Miniature Horses for Sale
Miniature horses are always referred to as “horses”, not ponies, because of their proportions, character and size. They are smaller than pony breeds. One of the myths of the miniature horse is that they are a throwback to Eohippus of the Eocene epoch which were only 10 to 20 inches tall. These Eohippus lived about 50 million years ago, both in North America and Europe. Another myth was that these little horses were found stranded in some box canyon where years of short rations had reduced them to today’s size.
We are very proud of the daily handling and care given to our miniatures here at Conners Farm. We provide proper nutrition and quality veterinary care to all of our animals. Our livestock is current on vaccinations, dental checkups, hoof care, and worming. The health of our animals is very important to us, and we follow rather strict practices. We maintain a closed herd, which means we do not bring in any new animals, embryos or semen. Once an animal is sold, it may not be returned. So that we do not unintentionally introduce disease into our herds, we do not bring our animals to shows, and we do not borrow or lend animals for breeding. We prefer weanlings do not leave Conners Farm before they are 6 months of age. They need time to grow and play with other weanlings, receive discipline from their mothers, and time to change their diet gradually to eliminate the desire for mother’s milk. This also enables Conners Farm time to deworm the weanlings and give them their first vaccinations. All miniatures come with Conners Farm health papers showing up to date vaccinations, deworming schedule, and hoof trimming schedule. If you need transportation, we can arrange ground transport within the US and Canada. To other countries, we can arrange air transportation on major airlines.
At Conners Farm, the average height of our broodmares is 30 inches. Most of our stallions measure 26 to 28 inches. Miniature horses come in an assortment of colors. The more rare colors include those of paint and appaloosa backgrounds. At Conners Farm we specialize in rare, unusual color patterns including horses with blue eyes. We have tobiano and overo paints and pintaloosas. Miniature horses are members of the equine family. Male horses are called stallions. Altered males are called geldings. Female horses are called mares. It takes a mare eleven months to have a baby foal. At birth, a baby foal weighs 20 to 30 pounds and can be 16 to 20 inches tall. They are weaned between 3 to 4 months of age. Miniature horses can live up to 35 years. They eat one pound of grain and one flake of hay per horse each day. Compare that to ten pounds of grain and five flakes of hay per horse each day for full size horses.
Actual documentation of the miniature horse goes back to the Renaissance period during the 14th and 16th centuries. In the 1850’s in France, the Empress wife of Napoleon III had a miniature horse to pull a small carriage. Miniature horses have also been found buried in tombs with the Egyptian Pharoahs. In Buenos Aires, Argentina in the mid -1800’s, Mr. Patrick Newtall and his son-in-law, Mr. Juan Falabella discovered some unusually small horses among the tribes of the Pampas Indians. Through successive crossings, they gradually built the first well proportioned miniatures under 38 inches tall. Even today, the Falabella bloodline is a pure strain with all ancestors tracing their origins to the Falabella Farm. As these small horses were being imported to the United States in the early 1900’s, Mr. Norman Fields of Bedford, Virginia started to raise them for working in the coal mines. By 1964, he had 50 miniature horses in his herd. Another breeder who contributed the most to develop and promote miniature horses in America was Walter Smith McCoy of Rodderfield, West Virginia. In 1956, as a hobby, he began collecting miniature horses under 32 inches and at that time had the largest herd in the world.
In early 1971, the American Miniature Horse Registry was founded and opened to all miniature horses that met height requirements of 38 inches and under. There were approximately 900 miniatures registered as foundation stock under the open registry. At the year end 1973, the registry was closed and only the offspring of registered animals were eligible for registration. There are two divisions of height in the American Miniature Horse Registry. Class A consists of horses measuring 34 inches and under while Class B consists of horses measuring 38 inches and under. In 1978, another registry was formed called the American Miniature Horse Association. This registry requires all horses to measure less than 34 inches in height.