Diastrophia dwarf?

[Sue_C.]

" Can a mini have a mild form of dwarfism that they don't even show? "

In answer to this question...undeniably, YES. There are far too many "Champions" being bred that are producing dwarves for this to be untrue. So for sure it is possible that a "perfectly" conformed horse can be a carrier.

Oh pooh...I STILL cannot post normally...how DO we fix this?

 

[ohmt]

To clarify what Sue C wrote, a horse can not be a dwarf without showing it physically, but most carriers do not show any traits and are able to produce dwarfs if the horse bred to also passes on a dwarf gene.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

To clarify even further what Suc and Amanda said, it is my opinion that not everyone "sees" the symptoms of dwarfism the same, so I believe that one person could look at a horse and not "see" any characteristics, but another person who maybe has more experience with the subject could "see" the tell tale signs. The characteristics are not always so blatant that just anyone could note them. Sometimes they can be frustratingly subtle. Fortunately, most cases are obvious.