| History of the breed Over the centuries and from many countries, the modern miniature horse has evolved from a blend of several breeds and has been refined into the beautiful, tiny animal we see today. Miniature horses can be traced back to the beginning of the 1700’s. Miniature horses used to pull coal carts in coal mines in the northern Europe and England. Royalty was known to keep the smaller ones as pets. They were brought to the U.S. in the 19th century to use in coal mine hauling. Also called mini-horses, the miniature horse is not a pony because it does not possess pony-like characteristics, but is more horse-like in its body proportions and character. Though most of the bloodlines include selected Shetland breeding, miniature horses have the proportions, disposition, and other characteristics that make them phenotypically “horses,” not ponies. A good example of the modem miniature horse is the Falabella. The Falabella family of the Recreo de Roca Ranch in Buenos Aires, Argentina, developed the Falablla in an attempt to create the perfect equine specimen in miniature. They first crossed very small Shetland Ponies with small Thoroughbreds, and then selectively inbred the smallest of the offspring. Many Falabellas are beautiful examples of these tiny horses. Along with Shetland pony, most of today's lines have either Arabian or quarterhorse types, although they probably all have some Welsh pony in them. The most popular minis in the show ring today are those that resemble tiny Arabian horses: fine-boned, delicate, with large eyes and nostrils. Understanding what went into their gene pooland how it was developed is important when breeding today's mini horse. See Standards for breeding the best miniature horses. Falabella Breeding Went into the Mini Horses Gene Pool The Falabella breed was developed in Argentina and imported into California in 1962. Most of our current stock of small horses in the U.S. have Falabella blood. Falabellas began in 1845, when Irishman Patrick Newtall traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina where he discovered a herd of unusually small horses grazing among the meadow lands. The Pampas Indians who had them were not sure when they first saw them. The minis had lived among the Indians larger Croillo horses for many years. Newtall acquired many of the smallest horses and began a breeding program at his Argentian ranch. His son-in-law, Juan Falabella, later joined him and improved the breeding program. Juan added Shetland pony specimens (See Development of the Shetland Horse below), from England and European Thoroughbred blood lines to the family breeding stock. Called Falabellas, they now had the refinement and beauty we have come to love in today's miniature horse with enough traits to set them apart from pure Shetlands. At the turn of the century, through successive crossings Juan Falabella was able to develop a very small, sturdy horse of good, refined conformation with heights under 33.5 inches. A neighbor, John Aleno bought some of the mini horses and began importing them into the U.S. The Regina Winery got 12 of these mini horses and displayed them in parades. This added to their popularity. When Aleno died, a bank took over his mini horse herd as part of the estate. They were subsequently sold to a Mr. Fuller who had 600 acres of land in Running Springs, California. Fuller had the idea of turning his land into a recreation area, incorporating these tiny horses into the park. Unfortunately, some barriers were encountered when permission was needed to build an access road across government land. Their dream of having a recreational park was impossible, so the Fullers sold their pure Falabella horse herd, which was dispersed across the U.S. The Development of the Shetland Horse Shetland horses were purposely being bred small in Europe from 1600 to 1800. European nobility had their stable managers cross the smallest mini horses together and gave them as a gift to children. Conversely, the largest horses were crossed with each other during the Crusades, when battle needs called for animals that could haul armored men with heavy weapons. During the famines and great wars in Europe, they almost disappeared and historians have suggested that they were eaten. To make matters worse for the breed's future, with his large cavalry in mind King Henry VIII of England ordered all stallions standing less than 14 hands high to be destroyed. Those that survived were hidden by their caretakers. Eventually the mini horse resurfaced in the company of gypsies and traveling circus people who needed them for work. There were two different types: the refined type with slender long legs, delicate heads, and long necks; and the smaller draft horse type that were stockier and broader with shorter necks. The stockier horse was preserved and used in coal mines in England. Later, they were imported into West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio where their size and strength made them ideal for work in mines with low ceilings. They continued to use them in the mines of the southern states up to the 1950s. It is believed that the Shetland is the product of nearly 400 years of purposely selecting the smallest and strongest horse among already small breeds, such as the English and Dutch mine horses. Although miniature horses today have little resemblance to a Shetland, they undeniably have Shetland ancestry. The Shetland horse is properly referred to as a miniature horse, and not a pony, because of their proportions, character and size. And they are smaller than pony breeds. What We Know Of Their Recorded History In America, many early purchases and breeding records of Falabella and Sheltland horses were not carefully documented and accurate accounts of pedigrees were not maintained by most breeders until 1945. In Europe, the recorded history of these small horses goes back to the Renaissance. They have even been found buried in tombs with the Egyptian Pharaohs. French Empress Eugenie, Napolean's wife, enjoyed having her small carriage pulled by a mini horse. Most Royal European palace children had a tiny horse to play with. During the l700s in England, these small horses performed in traveling circuses. At Astley’s Circus, a small horse about 3-feet tall became popular for its mind-reading tricks. The first recorded mention of tiny horses being imported into the United States was in 1888, when a single horse out of 140 Shetlands turned out to be the famous, 31-inch mini horse called Yum Yum. What We Know About The Shetland Horse in Scotland & The U.S. The Shetland horse originated in the Shetland Islands, north of Scotland. One of the most popular small horse today, is the Shetland which resembles a draft horse. It had long been used for working in mines and pulling carts. As more efficient methods were invented for doing this work, their gentle disposition and small stature made them a favorite mount for children. Its official size is less than 46 inches high, but some Shetlands are scarcely more than 24 inches. The coat is long and shaggy, especially in winter and may be any color, although many have beautiful dark and white patches. Shetland horses were originally genetically bred and used in England for ploughing and carrying peat. However, after England finally banned children from working in coal mines in 1847, thousands of Shetlands were exported to mainland Britain to work as "pit ponies". They were ideally suited to the work because of their great strength and small stature, which enabled them to pull coal trucks through low tunnels. This stockier type of horse was imported into the United States from England to be used in the coal mines of Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. They were used in mining until 1950, because of their strength and small size which enabled them to easily fit into the tunnels of the southern mines. In the early 1900s, Norman Fields of Bedford, Virginia had started buying pit ponies from Europe for a coal mine in the Appalachian Mountains. Fields began to notice an occasional tiny horse among his herd. He began weeding out the largest, which enabled him to develop a herd of very small Shetland horses. By 1964, he had 50 small horses in this herd of tiny Shetlands, but most of them never left the forest near his Virgina home. He imported, bred, and raised them for 53 years. Some of these tiny Shetlands began to drift into other herds influencing the gene pool. There was not much public awareness of the true miniature horse during the years preceding 1960, but a few dwarfs became known, such as 23-inch Tom Thumb and a 26-inch mare called Cactus, as well as a few carnival freak-type small horses. It was after 1960 when the Falabella breed began to excite children and their doting parents, that the rightful recognition of the beautiful mini horse began to develop. Copyright 2013. References Baxter, K. Breeding Miniature Horses & Shetland Ponies. 2011. Frankeny, R. L. Miniature Horses: A Veterinary Guide for Owners & Breeders. 2008. Naviaux, B. Miniature Horses: Their Care, Breeding And Coat Colors. 1999. |
