Minimor
Well-Known Member
I see some horses that have what I think might be dwarf traits, and I see others that have just plain bad conformation. Sometimes bad conformation might be related to dwarf traits, other times I believe that it is simply...bad conformation. Sometimes the dwarf traits that I think I see are quite likely dwarf traits, other times maybe they aren't. Without a test available there is really no way to know for sure.
As someone said earlier, it's important for people to recognize traits that might be related to dwarfism, to be able to recognize conformation faults, and admit that there's a possibility that some faults are related to dwarfism. From there make the decision to breed or not to breed--and if one chooses to breed a horse with what may be a dwarf characteristic, be prepared in the event that the horse produces a dwarf. Like Liz I do believe that in many cases the dwarfism signs are there to be seen if people only look and see them for what they may be. I can't say the signs are always there, but often they are.
It's been mentioned different times that a broad forehead is a sign of dwarfism. That can very much depend. A wide forehead on its own surely doesn't confirm dwarfism. Remember that in many breeds a broad forehead is desirable--you want that good width between the eyes, with the head tapering down to a nice dainty little muzzle. I wouldn't suggest that a wide forehead on a Mini signifies dwarfism--not if the head is otherwise attractive (as I would describe attractive anyway!). If that broad forehead has a big bulge in it, if the face has an undesirable sort of dish to it, if the nostrils are set high--all of which gives the nose a definite "turned up" appearance, then I'd be inclined to think there's something going on there with dwarfism. I have nothing at all against dished faces, if they are the right sort of dished faces--I see many Mini "dishes" that I simply don't like. Are they all dwarf related? No, I'm sure they're not. They would, however, be enough to keep me from using the horse for breeding.
The same can be said of other conformation faults. Really bad legs, bad bites, very weak rear ends...sometimes those things are dwarf related, other times they aren't. It's not possible to say for sure which it is, but regardless of which it is, it may be a reason not to breed the horse. I might determine that the flaw is simply a conformation fault--the next person that looks may deem it to be a sign of dwarfism. That's why on these threads we're seeing so much disagreement on what is or isn't a dwarf sign.
A long time, well respected breeder once told me not to look so much at the dwarf breeding that may be back in a pedigree, but to look at the horse itself, and I think that is good advice. While I don't believe that every Mini carries a dwarfism gene, I do believe that most Minis have a dwarf somewhere in their ancestry. There may be a dwarf 3 or 5 generations back, but the horse in front of you may not have inherited the dwarfism gene from that horse. I wouldn't want a direct son or daughter of Bond Tiny Tim, and I'd rather not have him in a pedigree at all (which I don't, actually--but I realize there may be some other dwarf back there somewhere, a lesser known one that I haven't heard about)--but if he were 5 generations back and the horse in front of me was long legged, long necked, fine legged and as correct as any horse I've ever seen, yes, I'd take it.
As someone said earlier, it's important for people to recognize traits that might be related to dwarfism, to be able to recognize conformation faults, and admit that there's a possibility that some faults are related to dwarfism. From there make the decision to breed or not to breed--and if one chooses to breed a horse with what may be a dwarf characteristic, be prepared in the event that the horse produces a dwarf. Like Liz I do believe that in many cases the dwarfism signs are there to be seen if people only look and see them for what they may be. I can't say the signs are always there, but often they are.
It's been mentioned different times that a broad forehead is a sign of dwarfism. That can very much depend. A wide forehead on its own surely doesn't confirm dwarfism. Remember that in many breeds a broad forehead is desirable--you want that good width between the eyes, with the head tapering down to a nice dainty little muzzle. I wouldn't suggest that a wide forehead on a Mini signifies dwarfism--not if the head is otherwise attractive (as I would describe attractive anyway!). If that broad forehead has a big bulge in it, if the face has an undesirable sort of dish to it, if the nostrils are set high--all of which gives the nose a definite "turned up" appearance, then I'd be inclined to think there's something going on there with dwarfism. I have nothing at all against dished faces, if they are the right sort of dished faces--I see many Mini "dishes" that I simply don't like. Are they all dwarf related? No, I'm sure they're not. They would, however, be enough to keep me from using the horse for breeding.
The same can be said of other conformation faults. Really bad legs, bad bites, very weak rear ends...sometimes those things are dwarf related, other times they aren't. It's not possible to say for sure which it is, but regardless of which it is, it may be a reason not to breed the horse. I might determine that the flaw is simply a conformation fault--the next person that looks may deem it to be a sign of dwarfism. That's why on these threads we're seeing so much disagreement on what is or isn't a dwarf sign.
A long time, well respected breeder once told me not to look so much at the dwarf breeding that may be back in a pedigree, but to look at the horse itself, and I think that is good advice. While I don't believe that every Mini carries a dwarfism gene, I do believe that most Minis have a dwarf somewhere in their ancestry. There may be a dwarf 3 or 5 generations back, but the horse in front of you may not have inherited the dwarfism gene from that horse. I wouldn't want a direct son or daughter of Bond Tiny Tim, and I'd rather not have him in a pedigree at all (which I don't, actually--but I realize there may be some other dwarf back there somewhere, a lesser known one that I haven't heard about)--but if he were 5 generations back and the horse in front of me was long legged, long necked, fine legged and as correct as any horse I've ever seen, yes, I'd take it.
