Topic on Mancow today

[Joey]

One of my friends called me today to look at this website. Wondered if anyone has seen her. Her name is Thumbelina.

http://www.worldssmallesthorse.com/home.html

 

[Frankie]

Thought about it,,,,,,,,,so editing to take foot out and close mouth.

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

Carolyn, keeping my mouth closed on this one too. :no: :no: :no: Corinne

 

[Denise]

Fox & Friends were talking about her this morning-yes she is small but lets be honest here, she's not your "normal" miniature horse.

There are so many uneducated people out there that are probably thinking "I want one just like her".

:

 

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]Poor little exploited dwarf darling.... I see her baby glue shoes... she is precious but should not be considered as the smallest horse.... she is just a little fairy darling dwarf.[/SIZE]

Lyn

 

[wiccanz]

I have trouble equating that picture with the farm sign below which says "Quality Miniature Horses"............

 

[LisaB Ozark]

I do not post on here very often and have thought about this long and hard. I actually know quite a bit about this situation, and we have clothed this darling dwarf. The owners are very knowledgeable about minis and tell everyone she is a dwarf. She is very well taken care of and always has been. After the guiness book of records found her - the whole thing has steamrolled (I believe the mare is 7). Actually the owners are wanting to take any monies that Thumbelina makes and give it to a good cause (I have suggested CMHR and will be talking with Kay).

I honestly do not know what I would do in their situation and right now they are just playing it by ear. There are lots of us that take our minis and minimal dwarfs into nursing homes, hospitals and such. Is this not okay as long as we are informing the public correctly and the horse is being treated wonderfully. I personally donated a minimal dwarf to the Personal Ponies Program and I understand he is doing really well.

I dont want to start a huge debate just wanted to provide a little information and maybe another view.

Lisa

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Well I will say that we were contacted about Sadie by some record book

: It wasnt the right decision for me to give them any info at all that they wanted to have now that was FOR ME AND MY FAMILY at the time. Not only was she a dwarf but she was not mature and never made it to maturity

She was pretty darn tiny at a year old though. Anyway my husband and I talked about it and had different views (big surprise there LOL) and I of course made the decision that worked for me and my girls and in the long run Sadie again IMO.

Just cause something wasnt right for me and mine doesnt mean it isnt right for someone else and to be honest sometimes.. we dont truly know what we would do unless we are actually in a situation.. being able to sit back and look at it from the outside is usually a very different thing then looking at something in the middle of it.

 

[Reble]

sorry but will also mention this.

Well in our 2006-2007 Membership Directory Hard cover book

My husband and I where :new_shocked: when on page 26 had dwarf mini pictures to represent our miniature horses.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I still see this as exploitation, even if, in this instance, the animal is well cared for.

Why the cute baby pictures when she is a five year old mare???

I'm afraid this sort of "cuteness" appeal is not my cup of tea at all.

If this is the right thing to do, how come Bill and Wannalyn are not doing it??

How come they are just collecting their little Brat Pack quietly , educating and helping so very many others and delighting us with (not regular enough) photos of their "family" enjoying themselves, together at HOME?????

 

[Frankie]

Opening mouth back up.

My biggest problem,,,,,,,,no where that I could find, did it mention she was a dwarf. Maybe I just missed it and if I did, sorry. I just consider that misrepresentation.

I do know people who take dwarfs out to nursing homes and such, BUT they do educate and let people know it is a dwarf and all that comes with having one. I just felt like that should of been included, but that is jmo.

Lisa and Lisa both have good points and I appreciate them sharing,,,,,need to see all sides.

 

[Songcatcher]

I saw the clip on the Fox webpage.

Something we all need to remember is that television is all about hype and sensationalism. The owners MIGHT have presented a very informed program and the production crew MAY have edited it to show only what they wanted to. Having been interviewed for a news program myself in the past, I know for a fact that what you say and mean are not always what gets put on TV.

 

[Frankie]

I did not see the clip, I was referring to their own personal webpage. I think it should state she is a dwarf. It appears to be official, the page contains their copyright. But again, jmo.

 

[Lovememinis]

I did see on their website that she is a dwarf. It is in the history section. I also saw the Fox News Tv section today. It was well done and they clearly stated that she is a dwarf and not the "typical" miniature horse. I think we make too much over this. Afterall, she is a horse and she is a miniature. They didn't make any reference to any registry. They didn't try to create her but seem to love her for what she is.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

IIf this is the right thing to do, how come Bill and Wannalyn are not doing it??

Well Rabbit I see your point but come on that answer is simple. Cause what works for some doesnt work at all for others. there are many besides Bill and Wannalyn who have dwarves and are taking care of them be it ones they bred or ones they adopted. I assure you they all do things differently and the end result is that the dwarves have wonderful lives and are well cared for- something that from experience I can tell you not only takes lots of time, emotional toll but financial tolls as well.

While I can see it isnt your thing.. we dont have to make someone wrong for one to be right

 

[disneyhorse]

All sorts of people ''exploit'' animals in one way or another. Let's face it, when you sell a miniature foal to a new family that's new to horses... in a very tiny way you are exploiting the fact that mini foals are fuzzy and darn cute! A beginner family REALLY should have an older gelding or quiet mare to start with, not an untrained and impressionable foal. Animal ''exploitation'' is a really gray area and there is a huge amount of interpretation.

The dwarf on the website looks to be well cared for, I noticed it's little shoes immediately and that gives me a lot of hope that the owners have some compassion for it.

That they say ''quality'' miniature horses implies to me what they BREED not what they HAVE. I am sure they are not breeding this dwarf nor are they suggesting to breed FOR dwarfs.

I don't know, I am not bothered by it at all.

And the smallest horse? YES it is a HORSE! It's not a dog, or a human, or a fish. It's a HORSE, even if it's a dwarf. I am sure, in the book of world records, the smallest HUMAN is a dwarf of some sort, too. That doesn't make them NOT a human being!

Andrea

 

[Joyce]

In all fairness, they did say on the video of her that she was a dwarf.

 

[Little Wee Horse Farm]

Maybe I should keep quiet too............but.............I only saw the pic on the website & the little one shown there is so adorable. Inside me, however, I know the true dwarf story & my heart breaks. However, I am and many many of us here are breeders & know the problem of billing it as the world's smallest horse. It IS, however, still a horse. It's a horse with a serious genetic defect, but it is still a horse.

No, I would never want this to represent the miniature, but darn, she's so cute............I just want to hug her. But I also know the other side of the story.

But, people in general, most of whom will never own a mini or never desire to own a mini, will just think she's a cute tiny horse. We're not going to change the world's mind....(tho this sort of thing makes me sick inside when I see it on TV called a miniature horse.)

All we can do is work individually to educate those who are interested in learning. You can't teach anything to someone who doesn't want to learn, and let's face it, most people just think "how cute" and go on with their lives & never give it another thot, even tho minis are a BIG part of OUR lives and world, it's not so with most of the world's population. (Don't hit me too hard, please)

OH< AND WHAT THE HECK IS "MANCOW?"