# What is a Fabella?



## TheCaseFamily00 (Nov 25, 2009)

So my husband and I was going to town and he asks me what is a fabella? I said you've been looking at the forum haven't you,lol. I thought maybe it was a color or breed,did a search with not much luck. I had never even heard the word in the big horse world. Enlighten me please




. Pics would be great,thanks.


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## Genie (Nov 25, 2009)

falabella


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## TheCaseFamily00 (Nov 25, 2009)

Well spelling it correctly would help in the search



,thanks.


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## Miniv (Nov 25, 2009)

Your question makes me smile......because I was just recently in a book store and picked up a picture-book on Horse Breeds. In it there was a page on Miniature Horses......but it was all about the Falabella!

The Falabella miniatures are actually a bloodline out of South America. The name comes from the breeder and ranch. The man has since passed away but his children still operate the ranch and (I think?) export? (At one time they had stopped exporting, but am not sure if that's still the case.)

Senor Falabella developed his Line of miniatures by crossing primarily shetland ponies with the small spotted South American ponies from his region. He may have cross bred other miniature lines or small ponies, but those have never been admitted to......

Because of Senor Falabella's addition of his region's mountain ponies, we can thank him for some wonderful colorful appys!


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## drk (Nov 25, 2009)

Here is info on the Falabella

http://www.falabellafmha.com/index.html


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## TheCaseFamily00 (Nov 25, 2009)

Thank you


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## HGFarm (Nov 25, 2009)

Yes, they are actually from the herd of the Falabella family, thus they were dubbed with that name to show where they originated. Chianti was one of the imports from Senor Falabellas herd, as were quite a few others. Falabellas also come in solids and pintos too, but to most, when the name is mentioned, loud Appy coloring comes to mind.

One of Senor Falabellas daughters (I believe) had moved to the U.S. and continued to breed, but Laurie Stevens at Toyland Ranch purchased the rest of her herd a few short years back, to continue with the tradition of the little horses that the Falabella family were so careful about breeding. If you contact Laurie, she is very nice and will probably be glad to answer any questions.


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## TheCaseFamily00 (Nov 25, 2009)

I love learning about all the different thing about mini's. This is by far the best place to do it.Great bunch of people to,thanks.


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## HGFarm (Nov 25, 2009)

I agree, me too! And there is such a wonderful wealth of knowledge here with folks about ALL kinds of stuff!!!


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## Kim~Crayonboxminiatures (Nov 25, 2009)

They are specifically from Argentina (the Falabella family is in Argentina). The last I heard Angelina Falabella who had horses in the US & Argentina sold out her stock in the US, so now they have to be imported directly from Argentina, but you can find a lot of pure Falabella breeders here in the US & Canada. All Falabellas must trace back to imported stock.

I personally like the American/Falabella blend Miniatures, I have two in my herd.


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## krissy3 (Nov 26, 2009)

Kim~Crayonboxminiatures said:


> They are specifically from Argentina (the Falabella family is in Argentina). The last I heard Angelina Falabella who had horses in the US & Argentina sold out her stock in the US, so now they have to be imported directly from Argentina, but you can find a lot of pure Falabella breeders here in the US & Canada. All Falabellas must trace back to imported stock.
> I personally like the American/Falabella blend Miniatures, I have two in my herd.



I know someone here that is selling all her double registered mares she purchased in the US that had false height measurements on the AMHA papers (whole other story, and she is just passing on the lies instead of selling them as a AMHR) Anywho... her idea is to start breeding Falabellas with her smaller double registered horses to get the size down. Is there a trick to having the correct papers, so these newly bred horses can be shown in the AMHA shows...other than the height. The breeder cant be trusted, and by the time you find out you have been dooped by her the 9 day return on animal policy is over and you have fallen for the poor horse. Also , tell me why you like the blend,what are the differences? I thought it was size and the color, but I really cant tell them apart from the others. they dont look more refined, head is not dished and refined, but they are cute.


