Mini Horses still misrepresented.

[Debby - LB]

Found this today on Instagram.

I am hoping some of you can help me with good replies to use so others who read and comment on the post will have some... Alternative Facts.

I'm thinking from the "Distinguishing Traits" listed that this person has only ever seen dwarves. As for "No known common uses" That's just a shame, I'm still shaking my head over that one.

Part 41- Types of Horse Breeds??

Name: Miniature Horse

Origin: Europe and United States.

Distinguishing Traits: Small; short, Stout legs and elongated torsos;

Description: The most common color for Miniature Horses is pintaloosa and pinto.

Is the Miniature Horse the Right Breed for You?

Prone to Health Issues: This breed is subject to more health issues than any other breeds. With 8 known breed-specific health issues, owners have to watch out for brachygnathism, colic, crowding, dwarfism, eclampsia, hyperlipemia, obesity, and prognathism.

No Known Common Uses: The Miniature Horse is not commonly used for any known popular activity. However, other tasks this breed is involved in include driving. . Follow me to receive tips & tricks for your horse care. ?

4:49 PM Apr 4, 2017 3 715

 

[Magic Marker Miniatures]

We have a friend who uses minis for pulling competitions. He uses mainly males and takes very good care of them. He pays us to body clip. Also see them used for therapy.

Have had only one dwarf and that breeding will never take place again.

 

[chandab]

OMG!

Had to look a couple things up:

1. brachygnathism - parrot mouth - not exclusive to miniatures, plenty of other breeds with this issue.

2. prognathism - underbite or sow mouth - also not exclusive to miniatures.

Both might be more common in minis, but they are NOT exclusive to minis.

Colic, obesity, eclampsia and hyperlipidemia aren't exclusive to miniatures (hyperlipidemia more common in minis than other breeds, but not exclusive). For that matter, neither is dwarfism, as there is a form of dwarfism in Friesians.

Pinto and pintaloosa are not colors but patterns. Minis come in almost every color available to horses, except pearl.

Driving is a very common sport with horses of all sizes, there are CDEs all across the country (Combined Driving Events), trail driving is common across all sizes of horses.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Cannot believe anyone is that narrow minded in this day and age of information. Good luck educating such a one.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Ill second that Chanda, OMG !!!!!!!

Im a little speechless ......................

I really hope every member of this forum can add something to this thread , be it you currently have minis or no longer do so Debby can reply

As to " No common Use" . How about - Driving, showing, pleasure, therapy, obstacle training, jumping , Lawn mowing ect.

All these health issues are not limited to the miniature. Surely the author of this instagram post should do a little more research.

"Follow me to receive tips and tricks for your horse Care" - Probably not

 

[Cayuse]

Mine are pretty "useful" as my best friends. They also drive and go to shows. Both have been used to move manure (not glamorous, but indeed "useful") in the winter months and one mini had a career moving small logs out in the woods before I got him.

As far as the coloring statement, one of mine is bay and the other silver black and there are quite a few solid colored minis around here.

 

[chandab]

If I were to pick a common color among minis, it would probably be silver black (silver dapple), as it seems to be very prevalent in minis.

 

[REO]

Are you allowed to reply using photos? If so I can email you pics of my minis to show that they are not dwarves. Why can't you post links to AMHA & AMHR websites? They have info on shows etc.

Sounds to me that person is hateful towards and very misinformed! about minis!

 

[Jean_B]

Unfortunately there will be people who believe this because - after all, if on the internet, it must be true, right? I've never used instagram so don't know how it works, but is it possible to log a complaint that something is not true?

