All horses, no matter the breed — Clydesdales, Arabians, Quarter Horses, Shetlands or Miniatures — are the same species of animals and technically can interbreed. But each of the different breeds of horses are the result of selective breeding for specific traits and characteristics over many generations. Just as breeds such as the Paint and Appaloosas are selectively bred for their distinctive color patterns, Miniature Horses are selectively bred for their small size, while still retaining the conformation characteristics of a good quality horse.

Miniature horses had a rather obscure beginning, although there are accounts of them for the last 300 years or so in Europe. There are reports of miniature horse skeletons being found in pharaoh's tombs and of being court pets in renaissance Europe.

Registering Miniature Horses

Two major miniature horse registries maintain pedigrees in the United States today.

American Miniature Horse Registry

The American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR) is owned by the American Shetland Pony Club and registers miniature horses in two divisions. The "A" division recognizes horses that mature at 34 inches or less. The "B" division recognizes horses over 34 inches to 38 inches. Horses are issued temporary registrations until age three. They receive permanent registration at three years of age after being measured for height to determine which division they will be placed in. Height is determined by taking the vertical distance from the ground at the point where the last mane hairs are found at the base of the neck. Both of the parents need to be registered in order for a foal to be registered, but the registry will, however, accept foals for registry if their parents are AMHA registered, albeit for a higher fee. There is a hardship registration provision for horses that meet the height require-ments, although the registration fees are quite expensive.

Statistical Stuff

	Foals weigh 12 to 25 pounds at birth, depending on their height. They can stand anywhere from 14 to 22 inches tall at birth (measured at the last hair of the mane).
	Miniature horses grow to approximately 90 % of their adult height by the time they are a year old.
	Depending on their size, adult miniature horses can weigh anywhere from 150 to 350 pounds.
	It takes about eleven months of pregnancy for a miniature horse to develop prior to being born. This is the same as for full sized horses.
	Foals are normally weaned from nursing their mothers at 4 to 5 months of age.
	For showing purposes, all horse's birthdates are considered to be January 1 of the year that they were born regardless of their actual date of birth that year.
	For showing purposes miniatures are considered "junior" horses through their 2-year-old year.
	A "senior" horse is 3 years of age or older.
	Senior horses can be trained to pull a cart or buggy.
	Miniature horses can pull up to ten times their own weight on a hard surface. They can easily pull a cart or buggy and move their own weight, but consideration must be given to the terrain and footing that the cart will be riding on.
	We discourage all but very small children from riding miniatures. We consider anything more than 10% of the horse's body weight a significant load to pack. Miniature horses are not generally considered as riding horses. They are much better suited to pulling carts.
	Having had both full sized horses and miniatures, we feel that the personality of miniatures is substantially more easy going than full sized horses. They are more affectionate and more people-oriented.
	Generally speaking, the order of ease of handling (easiest to hardest to handle) would be gelding, mare and stallion.
	Junior horses are generally more flighty and skittish than adult horses.

General Care and Health

	Miniature horses consume the same feeds as full sized horses. These are primarily pasture grass, hay and grain.
	A single miniature horse can be reasonably maintained on as little as 1/2 acre of land provided that it is is supplemented with hay on a daily basis.
	Miniature horses should be provided with a structure for shade or to get in out of the rain or other inclement weather conditions
	Miniature horses, depending on their age, size and whether they are also on pasture, will consume in the range of 2 to 5 pounds of good quality hay per day.
	The hooves of adult miniature horses are generally trimmed at two month intervals, unless they are showing in halter or performance, in which case they may be trimmed as often as once a month. Young horses — those under 2 years of age — will probably need to be trimmed as often as once a month as well, to assure proper leg conformation and gait while they are growing and the bones are still soft.
	Horses are generally wormed on a two month routine with one of the modern wormers or fed a daily supplement that has a wormer included.
	Veterinarians should be consulted for advice on annual vaccination programs for horses to prevent common diseases.
	The miniature horse gets a very long coat in winter weather and the appearance of weight can be very deceiving. It is important to physically check the horse's condition by rubbing the fingers across the ribs of the horse just below the backbone. If a "washboard" feel is evident, the horse is probably underweight and the feed ration should be increased.

