Miniature horses are some of the cutest pets you can have. You have probably seen them in a catalog and wonder if they can be ridden. Smaller kids can ride a miniature horse. Kids up to 70 pounds can ride some of the bigger miniature horses. Bigger kids and adults can be pulled in a cart by the miniature horse. But after that age, bigger kids can still play with the horse as the horse can carry them in a cart.
The miniature horses are extremely likable so your kids will probably form a very strong bond with them. They can be up to 35 years old so the kids will have a playmate for all of their childhood. There are actually several miniature horse breeds you can get. I just spent more than half an hour searching Google and forums about these facts and the numbers I got were all over the place.
Definitely not reliable. So make sure you check the specific weight of the animal before you buy it. That being said, you should always ensure a horse is trained to carry a rider before allowing your children to ride. Miniature horses can be hard to train because adult riders are too big to teach them to be ridden. Most mini horses who ride are trained on the ground by adults and then a more knowledgeable child finishes their training under supervision. Some mini horses never learn how to truly be ridden or guided by a rider but rather, learn to carry a child while being led.
Miniature Shetlands are a smaller subset of mini horses and are often beloved by children. Though they are one of the stronger and tougher breeds, they are also smaller than even a typical mini horse and so should only accommodate kid riders up to 60 pounds.
As a bonus, they are incredibly cute! Just as with any other horse, you must wait until a miniature horse is developmentally ready before trying to ride or drive him. Young horses who are still growing should not have to carry or pull weight until they are mature. Miniature horses should not be ridden or taught to drive before the age of three. By waiting to ride or drive your miniature horse, you can help to insure she will be able to be enjoyed by your family for many years to come.
Their adorable looks make them perfect for showmanship and their ability to learn and bond means they excel at in-hand classes. You may not be able to ride them at a trot or through a jump course, but you can certainly lead them through! Another fun category in which to show minis is the costume class. Because of their short stature and easy-going nature, they are a breeze to dress up.
They are also relatively easy to maintain and inexpensive to boot. When you couple that with their friendly disposition, they make for excellent equine pasture companions.
The mini horse was first found in Europe in the 18th-century. The first mini horses pulled carts in mines, and some lucky ones became the pets of royalty. The first mini horses arrived in the United States in the 19th-century. These first US minis also work in mines, like their European counterparts.
In all other ways, build, temperament, and genetically minis are more like horses. One specific type of miniature horse is the Falabella. The Falabella originates in Argentina, where the breeder wanted to create the perfect horse in miniature.
Falabellas can trace their origins to a mixture of thoroughbreds, Shetland ponies, Arabians, quarter horses, and possibly the Welsh pony. The first Falabella arrived in the United States in You can enjoy many non-riding activities with a mini.
Because a mini costs less to feed, they make great companions to larger horses. If you do train your mini horse to carry a small rider, make sure it is safe to put a child on. Finally, use tack that fits the mini horse correctly, especially make sure the saddle does not sit too far on its back. If you have any questions, pop them in the comments below. As with most domestic animals, humans use selective breeding to produce desired traits. In this case, horses were bred to produce smaller and smaller offspring over several hundred years.
Some were bred from Shetland ponies and retain pony-like characteristics, but others are the product of breeding small horses and look very much like small Arabians or thoroughbreds. The Falabella is a gorgeous Argentinian miniature horse that resembles the Spanish Andalusian from which it is descended. Miniature horses were pets of nobility in the eighteenth century, but more commonly were used to work in coal mines, pulling heavy carts in the small tunnels of Ireland, England, and continental Europe.
Minis were brought over to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century to labor in coal mines here. When the ponies were replaced with machinery, they became popular as pets and today they are loved for their versatility and just darn cuteness.
Even though they cannot be ridden, minis are extremely versatile. I came to know minis as companion animals to full size horses. You can maintain two or three minis on the same acreage that would be needed for a full-size horse. There are shows all over the country for minis where they are shown in halter, confirmation classes, and in performance. Minis can do so much — in-hand trail obstacles, jumping the handler runs alongside , hunter, showmanship, and liberty!
But the real fun for many is teaching their mini to pull carriages, either singly or in matched teams. Imagine an obstacle driving class where a handler is guiding a team of minis around and through obstacles at a high rate of speed! Linda got the mini bug about 13 years ago, and bought Dually, a brown and white paint. She compares mini ownership to the addictiveness of potato chips and now has four, plus a Shetland pony.
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