 

[KLJcowgirl]

I do wish Instagram would let you reply with pictures (if you can, I haven't figured it out yet haha). It would be awesome if tons of Mini owners could get on and post a picture of their bitties and say "Uhhhhhh, really???" I'm new to Minis and even I know this is wrong. I did extensive research before getting one and it was SOOOO easy to find info (generally), there is no reason that post should exist if they had actually looked into it.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that. My first real world experience with minis was indeed with two dwarfs. They were therapy horses that were in a parade we were watching when I was maybe 11. My mom thought it would be fun to take me over to meet them. When we got closer, we saw how disfigured they were. Severe dished heads, protruding eyes and jaws, and crooked legs. We were told this was pretty normal the breed by the handlers, and we walked away thinking, "Man those things are weird." It kinda dashed my dreams of having a mini for a while. I would hate for anyone to read that Instagram post and be discouraged as I was.

It's been interesting to see the reception I get when I take Miss May out into the public eye. There's not many Minis in our area, I see one or two around, and there's only one family I personally know who owns and shows them. I get a lot of "She's so proportional... I've never seen one like that. They usually have stubby legs and a big head don't they?" She's not registered, and not necessarily well bred or well put together, but so many have seen her as a magnificent specimen. Though I am her mama and think she's the most beautiful little girl ever!

I've been trying my best to educate people when they ask and they usually leave with a smile.

I've also referred people on other horse forums who ask about why minis are so disfigured/weird/unhealthy/useless to YOU Lil Beginnings, particularly the Dwarf posts, as I found them extremely educational and encouraging when I first started researching. So even in the horse world (I was there once) they are seen as disasters, and it's sad. (Don't worry!!! Many mini owners usually come to the rescue!)

I would like to add, I am in no way saying Dwarfs don't deserve love too, just that they're certainly not the norm. And that it takes a special soul to give them all the care they require and deserve.

I admire them.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that. My first real world experience with minis was indeed with two dwarfs. They were therapy horses that were in a parade we were watching when I was maybe 11. My mom thought it would be fun to take me over to met them. When we got closer, we saw how disfigured they were. Severe dished heads, protruding eyes and jaws, and crooked legs. We were told this was common in the breed by the handlers, and we walked away thinking, "Man those things are weird." It kinda dashed my dreams of having a mini for a while. I would hate for anyone to read that Instagram post and be discouraged as I was.

 

[KLJcowgirl]

Don't know why that last paragraph is there again.... oops ^^^

 

[Debby - LB]

thank you all! OMG was my response when I read it too. I went back and looked at some of the other breeds listed to see if their detailed information was a little more spot on, there are over 50 of them she has listed and the few I looked at sounded ok. Just way off on the Miniature Horse. I had to look up "prognathism " lol. This was considerable work compiling all these horses and it appears a way to educate. My first thought was having several people reply with updated information but I'm thinking now if maybe it would be better for me to reach out by direct message and give her the information in hopes that she'd change hers?

Robin yes I would like a couple photos!

I did a google search and it appears she has this on several different sites besides Instagram. It bothers me to see something so totally wrong about these little horses...cause yeah like Jean said if it's on the internet it's true.

 

[chandab]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that. My first real world experience with minis was indeed with two dwarfs. They were therapy horses that were in a parade we were watching when I was maybe 11. My mom thought it would be fun to take me over to meet them. When we got closer, we saw how disfigured they were. Severe dished heads, protruding eyes and jaws, and crooked legs. We were told this was pretty normal the breed by the handlers, and we walked away thinking, "Man those things are weird." It kinda dashed my dreams of having a mini for a while. I would hate for anyone to read that Instagram post and be discouraged as I was.

My first real world experience with minis was a dwarf, as well, although, at the time I didn't know he was a dwarf. A gal a mile or so from where we lived had a riding stallion and a dwarf stallion; she would ride the stallion and lead the dwarf around the area. I thought he was cute, but odd at the same time.

