HomeschoolHighschool

 I won a “Best in Action” Award at the IL State Fair, 2008. Here is the original speech, in all it’s glory!

Hi! My name is Margy Hesser. I’m a 4^th year 4-H’er from the Herscher Hustler’ 4-H group in Kankakee County, and today I’m going to talk a little bit about Miniature Horses.

There are two basic breed categories of mini horses – the mini draft and the falabella.

A mini draft is what you probably think of when you think of mini horses – a short, think neck, a big head, and short legs on a stocky body. Mini drafts look more like tiny ponies than tiny horses, and there is a good reason for this. Mini drafts were bred down from Shetland ponies; when Scottish miners wanted a smaller pony pull the carts in the coal mines. The minors commonly referred to them as ‘The Pit Ponies’.

A Falabella looks much more like a tiny horse. They were bred for fun, and they became popular in the 1970s when Julio Cesar Falabella, whose ranch is near Buenos Aires, Argentina, sold some of his stock to President Kennedy’s family. These horses were bred down from Andalusions, and crossed with the smallest thoroughbred stallions that could be found. The Hackney pony was later introduced into the Falabella’s lineage for the characteristic curve that is commonly found in the Hackney’s neck.

Although most of the Miniature Horse’s history has been lost due to lack of record keeping, because no-one thought that they would ‘catch on’ minis have been noted in documents dating back to the 17^th century. They were kept as prized companions to Royal European families.

Mini horses come in all colors that Standard sized horses do. The most common colors are different shades of brown, and the most popular colors are paints and appaloosas.

A Paint can be loosely classified as having large patches of White and another color such as red or brown all over its body, and an Appaloosa has smaller spots in various places including the back, chest and rump.

Mini horses are just as versatile as their larger counterparts. They have conformation classes, can pull carts and jump. They have one unique talent, however, that a full sized horse can not do – they can  be used for ‘guide horses.’

The guide horse foundation was started in 1999 as an experimental program to access the abilities of miniature horses as assistance animals. The program was founded on the idea that there is a critical shortage of guide animals for the blind, and an ample amount of mini horses available for this occupation.

One of the greatest things about guide horses are that they have a longer lifespan than that of dogs, some living over 50 years, so they can stay with their person longer. The oldest Mini on records’ name was Angel. She was a small white mare, and she died at the age of 52 years.
Minis also smell less than dogs, and shed less as well.

But you can’t just take a mini and throw a harness on it and call it a guide horse. They must pass a series of very difficult tests. The first of these is called the “Intelligent Test’. The handler will walk all around the horse, touching it and talking to it. While doing this, the handler will watch the horse’s ears. If the ears move around, following the handlers movements, the horse has passed this test. If the ears do not move, the horse is not attentive and not suitable for guide horse work.

The second test is called “Spook in Place”. All horses get scared, and minis are no exception. A horse’s natural instinct is to run when it is scared, but Guide Horses are taught to freeze and not move instead.

Lastly, the horse must master 23 voice commands and be able to readily respond to people other than it’s trainer.. If a healthy young mini can master all of these tests, it will be placed with a visually impaired person. The first Guide horse put into service was the 24 inch “Cuddles”, who now lives happily with her person Dan in North Carolina.

The Guide Horse Foundation will not place a Dwarf Horse, which is not the same thing as a mini. A dwarf horse is a complete breeding mistake. They are sickly, and usually have a shortened lifespan. The smallest horse in the world, Thumbelina, is a dwarf. She was 10 inches at birth, and now stands at 17 inches at the withers.

You might have also heard the term ‘midget pony.’ This is not a dwarf – it’s actually a Mini horse.
Minis were called Midgets when they came to the United States in the mid 1800s, but the word Midget had a negative connotation attached to it, so breeders quickly changed the mane to Mini Horses, which is what we know them by today.

The American Miniature Horse Association was organized and incorporated in July of 1978 to maintain a registry and stud-book.

A “Standard of Perfection” was adopted in the same year and the basic body types, a fine-boned “refined” type, and the classic Draft type were recognized as breed standards.

While this registry does not accept Falabellas, they have a seperate registry.  

What Mini horses lack in stature, they make up for in versatility. They are just as loving and sassy as a full size horse. It is my opinion that Mini horses are a worthwhile endeavor for any horse lover.