What's going on?

[SampleMM]

I've noticed that several "big" farms are announcing big changes are coming and they are offering many of their miniatures. What is happening? Are they going to Shetlands?

I really prefer a miniature over a shetland because I've already had big horses and the small size of the mini was what attracted me. I'm not jumping ship but am worried as it seems that so many are adding the shetlands and B's to their program. Can someone enlighten me, please?

 

[Genie]

We are hearing around our part of the country that many believe the bigger horses are the way to go.

We love the small horses.

Conformation sometimes gets lost as we get smaller but I have seen some big ones whose conformation leaves a lot to be desired too.

I will always breed for the small horses, just because that's my idea of "the miniature horse"

 

[targetsmom]

I think some of it has to do with the interest in driving horses. But my idea of a "large mini" is still 34"!! And I really admire the folks breeding for the most perfect, SMALLEST horse.

 

[AJ]

My guess ....MONEY....

 

[SampleMM]

My guess ....MONEY....

Do you mean, they are not making enough money off of the straight miniature type horse and or they just don't have enough money to keep their farm going?

 

[Loess Hills]

The horse market overall is in a deep, deep depression. Reality Check.........horses are a Luxury and in this economy many people are struggling to just keep their heads above water. Buyers are not lining up to buy even the finest horses.....miniatures included. Why are there so many online auctions? Although I don't know the figures, I would bet only 40-50% of them actually sell. And I would hazard a guess that the European export market is also down.

 

JMO and observation!

 

[Michelle@wescofarms]

Your breeding program should always be evolving to a degree. As for some choosing to add Shetlands or B size that's there prerogtive as they have to support themselves and dictate how their business is run.

Personally, I prefer the under 34" but the smaller Minis under 30" are much like small dogs, cute, decorative and fun, but they aren't as 'usable' as the taller that can be driven, etc. I still like them and have some, but people view them as pets and want them all for a pet price, regardless of quality.

Combine that with the current economy - sales are down and prices are 1/3 or less what they were 2-3 years ago. The number of horses I see for sale in the $200-400 range is truly scary. As Rose pointed out, horses are a luxury item, and it's why so many big horses are being dumped right and left. I'm hoping to make it through this year without having to take any more rescues myself.

 

[ohmt]

I know a lot more people in my area are switching to just AMHR because it is much cheaper (paperwork, showing, etc) and there are many more AMHR shows than AMHA shows to go to and in this economy, it is so much easier to sell if your horse wins in the show ring. With prices so low, why settle for only good when you can get excellent and win in the show ring right? At one show I attended there were over 140 horses at the AMHR portion and only 60 or so for the AMHA portion. We are cutting back here, not because of money issues but because I want to devote more time to showing so need more manageable numbers.Once we cut back in size, there will be some very big changes here too! Ok, ok....maybe even before we cut back-I've got a birthday coming up

 

[SampleMM]

Thanks for all the replies everybody. I realize that the economy is bad and in turn so is the horse market but that's not what my post is about.

The change those folks are talking about is a change in their breeding program. Of course they have every right to do that, I'm just curious as to what they are doing. Are they getting totally out of minis? Are they going solely to Shetlands, or are they going into B's? I'm simply asking for knowledge. Again, I appreciate your insight and input but wanted to clear up what I was talking about.

I figured someone might know who is more involved with AMHR as I'm not familiar with those shows at all but perhaps next year.

 

[minih]

The change those folks are talking about is a change in their breeding program. Of course they have every right to do that, I'm just curious as to what they are doing. Are they getting totally out of minis? Are they going solely to Shetlands, or are they going into B's? I'm simply asking for knowledge. Again, I appreciate your insight and input but wanted to clear up what I was talking about.

We are in the process of making a change in our breeding program. 2012 will be our first year to have shetland foals. We are in the process of moving all of our AMHA, AMHA/AMHR mini's. We will still have AMHR/ASPC and ASPC. We bought our first shetland 4 years ago and have fallen in love with their look, way of moving, personality and how you show them. We really like the AMHR/ASPC since you can show under both, we have one mare we have HOF under both AMHR and ASPC. Having smaller acreage we just can not try to breed for everything and there are not any AMHA shows close. That is our story in a nutshell, not a large big farm but we are making a change.

