What is the origin of the miniature horse?
Over the past 100 years there has been a great amount of disagreement regarding the origins and genetic characteristics of miniature horses. Some miniature horse breeds such as the Falabella horses of Argentina were developed in a totally separate environment from the tiny European miniature horses of the eighteenth century, and independent breeding programs have been established on every continent. In the USA in the 1960s, these horses were called midget ponies, while in South America they were known as Falabella horses. In the 1970s a movement arose to change the name of tiny horses to miniature horses, and many registries were established with standard sizes ranging from 28 inches to 38 inches. Because our Guide Horses are considerably smaller than miniature horses, we call them pigmy horses, both out of respect for the miniature horse registries and to ensure that the Guide Horses are not confused with any one of the numerous registry standards for miniature horses. Click here to l