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## Kim~Crayonboxminiatures (Nov 26, 2009)

> Also , tell me why you like the blend,what are the differences? I thought it was size and the color, but I really cant tell them apart from the others. they dont look more refined, head is not dished and refined, but they are cute.


I can't tell you exactly why I like them, I have just found a lot of the horses I like have Falabella in them! I like that it's an outcross, but I like the appaloosa, and a lot of the Miniature appys have a Falabella in them. The Falabellas are a hardy lot, and also can be long lived, they had one stallion in Argentina who lived to be in his 40's and was still siring foals! They are slower to mature, much more likely to look fully mature at 5 years old.


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## Genie (Nov 26, 2009)

I have several falabella blend horses.

I love the falabella in our breedings.




(Sreenans King Tut in pedigree)





(Chianti in pedigree)




(Comofin in pedigree)


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## sassy1 (Nov 26, 2009)

I do find it a bit interesting that the "FMHA'S Official Web Site" fails to mention that Patrick Newell actually imported 5 Shetland Stallions from the UK way back in the 1840-1850's.

But the falabellas were 'marketed' very well.


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## Marsha Cassada (Nov 26, 2009)

How could I find out if my appaloosa has falabella in his line? I like the idea of hardiness and longevity! Do they have some typical characteristic to look for?


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## drk (Nov 26, 2009)

I also like the Falabella breeding but also love the blends too. I was very pleased this spring when my 30.5" Falabella leopard stallion and my 32" Falabella leopard mare produced a Tiny Gorgeous Pure Falabella True Few Spot Colt. He is very small and perfect from head to toe. I feel very lucky to have gotten him as I don't think there are too many Pure Falabella Few Spots out there. At least not many that I know of so he is a real Gem to me and he was quite a Surprise when he came out !!!!

Here is a couple pics I have of him but he was just a couple months old and furry.

He is 100% Falabella











Here is his Sire..... 100% Falabella






Here is his Dam..... 100% Falabella






I also had a Beautiful Tiny Falabella Blend Filly this year. Her sire is pictured above but her Dam is American Miniature. Here is a couple pics of the filly. She will be shown on 2010. Her head is so Araby and her color pattern is so unique.

50% Falabella











Look how her color is coming out !!!!






Here is her Dam.... American Miniature






Sorry for all the pics.... I really like the Falabellas and Blends and love to post pics of them.


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## Genie (Nov 26, 2009)

All very beautiful Diane



I love the falabella, pure or blends, as well.


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## raine (Nov 26, 2009)

This is my 100% breed Falabella Stallion Prospero, all his ancestors have the falabella prefix from the ranch in Argentina and his pedigree goes right back to his great great granparents. He is 2 years old in this picture and you cant really see his spots but now at 3 he has loads , need to get an updated photo...

I find the Falabella line to be really strong and healthy, great to add to your breeding programs..

The Falabella is not a breed it is a prefix that over the years has become very well known to the point of people thinking it is a breed of horse...but never the less it is a nice line of miniature horse


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## AppyLover2 (Nov 27, 2009)

Great, informative thread. I've wondered about the Falabella too. My hat's off to those of you who are breeding pure Fallabella. The mixes are beautiful.....let's face it there are a lot of beautiful small horses out there....but to strive to continue the pure breed line is admirable.


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## shorthorsemom (Nov 27, 2009)

Love my three boys, One Falabella and two falabella blends... They are so smart and personable. Appy color is the icing on the cake, but the temperament and comical attitude and ability to communicate. Love them! I have a friend that used to be caretaker for three falabella minis. They are still alive and quite aged and still healthy and going strong. They are driving minis. cheers



.