 

[Riverrose28]

It has nothing to do with size, it has to do with the look. If you've been to any shows lately you will have noticed that even the AMHA horses are starting to look like the AMHR horses, reason being they are hardshipped into AMHA before the registry closes. Alot of horses now being shown are ASPC/AMHR/AMHA. I've been saying for years that I need to get on the bandwagon and add ASPC to my program, and as soon as I can rehome most of my AMHA horses I will. Several big name farms a couple of years ago sold off alot of their breeding stock, AMHA, and restarted with ASPC/AMHR, not new news to me. Just look around you, at the shows, you will see some big name trainers showing at AMHR that didn't show many years ago with AMHR, they only showed AMHA. This is a trend that in my opinion is going to set up a breed standard for us mini breeders. Yes you can breed a ASPC/AMHR horse small enough to make it into AMHA, just look around you.

 

[Riverdance]

Right now the flavor of the month is the Shetland. Not too many years ago one could buy a top Shetland for under $1000. Now people are looking for the shetland look. As youngsters they are very up headed and refined. The money is in the ASPC horse right now, so the big farms are changing their lines to include them. When the next flavor of the month comes along, they will change their breeding program again.

Personally, I left the big horse breed as it is much easier for me to handle the smaller horses, besides the fact they have better temperaments than many big horses and ponies.

My biggest concern is seeing the Miniature horse change so much that it is nothing more than a miniature Shetland.

 

[ohmt]

Quite honestly I don't see the shetland 'fad' going anywhere any time soon. The way that their influence is changing the miniature horse has been incredible. Nobody can deny that the quality seen at Nationals (Worlds too) has increased dramatically the past couple of years-of course the quality would still increase without shetland ifluence, but with it minis have gone very far in a very short amount of time. It's one of the big reasons I think AMHA closing their books is a huge mistake. I LOVE my minis and will continue to breed for A sized horses, but I love the proportions and athleticism of the miniature shetlands much more-i bought a tall 34" very shetland looking stallion last year as a trial run and was so impressed with his foals this year. They are staying small, but their proportions are awesome and I can't wait to see how they'll mature. I will be adding quite a few 'small' (small B and large A) shetland minis here soon. My goal will be to breed them down just a tish to keep the proportions and great angles, but still show in the 'A' divisions.

Ok, rambling a bit-my point is that I don't see a fad at all; I see a long lasting change. I think a LOT more people are seeing that as well which is why so many farms are revamping.

 

[Minimor]

I don't see the Shetland influence being a fad either--I think that is here to stay now. The Shetlands were already 'the next big thing' when I got my first Miniatures 10 years ago and they have only increased in popularity since then. After we got our first Minis & saw more of the double registered ASPC/AMHR horses we did talk about selling what we had & getting a few Shetlands that were also AMHR registered, but we didn't do it--at the time we decided we could still have fun with our Minis even if they weren't competitive in the big time shows. Our horses are for fun, so it didn't really matter if we "upgraded" or not.

More recently of course we got some taller Shetlands and have discovered that we enjoy them most of all.

 

[mydaddysjag]

My best guess is B sized horses and shetlands. I ADORE the shetland look, but not so much the shetland attitude. I have an toddler who is very interested in the horses. He's not allowed around them except to look at them over their stall doors or through the fence, but in a few years when he is old enough to handle them a little, I dont want "hot" horses. My guys are pretty calm at home.

In my area, AMHA shows are very few and far between. Honestly, I dont know of any. As far as AMHR? There is one show an hour and a half away, three shows within 3 hours, one show that is 5 hours, and if you go 6 hours there probably about 6 more shows. So, If I want to stay within 6 hours, I have the chance to show at 11 shows a year.

I considered registering my stallions pinto, but there are only 2-3 shows a year within 4 hours of us, and thats just not worth it for me.

I do have an A sized horse, but I would never buy a horse that was only AMHA, due to the lack of shows in my area.

 

[vvf]

We are not a big farm, but we have been around a long time.

For us, it has never been about the money. We have sold many horses through the years…. Never got rich, but always had a good reputation.

The thing we always did, was buy what we liked.

And I can honestly say for me… I really like the look of Shetland/ mini horses.

Oh I won’t be getting rid of all my small Mini’s, but I am downsizing them a bit, … I have an ASPC/AMHR stallion and 1 mare so far… And yes I want to add a few more mares.

Registry preference for me is AMHR.. Oh I have plenty of AMHA/AMHR horses…. But I will be breeding some of my AMHA mares to my B size AMHR/ASPC stallion..

And for me, it’s not that I am jumping on the Shetland/mini band wagon and I think I am going to make a lot of money..

I just love the look of these ponies. And as a personal preference, I like them around 36 -37” And that’s the great thing about our breed of horses… there is something for everyones taste!

I also don’t see this ‘Shetland Fad” going away any time soon…