A or B, which do you prefer?

[Diva's Girl]

All of the mini breeders I have found in my area all like the really small A minis, even for driving horses. I rarely see the B minis if at all and usually they are double registered Shetlands.

Which do you prefer, A or B and why?

 

[chandab]

I like the Bs; partially because I'm nearly 6' tall and those little As would be hard to reach. [i do have a couple As, and do really love them too, but my heart is with my AMHR B-size horses.]

 

[wingnut]

All my girls, and now my new colt are "A" size. Starting with the boy, who is 30.75" up through my tallest at 33.75". I prefer them to be in 30+. Just my preference that I've come to develop. I can't explain why though.

 

[Jenny]

I like the taller B minis. I am, of course, completely biased as my guy is 36". He's a double registered Shetland though.

 

[REO]

I love them all, CONFORMATION comes first.

But I've always raised A sized minis.

 

[susanne]

When we adopted Mingus, I had no idea what a mini was (other than having red bout Falabellas) -- he needed a home and we needed him. As he filled out and regained his health, he turned into a gorgeous colt, with long legs and beautiful proportions. As a two-year-old, he measured 37 inches, and a friend who bred minis said that he "wasn't really a mini" and suggested he was a Shetland (as if this were a bad thing). I later hardshipped him into AMHR, so he was indeed a mini, and he set my tastes for what a mini could look like.

These days, his height and conformation are not unusual, but my greatest love is for the bigger Bs. I love the look and I love the movement. I see more and more tinies with beautiful conformation, leggy and refined, but their movement, while beautiful in its own right, is not to my taste.

I admire them all and have small horse "nieces" and "nephews" that I dearly love, but my horse of choice is the tall, leggy B.

 

[MyMiniGal]

I've only had one mini, of my own, but have been around ones that were taller than her...she is 31.5", so an A. Personally, I would love to have one around 28-29", for a therapy horse, something that I really want to do, someday, when I am more experienced. I have always preferred smaller pets...not real fond of big dogs, etc. I think that is due to my own size...5 ft. 1 in. on a good day. LOL

 

[amysue]

I agree with what others have said about conformation coming first. I have found, and it is just my opinion that many B minis have more horse like characteristics and less chubby stereotypical pony like characteristics as some of the old blood A minis do. I also find that some of the B minis have more diverse genetics and sometimes louder color. I have only been able to base the opinion on horses in my region, as those are what I have examined the most. I breed both, as there are not a lot of R shows in my area so local buyers prefer the smaller foals. However the B minis can sometimes be childrens ponies and I sell a great deal of those. I like them both for what they have to offer.

 

[eagles ring farm]

Both have a great deal to offer...so a hard choice even though we have chosen to breed A size although we have 1- 37" mare

whom we breed to our 29.5" stallion and her foals with him so far have matured under 34"

there is alot of refinement in the smaller miniatures now which is what we prefer for our breeding program

But the old style chunky legged minis are cute too, just often not doing well in halter in the show ring.

So I like both but breed for amha size and registered foals and of course as mentioned conformation first

 

[Dreamer]

I agree with others that have said that confirmation comes first. That being said I tend to prefer the leggier look of the taller As (32" - 34") or the Bs. My boy is 36"(not a shetland) and he is a nice hieght. I also prefer the taller As or Bs for driving. A little more speed that way and I prefer how they look proportianately in the cart.

 

[MindyLee]

All "A" here!

 

[Diva's Girl]

When we adopted Mingus, I had no idea what a mini was -- he needed a home and we needed him. As he filled out and regained his health, he turned into a gorgeous colt, with long legs and beautiful proportions. As a two-year-old, he measured 37 inches, and a friend who bred minis said that he "wasn't really a mini" and suggested he was a Shetland (as if this were a bad thing). I later hardshipped him into AMHR, so he was indeed a mini, and he set my tastes for what a mini could look like.

My 36in mare, Diva, was also similarly critiqued when a friend compared her to their more refined Arabian-like A mini. They had told me that she couldn't be a true mini because she had too big of a head when in fact she just has a different body type than theirs.

 

[Danielleee]

I like the tiny ones but I also like the tall ones. And the inbetween. Depends completely on the horse. Size doesn't matter if the horse is awesome in all other ways!

 

[disneyhorse]

I'm a sucker for a big trot... So usually it's taller horses. If they made a hackney pony 31" tall though I'd be in heaven....

 

[susanne]

.

Ditto Disney's comment.

.

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

I love the A's, I like the minis and their temperaments and I like the smaller size. If I wanted a hackney looking, saddlebred looking, or moving horse I would buy one of those . Just my honest opinion.

Just wanted to add also that I have had B size minis too, I like them but just prefer the A's. All horses are neat in their own ways but it just comes down to personal preference, none are better than the others.

 

[disneyhorse]

Everyone always says "If you want a hackney just buy one"... But while my mini Jerald fit in my trailer tack room, my 72" pony shafts do not. My pony also eats a heck of a lot more than a mini. I don't see why I can't want a hackney pony in a lot smaller package!!! They DO have park harness and roadster for minis, after all!!!

 

[BSharpRanch]

Cross hackneys and minis and breed the hackneys down in size. Keeo only the ones who move. Start your own registry. In,oh, abiut 15-39 years you will have a new breed od miniackneys!

 

[Barefootin]

We prefer the "A" minis. We are not fans of the big movement of some the Shetlands and "B" minis. Nothing wrong with it just not our cup of tea. We do have a filly reg AMHR we think will go to "B" size and one other mare as well but all other minis are "A" size. We have LOTS of size variety at our place. We do therapy work with all ages from babies a few months old to adults. Somehow the "B" minis just don't have a place right now in what we do.

 

[Minimor]

Prefer the B size here. We have one 33" gelding, several that are 34" and most are 36-38". I also have ponies up to 44" but my favorites are those that are 40-42"

While not heavy I am tall and would look silly driving a horse smaller than 33". I like my horses to have longer legs and better/bigger movement so the Bs and the smaller Shetlands suit me better.

And no, thank you very much, I do not want bigger horses, I had Morgans and a Saddlebred, and now prefer the smaller ones. Even Hackneys are bigger than I want. The lovely thing about

ASPC/AMHR--I can have small size replicas of the breeds I loved for so long.