Dwarf advert

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

That's what I mean, it's prevalent in minis because there is so much inbreeding it didn't CAUSE it it caused the amount of it. Human and equine dwarfism is different apparently.

It's nice you have not had the same amount of comments about it that I have. My fb sale page is full of minis suddenly. I wish I could find the ad online I saw for a breeder who sells the dwarf ones on purpose... I don't quite think you believe that this happens.

 

[Minimor]

Rocklone--your earlier post said dwarfism is caused by inbreeding. That is an incorect statement. Not trying to argue--I am simply trying to make sure people get correct information. Perhaps you did not mean it the way it sounded--but that's how it came across. I don't even think that "back when" there was really so much in breeding--the problem was that a number of dwarf horses were used for breeding--Tiny Tim is perhaps one of the better known ones but he wasn't the only dwarf that got into the Mini breeding world. So, you get a number of horses that have a dwarf parent, sell them all over the country (and they were perhaps smaller so were in demand)--they might not all have the same dwarf mutation but it seems mixing and matching mutations can still result in a dwarf...and then you have a problem even if your available gene pool isn't so small. (Believe me, America's size has never stopped cross country horse sales, not even years ago) People hauled all over the country to show, even years ago.) You mention AI offering a wider pool but in actual fact AI can make a few stallions popular and eliminate others completely from the gene pool. Anyway...

It doesn't matter if you breed a dwarf carrier stallion to his dwarf carrier sister or if you breed that same stallion to a dwarf carrier mare of completely different breeding--your chances of getting a dwarf are the same either way. Either cross gives you a 25% chance of getting a dwarf and 50% chance of getting a carrier, with a 25% chance of getting a non carrier.

To be honest--I do not even see all that much inbreeding in the Miniatures. Line breeding is rare enough. Here in Canada the majority of breeders are not doing inbreeding; those doing some line breeding are not breeding real tight. American shetlands--there is another matter -- Some ASPC breeders are breeding VERY tight, and they are getting some very nice ponies. They also get a lot of consistancy in their ponies. Dwarfism isn't an issue in ASPC. But--linebreeding and inbreeding is--or should be--a topic separate from dwarfism.

 

[Jean_B]

Minimor is correct. Below is a very simple chart that shows the chances of getting a dwarf. A horse must receive a dwarf gene from BOTH the sire and dam in order to be a dwarf. (for more details - read the dwarf forum established by John Eberth). So.....if you have a mare and a stallion - neither one is a dwarf, but both carry the dwarf gene (in this case, we will say that the "X" chromosome is the dwarf gene) - there is a 25% chance of the foal being a dwarf, a 25% chance it will NOT be a dwarf and will NOT carry any dwarf gene, and a 50% chance that it will not be a dwarf but will carry the dwarf gene.

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

Mmmmmkay I'll step out of this thread now. No point. I only know what I read and I have read two different things now so whatever I'll just forget it all and go back to knowing nothing.

 

[AngC]

Mmmmmkay I'll step out of this thread now. No point. I only know what I read and I have read two different things now so whatever I'll just forget it all and go back to knowing nothing.

Sounds like some panties got themselves into a wad here, but I appreciate the thread. I learned from this and took a couple small steps forward. ...and learned a couple new words: achondroplasic and brachiocephalic.

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

Not in a wad as you call it. I've just heard two differing statements of fact and opinion and I don't know enough to decide which one is true so I'll not bother. Glad you've become more educated.

 

[user 488]

Rocklone, you might want to take a look at John Eberth's Dwarf Forum here: http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?/forum/15-dwarfism-in-miniatures/

What these people are trying to tell you is correct. But you can educate yourself by reading this Forum as this man is an expert.

Carol

 

[AngC]

Not in a wad as you call it. I've just heard two differing statements of fact and opinion and I don't know enough to decide which one is true so I'll not bother. Glad you've become more educated.

I apologize; that was inelegant wording on my part. And I was actually more concerned that the UK lady wasn't upset, because it seems like it might be her horse? ...or maybe I'm misunderstanding that also.

The advertisement showed up on our television in the last week or two. I checked it out with my version of "joe public" -- my husband. His initial reaction was that the ad is "cute." I asked him whether the horse looked "dwarf-y" (...his exposure to dwarf minis was my unrelenting agonizing over whether Baby is a dwarf, because she was born so small.) Initially he said, no he didn't think the horse in the ad was dwarf; but then after viewing the ad a half dozen times, he conceded that the horse might be a tad small. But when you think about it, what does it matter? If I believed everything I saw on television, I'd be a mess.

The ad pretty much has no bearing on reality. The majority of people who view it have no idea what a horse is, much less a dwarf mini horse.

I first started reading about horse genetics, because I was interested in appaloosa spots, roaning, etc. and was wondering whether Baby (blanket appaloosa) would end up looking like her sire/grand-sire (leopard appaloosa.) which is a complicated topic that I still don't fully understand. I wonder whether people may equate horse In-breeding with people in-breeding?