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## AnnaC (Nov 27, 2009)

Here is my Falabella stallion - Falabella Anselmo. A direct import from Argentina, he carries the Argentinian papers (ACCF) plus the British (BFS) and IMHPS. He is 31" (UK ) and is now 10 years old. The picture is a 'field' one taken a couple of years ago and I have to say that he has really only just matured this year! On his Argentinian papers he is registered as a BAYO TOSTADO which I translate as a toasted bay LOL!! I would call him liver chestnut! But have to admit that he throws multi coloured foals even from solid coloured mares. He is a gem and will be with me for ever.

By the way I heard that true Falabellas have one less rib than other horses! True or not??







Anna


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## Dontworrybeappy (Nov 27, 2009)

Guess I'll chime in here with my two DRK-bred Falabella-blends... and I can agree with the "slow to mature" comment someone made - these two (full brother and sister) were wonderful as babies and yearlings, then went through an "ugly duckling" stage, and are emerging as SWANS!

This is DRK WHAT'S THE BUZZ: (Snowcap, tobiano, splash + sabino)
















And his little sister, DRK SHEEZE GONNA WOW YA (leopard, maybe tobiano too - not tested yet)






Buzz is expecting his first foals in 2010 - and Wow may also be expecting (she was bred to Appy)


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## AnnaC (Nov 27, 2009)

That is really interesting Diane, thanks for posting it. Glad to get the confirmation regarding the one less pair of ribs. Luckily my little chap Ansel (pictured in my above post) was DNA'd as genuine on entry to the Uk. But I also thought that for a horse to use Falabella as it's prefix it had to come from the Falabella stud in Argentina - or are there some unscrupulous people out there trying to pull the wool over some unsuspecting buyers?

Interestingly, I dont have any pure bred Falabella mares, but can tell easily any foals sired by Ansel from my mini mares as against the foals from my other mini boy. He mostly throws his beautiful head on his offspring and without exception, his brilliant temperament.

Anna


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## raine (Nov 28, 2009)

AnnaC said:


> That is really interesting Diane, thanks for posting it. Glad to get the confirmation regarding the one less pair of ribs. Luckily my little chap Ansel (pictured in my above post) was DNA'd as genuine on entry to the Uk. But I also thought that for a horse to use Falabella as it's prefix it had to come from the Falabella stud in Argentina - or are there some unscrupulous people out there trying to pull the wool over some unsuspecting buyers?
> Interestingly, I dont have any pure bred Falabella mares, but can tell easily any foals sired by Ansel from my mini mares as against the foals from my other mini boy. He mostly throws his beautiful head on his offspring and without exception, his brilliant temperament.
> 
> Anna


For a horse to use the falabella prefix is has to be breed by the falabella family because that is their prefix but for exsample if i was to breed my falabella breed horse with a falabella breed mare what ever her prefix was, the resulting foal would have my prefix " Dimundo" it would still be a miniature with full falabella breeding but not under the falabella name ...which is a prefix not a breed!!


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## AnnaC (Nov 28, 2009)

Thanks Raine, that exactly how I understood it. All my fella's offspring here carry my stud name/prefix, certainly not Falabella!!

Anna


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## Tammie-C_Spots (Jan 7, 2010)

There are only about 2500 pure Falabellas worldwide. They are rare. Those from the Argentine Falabella Ranch have ACCF registration. Those in the USA should have FMHA papers. I've been a Falabella historian for almost 20 yrs. You can visit Falabellabreeders.org for more info.

My pure mare Toyland Falabella Calita:






Tammie


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## ruffian (Jan 8, 2010)

"There are many misconceptions about the Falabella horse breed. Falabellas are bred in herds of ten to fifteen mares and a stallion. When the herd is established it is moved to open fields with other herds and strong family bonds keep each herd together as a unit. Mating occurs between the family stallion and his mares. The presence of the stallion is respected by other stallions, so there is little or no fighting."

This seems a little far fetched to me. So there are fields of horses with multiple stallions and mares and there's little or no fighting or stealing of mares or mares wandering off and getting bred by another stallion?

It's interesting that they don't have a height limit.


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