Sorry Lynn, not everyone wants to show and/or breed. And many unregistered minis come from registered stock, as with Minx's Shortcake. Thankfully, there are people out there willing to take in such horses.
We recently lost an approximately 32 year old unregistered mini gelding. He taught us how to drive and was worth his weight in gold. He easily could have been competitive in driving, he was an excellent mover, with a natural headset, etc. He simply didn't have papers. Well, let me rephrase that--he did come with papers, but they obviously weren't his (not the seller's fault). Unfortunately, Dino was far from happy where he was, he was quite depressed, not eating, kept locked up by himself, etc. So, by buying this unregistered horse, my family learned how to drive and he wound up in a home that made him happy for his last several years. Would I do it again? You bet!