Black Beauty was formerly listed in the ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' as the smallest living horse, a record she held from 2001 to 2006 until the record was taken by

Thumbelina Thumbelina (; da, Tommelise) is a literary fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen first published by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with "The Naughty Boy" and "The Travelling Companion" in t ...

. When Black Beauty was born on June 6, 1996, her owners, Donald and Janet Burleson, knew she was smaller than any other miniature horse. She was only in height and less than in weight. To qualify for Guinness World Records as the World's Smallest Horse, Black Beauty had to be taken to a

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

to be measured with careful precision. At the age of five years she was tall at her

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Beauty (Horse) 1996 animal births Miniature horses