Re: Minis…
A good day to everyone!
I am a newbie to this group, but not to horses, nor specifically, to miniature horses, having owned, bred(until a couple of years ago) and trained Miniature horses since '84.
Miniature horses are a ‘height’ breed, but yes, most are bred down from Shetlands, and in some cases, probably other pony breeds; in the US, most decend from American Shetlands-used to be, American owners,especially of AMHA-registered miniatures, would DENY that the horses were basically Shetland in blood, but that has changed quite a bit over the years…In the American registries, height measurement is ‘from the last hair of the mane’-ridiculous, IMO, but I believe that many of the early owners/breeders of Miniature horses weren’t “horse people” in the sense of the word, and that’s what they chose to do! I believe that ADS created the VSE division in response to a ‘demand’ by those driving both A and R(34" is the height maximum in the AMHA; 38" the maximum in AMHR)HEIGHT(there is no requirement that the horses be registered in ANYTHING to compete in ADS VSE division, just that they meet the height restrictions) animals to compete in CDEs and similar venues. The designation of 38.98 inches(120 centimeters, if memory serves) at the WITHERS, was chosen; that would include all horses included in BOTH AMHA and AMHR.
All of my miniatures, until last year, have been 34" and under. However, I love driving and other performance, so last spring I bought a 38" mare to drive as a single; I wanted the addional ‘power’, yet needed to ‘stay small’-I am the one and only person available to work the horses, and am not a spring chicken, so need to be able to do this by myself! I do drive a pair; they are 32" and 34". I recently got a Glinkowski “mini mix” marathon carriage; weight is stated to be around 240-250 lbs.; I weigh around 175-180. Just lately actually got to hook and drive it(had Hardy Zantke in our nearby city last weekend for a clinic–what a GREAT learning experience THAT was!!)-drove the pair, who admittedly are NOT currently legged-up for any serious work. They did fine, but were tired at the completion, as the arena ground was far from ideal for little horses, despite efforts in that direction…consideration came from the clinician in that respect, and the horses were fine. That said—if I were to be able to try to seriously compete in VSE CDE(which I seriously doubt I ever will, for several reasons), I would want to have a maximum VSE-sized pair-or, use the single 38" mare(I have a mini Bennington two-wheeler; weight about 110 lbs., which I know to be accurate, BTW)-I would not need a navigator that way, so no more weight, either. I got the marathon vehicle mostly to have something sturdy enough to trail drive the pair. Larger ponies are simply not an option, given my circumstances. I have been very ‘tied-up’ with secretary and other duties of my mini horse club for a long time; look forward to being ‘free’ next year and beyond to participate more in area ‘fun’ ADTs and the like!
Based on my experiences, I DO believe that on average, many miniature horses are quite strong for their size. I ALSO believe that they are often overfaced, usually not by serious and knowledgable drivers, but by relative ‘newbies’, who may not understand things like the importance of ‘fitting’ and keeping fit, the horse(s). I believe that when properly fit, and with good common sense and knowledge applied, that many miniature horses can participate and be competitive. Personally, I would not attempt to compete seriously with ANY miniature under 32" in height; I believe nearer maximum height(38") is most preferable-and that in any case, all applicable factors about the animal(s) in question must be fairly taken into account-like age, soundness, body build, temperment, level of fitness, etc.,etc.-before judging how much can be asked of the horse.
Margo
But we didn’ tell him that–he thought he was 17 hands. :winkgrin:
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Either they’re all small ponies, or they’re all miniature horses! 
