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Miniature Horse
Some Miniature Horses are bred to look like tiny riding horses. Others, like this one, have the chunkier look of draft horses.
This breed often works as therapy animals. They help children with emotional or physical disorders. They also visit nursing homes.
Height: Less than 9 hh (horse hands)
Color: Many Colors and Patterns
Body Type: Pony
This breed comes from...
United States
Explore the traits of this breed!
SIDE VIEW
Look at its long and silky coat. It has shaggy hair because it is "dressed" for winter.
This horse has white markings on a chestnut colored coat. It is a common color scheme for the breed.
This horse is no bigger than a large dog! At the withers, it is just 9 hands (36 in 91 cm) high. But Miniature Horses can be even smaller—as little as 5 hands (20 in, 51 cm) high.
This horse has muscular legs and a deep girth. These traits give it unexpected strength for its small size!
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FRONT and BACK VIEW
The Miniature Horse has a broad forehead, large eyes, and big nostrils.
Can you see the four white socks on its legs and a white stripe on its face?
Miniature Horses work as therapy animals in places like nursing homes. They sometimes wear tiny tennis shoes so they don't slip on smooth floors.
This horse's flaxen-colored tail is very thick. This trait reflects the breed's rugged Shetland Pony ancestry.
Look at its well-rounded muscular hindquarters. This trait enables the small breed to compete. It can jump obstacles or pull a tiny buggy in a driving competition.
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The Miniature Horse Story
Small horse breeds have been developed multiple times around the world. As early as the 1600s, European royalty kept small horses as pets.
One of the world's smallest pony breeds is the Shetland Pony. It was used as a "pit pony" in the coalmines of Great Britain in the 1800s. Strong and hardy, the pit ponies hauled coal. Many lived their entire lives underground. Pit ponies were also imported to work in Appalachian coalmines in the late 1800s. It is believed that the smallest of these ponies formed the foundation stock for American Miniature Horses.
Appaloosa | Arabian | Belgian Draft | Connemara | Dutch Warmblood | Friesian | Haflinger | Hanoverian | Icelandic Horse | Lusitano | Miniature Horse | Morgan | Oldenburg | Paint | Percheron | Quarter Horse | Selle Français | Thoroughbred
Credits:
All images, © AMNH