unless they are gelded) We have not gelded Flash as he has excellent conformation and has won many ribbons. He also doesn't display stallion aggression. We have not bred him. Also in horses mares are never spayed..males are gelded and horses in general don't run wild and have accidental matings.
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Love your pictures of Flash, always loved mini horses :wub::wub:
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