 

[amysue]

This is very disappointing, as is much of the information about miniature horses found online. Some informational sights still refer to minis as "dwarf horses", so unfortunately, many, many individuals do believe that all minis are dwarfs and serve no purpose. I think that it would be very noble of you Debby, to reach out to this person, not in a negative or defensive manner, but maybe in a positive and enlightening way, approach her by writing on the behalf of the lilbeginning's extensive community and network of enthusiasts, breeders, trainers, exhibitors and farmers who are dedicated to the protection, promotion and forward perpetuation of the miniature horse breed. Maybe inform her about the numerous miniature breed registries and organizations, shows and clubs, publications and therapy and youth programs out there. Hopefully, she is just misinformed, and would be willing to update her site. If not, then it only proves that her information is soley based on her personal opinion and not hard fact based on evidence. I always enjoy reading your posts Debby, they are always well written, informative and easy to follow. I know that you have the ability to reach out to this person in a classy, professional way without sounding mean, hurtful or defensive (because you don't like what she posted). One can only speculate on what her reaction will be, but I think that you are the perfect person to tackle this project!!

 

[paintponylvr]

Well, there is "dwarf" and then there is "Dwarf".

In other livestock breeds - Rabbits (Netherland Dwarf), Goats (Nigerian Dwarf), Sheep (West African Dwarf sheep) & Cattle (Kasaragod Dwarf cattle) - all have breeds that have Dwarf as part of their breed and they are considered a breed and NOT deformed or poor/bad but a miniature breed. In a couple, there are more than one. SOOOO, education, education, education. I always wondered WHY the mini horse industry went with the word(s) "dwarf" to describe badly disfigured, poorly made animals that have a genetic potential (now testable as 4 types or is it more) to produce the same...

As to other uses that we've used ours for besides showing, FFA & 4H - eye candy, pasture pets, logging, farming, commercial gardening, manure moving, parades, lesson mounts for small children AND breeding to larger horses to produce medium size ponies with the easy keeping capability and easy to handle personality of the mini/Shetland.

And with over 10,000 photos in on-line photo albums (Photo Bucket & Google) from 1995 to now, I'm sure we could locate a few to show some of the above.

 

[chandab]

Well, there is "dwarf" and then there is "Dwarf".

In other livestock breeds - Rabbits (Netherland Dwarf), Goats (Nigerian Dwarf), Sheep (West African Dwarf sheep) & Cattle (Kasaragod Dwarf cattle) - all have breeds that have Dwarf as part of their breed and they are considered a breed and NOT deformed or poor/bad but a miniature breed. In a couple, there are more than one. SOOOO, education, education, education. I always wondered WHY the mini horse industry went with the word(s) "dwarf" to describe badly disfigured, poorly made animals that have a genetic potential (now testable as 4 types or is it more) to produce the same...

I too have somewhat wondered the same. In the other species, dwarf just seems to mean reproducible small size without other health issues (or very few, anyway); whereas dwarves in miniature horses often have severe health issues to go along with the small size.

 

[Debby - LB]

Thank you so much for your kind words amysue!

 

[Debby - LB]

I wondered about the difference in the dwarf goats and rabbits too.

On Discovery channel I saw that in humans dwarfs are just people under a certain height, but if they present with bone or hormonal abnormalities they are then called disproportionate dwarfs. I always thought all human dwarfs were disfigured and it was my understanding midgets were tiny people that looked perfectly proportioned.

 

[Miniv]

Debby, I agree with YOU. There is a definite difference between a human dwarf and human midget. My step-sister was ALMOST classified as a midget by less than an inch.

She is perfectly proportioned and buys her casual clothes in children's departments.....Her business clothes (she works in a mortgage company) she has to have tailored.

 

[sfmini]

They are great for starting kids in horse showing and handling.

For older adults not able to handle biggies any more

Therapy animals that can visit nursing homes.

We trail drive ours for pleasure.

The VSE division is getting bigger as it takes less strength, money, trailer, equipment to compete in combined driving

Also active in carriage driving now.

Yes there are dwarves but fewer and fewer from selective breeding. There is dwarfism in humans and other species but more and more the exception than the norm.