Breeding and Foaling

	We do not breed our mares earlier than three years of age out of concern for adequate physical development of the mare at time of birthing. It is not uncommon for mares to remain immature until four or older. Sometimes mares will not conceive their first pregnancy until they are 7 years of age.
	Many stallions are fertile as two year olds. As with mares, many others are not sexually mature until they are older. Many miniature horse stallions will not have both testicles descended into the scrotum until they are three or older. Unfortunately, many veterinarians are unaware of this fact and call miniature stallions that are over a year old with undescended testicles "cryptorchids," but this may well not be the case. Miniatures mature differently than full-sized horses.
	Breeding is accomplished by "pasture breeding" — turning the stallion out into the pasture with a group of mares — or by "hand breeding" — introducing the stallion to the mare when she is in heat with handlers controlling both the stallion and mare during the breeding process.
	The normal foaling window is between 320 and 360 days after conception (normally counted from the date of the last breeding). It is not uncommon, however, for foals to arrive earlier than 320 days. Foals are not normally considered viable if they are born at less than 300 days of gestation.
	Under normal circumstances, the birthing process occurs very rapidly. If there are no complications, the foal is usually born within 10 minutes from the time that the mare begins active "pushing" labor.
	There is a significant incidence of "dystocia" or malpresentation births in miniature horses. It is important for those who breed miniature horses to be in attendance at all foalings to assist if there is a birthing problem.
	Foals are generally very strong and active within a couple of hours of birth. They usually nurse vigorously from 4 to 7 times per hour.
	If foals are sick, they will be listless and not nurse vigorously. It is important to seek medical attention promptly if these symptoms appear within the first day or two after birth as newborns will die if not cared for immediately.

Showing and Marketing Miniature Horses

	Miniature horses are shown competitively throughout the nation at local shows through regional events all the way to the annual National shows.
	Horses are shown in halter conformation classes, performance classes (in hand trail obstacle, jumping, hunter, showmanship, liberty) and driving classes (pleasure driving, country pleasure driving, roadster, obstacle driving, team driving).
	Junior horses are shown in age divisions (weanling, yearling, two year old). Both junior and senior horses are also shown in height categories based on their measurement at the show (for example, senior AMHA horses are divided into under 28", 28" to 30", 30" to 32", and 32" to 34" classes).
	Shows provide classes for all types of exhibitors including youth, amateur, physically/mentally challenged or open (which includes professional trainers).
	In the northern parts of the country, shows are generally held in the spring and summer months. In the southern parts of the country shows can be held year-round. National shows are usually held in late September or early October.
	Clubs are organized throughout the country and sponsor shows. An easy way to track down the club closest to you would be to go to the Links page and click on one of registry logos. You will be directed to the registry web site, where all the local clubs are listed.
	There is a very active market for miniature horses throughout the world. Miniature horses are shipped overseas as well as throughout the United States and Canada.
	Prices of miniature horses vary widely depending on quality of the horse, area of the country purchased, color, pedigree, sex and numerous other factors. Starting prices for miniature horses are around $800 for a companion animal with prices going up from there based on show potential, conformation and elegance, previous show record, notoriety of parentage and farm purchased from, etc.
	When purchasing a horse that does not have permanent registration, the buyer should expect to receive some form of "height guarantee" from the seller that the horse will not go over-height as an adult.

Looking for more information? Go to the Mini Museum for more info and to look at some of the old stuff about minis. There are also lots of other web sites on the Links page, both other breeder sites and information rich resources. If you still have specific questions that are not answered, Email us and we'll try to provide an answer for you.