A miniature horse is a

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

or type of horse characterised by its small size. Usually it has been bred to display in miniature the physical characteristics of a full-sized horse, but to be little over in height, or even less. Although such horses have the appearance of small horses, they are genetically much more similar to

pony A pony is a type of small horse, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , thicker necks and s ...

breeds such as the

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

. They have various colors and coat patterns. Miniature horses are present in several countries, including Argentina, Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Namibia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States. In some countries they have the status of a

; these include the

Falabella The Falabella is an Argentine list of horse breeds, breed of small horse. It is among the smallest of horse breeds, with a height at the withers in the range .. History The horses of South America descend from Andalusian horse, Andalusian and ...

of Argentina, the Dutch Miniature or , the South African Miniature Horse and the American Miniature Horse. They are commonly kept as companion animals, or for sporting activities such as

driving Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a land vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. A driver's permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met, and drivers are required to ...

or other competitive

horse show A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and pony, ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrianism, equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days ...

events. A few have been trained as guide horses for

blind people Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

History

Miniature horses originated in Europe, where there is written and iconographic documentation of them from the late eighteenth century. In the first half of the twentieth century small horses were bred in England by Lady Estella Mary Hope and her sister Lady Dorothea. The

was developed in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in the mid-1800s by Patrick Newtall. When Newtall died, the herd and breeding methods were passed to his son-in-law, Juan Falabella. Falabella added additional bloodlines including the

Welsh Pony The Welsh Pony and Cob is a group of four closelyrelated horse breeds including both pony and cob (horse), cob types, which originated in Wales. The four sections within the breed registry, breed society for the Welsh breeds are primarily dist ...

, Shetland pony, and small Thoroughbreds. With considerable inbreeding he was able to gain consistently small size within the herd. The South African Miniature Horse was bred in South Africa from about 1945, when Wynand de Wet of Lindley began

selective breeding Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant m ...

of Shetland stock. In 2011 there were about 700 of the horses in the country. Morphology is variable: some have an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

appearance, while others have the conformation of a

draft horse A draft horse (US) or draught horse (UK), also known as dray horse, carthorse, work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred to be a working animal hauling freight and doing heavy agricultural tasks such as plowing. There are a number o ...

. A breed association was established in 1984, and in 1989 the South African Miniature was recognized by the national South African Stud Book and Livestock Improvement Association.

Characteristics

Miniature horses are generally quite hardy. They often live for longer than is typical for full-sized horses of some breeds; the usual life span is from 25 to 35 years.Miniature Horse Facts
Guide Horse Foundation. Accessed April 28, 2014. Their predisposition to disease is markedly different from that of full-sized horses. They are only rarely affected by ailments such as laryngeal hemiplegia, osteochondrosis or navicular disease, all of which are common in larger horses, but are much more likely to develop other illnesses rare in large horses, such as hyperlipaemia — which may lead to hepatic lipidosis — or

eclampsia Eclampsia is the onset of seizures (convulsions) in a pregnant woman with pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that presents with three main features: new onset of high blood pressure, large amounts of proteinuria ...

. Dental misalignment and overcrowding are more common than in larger horses: brachygnathism ("parrot mouth") and prognathism ("sow mouth") are often seen; retention of caps can occur, as can infection of the sinuses associated with tooth eruption. Poor mastication can contribute to an increased incidence of colic caused by enteroliths, faecoliths, or sand.

Use

Miniature horses are commonly kept as companion animals. They are often too small for any but the smallest riders to ride, but are well suited to

; some may participate in other

events. A small number have been trained as guide horses for

, particularly for those who consider dogs unclean, as is common in

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

cultures.

History

Characteristics

Use

See also

References

Further reading