American Miniature Horse
A registered stallion of Arab type
Conservation status
Other namesAmerican Miniature
Country of originUnited States
StandardAmerican Miniature Horse Association
Traits
Height
  • not over 38 in (97 cm)
Colorany

The American Miniature Horse is an American breed of small or miniature horse. It has been selectively bred to display in miniature the physical characteristics of a full-sized horse, and usually stands no taller than about 38 in (97 cm). It frequently has the appearance of either a small Arab or a small draft horse; genetically it is no different to pony breeds such as the Shetland.[3]: 434 [4]: 432 

History

The American Miniature Horse was developed in the twentieth century.[5]: 168 [6] It appears to derive at least in part from animals brought to the USA from the United Kingdom.[5]: 168  These may have included British and Dutch pit ponies imported in the late nineteenth century and used until the mid-twentieth century in the coal mines of the eastern and central United States, and some descendants of small horses bred in England in the first half of the twentieth century by Lady Estella Mary Hope and her sister Lady Dorothea.[5]: 168 

In 1972 the American Shetland Pony Club started a separate stud-book for the American Miniature, the American Miniature Horse Registry.[5]: 168 [7] A second breed association, the American Miniature Horse Association, was formed in 1978.[5]: 168 [8]

In 2005 almost 150000 horses were registered in the American Shetland Pony Club stud-book, and the American Miniature Horse Association register held over 160000.[5]: 170 

The American Miniature is widely distributed in the United States, and is also present in Germany and the United Kingdom.[5]: 170 [9][10]

Characteristics

The American Miniature has been selectively bred to display in miniature the physical characteristics of a full-sized horse. It frequently has the appearance of either a small Arab or a small draft horse.[3]: 434  Although its appearance is horse-like, it is genetically no different to pony breeds such as the Shetland.[3]: 434 

The American Shetland Pony Club registers horses in two sections: section A is for horses no taller than 34 in (86 cm), and section B for those standing up to 38 in (97 cm).[3]: 434  The American Miniature Horse Association does not register any horse standing over 34 in (86 cm).[5]: 168 [11] Height is not measured to the withers, as is usual in horses, but to the root of the last hair of the mane.[5]: 168 

All coat colors, eye colors, coat patterns and markings are equally acceptable for registration.[5]: 170 [11] Some colors that are rare in full-sized American horses are seen in the breed, such as bay silver dapple – light bay with white mane and tail and black legs.[5]: 170 

References

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  1. ↑ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. ↑ Breed data sheet: American Miniature / United States of America (Horse). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
  4. ↑ Élise Rousseau, Yann Le Bris, Teresa Lavender Fagan (2017). Horses of the World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691167206.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Judith Dutson (2005). Storey's Illustrated Guide to 96 Horse Breeds of North America. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. ISBN 9781580176132.
  6. ↑ About the Breed. American Miniature Horse Association. Archived 30 April 2014.
  7. ↑ American Miniature Horse. Morton, Illinois: The American Shetland Pony Club. Archived 14 December 2006.
  8. ↑ The Association. American Miniature Horse Association. Archived 1 April 2013.
  9. ↑ Breed data sheet: American Miniature Horse / Germany (Horse). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2022.
  10. ↑ Breed data sheet: American Miniature Horse / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Horse). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2022.
  11. 1 2 Breed Standards. American Miniature Horse Association. Archived 1 April 2013.
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