American miniature horse breeding
WHERE DO MINIATURE HORSES COME FROM?
Some "history": Where do miniature horses come from?
Miniature horses must not exceed 86,5 cm in height or 34 inches
at the last hair of the mane
Let's explain how we succeeded in creating the officially recognized breed of the "miniature horse".
The breed is the consequence of a hostile environment, of a poor diet and of an arid climate unfavorable to its development. One must admit that these animals adapted naturally to their hard living conditions but with subsequent consequences on their size.
Man fell in love with these small horses and took measures to encourage this natural process, chosing to select the smallest animals with the smallest ones.
American miniature horse (AMHA) have a standard close to Arabian purebreds
This natural genetic selection encouraged the reproduction of very small horses.
Some people even say that the actual results represent a selection of more than four hundred years.
A selection not very different from that of other mammals like dogs, for instance. How did we obtain German dogs or Jack Russels?
Through the breeding selection of the biggest dogs with the biggest ones and of the smallest dogs with the smallest ones, all presenting the desired characteristics for such breeds.
A filly born at Modello in 2007
One must go back to the Pharaons to find trace of small momified equines in the rich tumbs of Ancient Egypt.
In France, the first miniature horses encountered date back to the Renaissance.
We find them at the Royal Court of England in the 16th century.
In spain too, the royal infants were offered the first small Argentin horses as gifts.
As soon as the 19th century, Empress Eugenia, wife of Napoleon III, used them to drive her carriage as well as for the entertainment and pleasure of the royal children.
Around 1850, rigourous breeders exported them to the United States from Germany, England, Belgium and the Netherlands. But it is only in the nineteen forties that the Studbooks of the miniature horse breed were seriously and definitely established: the Falabella coming from the small wild Argentin horse "Criollo" selected by the Argentin Falabella family and the English Toy Horse.
In the United States and in Europe, miniature horses used to go down the mines, replacing children in this hard labour!
Small horses have been imported
to the United States from Europe
Hallmarks Phantom Stetson is a stallion whose standard is close to perfection,
even though perfection does exist!
There are three miniature horses breeds in the world:
- the Argentin Falabella,
- the English Toy Horse,
- and the American AMHA.
Modello Horse Farm only owns and breeds AMHA American miniature horses. The American Horse is the one who most resemble a "tall horse". The standard has been refined and the Arabian purebred model achieved.
It is only much later, after World War II, that the Americans took real interest in miniature horses and that several years later they defined the Sudbook of what was to become the most representative of "great horses" the AMHA American miniature horse (American Miniature Horse Association).
Among the most werll known equine branches, one finds zebras, donkeys, poneys and horses. All these equines are genetically compatible but it is important to keep in mind that there is as much difference between a poney and a horse as between a donkey and a horse. They are all distinct branches...
One can often see small poneys being sold as small horses in horse shows. Consequently, the new owners are often disappointed when the foals grow up as they no longer look like a small horse. Let us repeat that the standard for a small horse is very different from the one of a poney...