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

The U.K. Lady does not own the pony she is a friend of the owner I believe but don't hold me to that. I don't think the owner is on this site.

 

[lucky seven]

I've seen this advertisement a few times and compare it to the budweiser commercials, cute but not real. As far as the mini being a dwarf or not, I think all minis need love. It's up to the breeders how many dwarfs are out there.

 

[Eagle]

I understand the alarm of seeing a dwarf on tv but it is true that most people just look at this as a really cute advert. We had a similar problem here on Italian tv where an Insurance company called "hounds" used a weimaraner for their advert. Run for the hills, lol alll the weima owners were screaming blue murder as they are pointers and not hounds but at the end of the day, the gorgeous talking dog helped people remember the advert which is what all good adverts should do.

 

[Strangeaddiction]

I was at a holiday party this weekend and I had many people come up to me asking if I had seen the new Amazon commercial with the miniature horse (since everyone knows I have a mini). I just had to nod and smile saying yes.....

I got tired of trying to explain it.

 

[lucky seven]

On my facebook page I'm always liking photos of horses of all colors and sizes. A friend at work pointed out that she isn't a horse person and doesn't really want to see all those photos. So now I just look and don't "like" anymore. You can't please everyone.

 

[amysue]

On my facebook page I'm always liking photos of horses of all colors and sizes. A friend at work pointed out that she isn't a horse person and doesn't really want to see all those photos. So now I just look and don't "like" anymore. You can't please everyone.

It's your facebook page...like whatever you want, if she doesn't like horses, tell her not to look.

 

[AngC]

I don't know about all of you, but sometimes when I'm "talking/typing" on-line, I forget that the animal under discussion is owned by a real person and is a real animal. And although that little horsey may not adhere to the expectations of some, the horse is still awfully cute. ...obviously, not as cute as our horses (of course.)

And my hat's off in admiration to the owner that was able to monetize a bit on the endeavor. In fact, if anyone needs to hire mini horses for commercials, I have some slightly dirty, really furry (hairy) ones available for hire at the right price. The more I think about it, I really think our horses are "star" material. (... gotta' teach Baby not to eat the camera.)

 

[Silver City Heritage Farmstead]

AngC--I definetly agree with this post of yours. Quite frequently when commenting, people DO forget the humanity that initially sparked the thread.

I know I enjoy reading Misty's Mom's post about her little Josey. I think quite a few folks here would "get there panties in a wad" if such negative things were said about HER baby!

I also agree about the exposure the breed is receiving. Sowhat if we don't agree with the example their using?! How much do you suppose Amazon has invested in this ad? One million dollars? Two? More?? Don't know about any of you, but I won't make that much money in my entire lifetime. So now my breed is having interest sparked for free...THANK YOU AMAZON!!

Think about it, as owners, breeders, handlers, trainers, associations...what is our biggest lament? No new blood (so to speak) coming into horses. Youth groups getting smaller. Shows falling by the wayside for lack of participation. Show and registry costs rising as membership drops.

It's a simple fact of business...you have two options when business falls off if you want to survive. Raise the cost of the product OR increase traffic into your business.

SO WHAT if Amazon used a dwarf in the ad?? I'm using it as an opportunity to do several things. I agree with them when they say "cute little horsey!!" I ask if they might like to know more about "cute little horseys". I normally keep a couple of breed brochures in my pocketbook (with a business card attached) and give them one. I say nothing negative about the "cute little horsey"...PARTICULARLY if they're not horse people. I don't want to kill the spark of interest, I want to fan it! I use the opportunity sparked by the "cute little horsey" ad that has been so conveniently provided to gain interest in the breed and direct it to reputable breeders. "Hook 'em first and educate 'em later" is my pointbof view.

So for me....THANK YOU AMAZON for choosing a miniature horse for your ad

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

A miniature horse being used is fab that's not the issue. I agree we need to bring more people into the breed to keep it going

 

[Minimor]

I think Drsgons Wish got it exactly right in her above post.

Point is--it is a cute ad. That is what most non-horse people see--a cute ad. They do not know about dwarfs--they really are not Interested in most cases. They see a cute Lil horse and that's all they will remember. It's a little red horse so if they say "that ad has a horse just like yours" they likely think every little red horse looks like any other little red horse....or they might say "a little horse just like yours, except it was red, not black". Look how many owners will say oh your horse looks just like mine....having no clue that yours is a multi champion and theirs is a cute little pet with horrible conformation. I have seen a number of people offended by that comparison. ..all that owner sees is "your horse is the same color as mine" and so they are exactly alike. LOL

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

Ha ain't that the truth.

A few people have been annoyed by the fact the little horse is being excluded for being different lol

But I've seen loads of people asking for dog doors! They're not really a done thing here

 

[lucky seven]

Recently a friend mentioned that she was looking for a pony/mini companion for her small pony. I mentioned that I had a gelding that was 9 hands that might be available and her response was 36 inches, lol. We are no longer friends as I felt insulted by her answer. My mini isn't show quality, is companion sound but that is what she was looking for. For someone with a small pony I think she is quite ignorant of the breed.