Mini and Midi Sizes
The Falabella can vary in size and there is no height restriction for registration. There are other Miniature Horse breeds are more specific when it comes to size.
Size of the Falabella
The original horse of the Argentine, which Patrick Nutall acquired in 1845, were around 1 m at the withers. His son-in-law Senior Juan Falabella perfected the herd to maintain a size around 75 - 85 cm. His son Julio Cesar started recording the genealogy of the little horses, when he inherited the stud and knowledge of the breed from his father in 1927. Subsequent Falabella breeders around the world have aimed to produce the smallest size whilst still maintaining the stature of a horse. The Falabella aims to be around 28" - 34", but there are taller Midi sized Falabellas up to 40", which can be ridden by small children and are excellent for pulling carts.
The Falabella can range from fine Arabian types to stockier ones resembling the Criollo horse.
Miniature Horse Breeds
Although the Falabella is considered the original Miniature Horse, there are other Mini Horse breeds: The American Miniature and British Miniature horse are refined little horses with fine legs and small heads and should be a perfectly scaled down version of a quality riding horse. In order to be registered with the AMHA (American Miniature Horse Association) and the BMHS (British Miniature Horse Society), the horse must not exceed 34" when fully grown.
As of 2023, we have only retained a few of these beautiful small horses and we are have wound down the breeding program.
The American Shetland Pony
A few years ago I found myself interested in yet another rare breed. The American Shetland Pony descended for Shetland Ponies brought to the US in the late 19th Century. The Foundation type American Shetland is a result of breeding these 75 imported ponies. The Foundation American Shetland is the closest to the original form, but still significantly less coarse. My interest was awoken to see a breed develop simultaneously, yet so differently on two different continents.
Due to their size of 37" - 42", these beautiful horses are considered midi ponies.
What does Partbred mean?
Many Miniatures are part bred in nature. This means that the parents are of different breeds to each other. Part Bred Miniatures come in many shapes and sizes and a range of colours. Our part bred Miniature Horses are registered with the International Miniature Horse and Pony Society and are therefore considered International Miniature Horses.
If you are looking for a purebred Falabella or American Miniature Horse, make sure that they are registered with the Breed Specific Studbook.
