Do y'all get offended by the term "Pony"?

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

I. I always thought the Miniature Horse was developed through selective breedings to downsize to the most possible perfect horse in miniature and the Standard still states that should be the goal. JMO

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I thought that as well until i reseached a bit and found out that dwarves were used in the early days so it sure wasnt selective breeding for the most perfect horse

but yes I agree that is and should be goal no matter what the size 30 and under or 38 and under

 

[Lost Spoke Ranch]

My first equine was an appaloosa POA (Pony of the America’s) pony and I loved him dearly, so what reason would there be for offense? However, since our miniature horses are registered as "miniature horses" that is how we refer to them.

Dawn

 

[opie7441]

[SIZE=14pt]I like to use that time to inform, if they are interested in learning. It doesn't bother us, fortunely the horses haven't heard a word of it. [/SIZE]

 

[Buckskin gal]

Interesting. The research I had done said there may have been a few breeders who were only interested in size but there were many who really strived for the conformation as well and I think it really shows up in our miniatures of today.

[]

I thought that as well until i reseached a bit and found out that dwarves were used in the early days so it sure wasnt selective breeding for the most perfect horse

but yes I agree that is and should be goal no matter what the size 30 and under or 38 and under

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[Relic]

l think the name MINIATURE HORSE should be changed to MINIATURE PONY. That makes it clear as day.

 

[horsehug]

Nope not at all.

As a matter of fact for years I have told those who come to my farm and ask if they are different from ponies....... that anyone who tells them they do not have pony blood in them is either lying or uninformed.

Most, if not all minis, can be traced back to Shetland roots......and if not Shetland, then other small ponies.

I do tell people that breeders have tried over the years to breed for more and more refinement or fine bones, than what many people think of when they hear the term pony, but it is still pony blood that has come down for many many years. And now we do call them registered miniature horses.

But in my view, miniature is another word for small, and ponies are small horses. I think it is a matter of semantics and also of the fact that when they were originally called midget ponies, the registries did decide to call them miniature horses so they would bring more money. I do not believe that is anything but a true fact. I remember reading about this particular part of the history of their name in an AMHA show book many years ago.

One of the farms I have dealt with for many years has the words Pony Farm in its name. It started out with some registered shetlands many years ago and when they bred down to where some of their horses were staying miniature size, they were able to start registering them as miniatures (both AMHA and AMHR were still open then) and because of the expense in keeping so many papers they let the Shetland papers go and now only have them registered as miniatures. But they have been a pretty closed herd and are the same blood they were in the years that they were a shetland farm.

So I have no problem at all telling people my miniatures are mostly of Shetland blood as well as some Falabella which also has Shetland in it as well as other blood.

After all. people are thrilled to say they have Buckeroo and Gold Melody and Rowdy heritiage, to name just a few who for sure go straight back to Shetlands.

Susan O.

 

[user 488]

Nope not at all. 
As a matter of fact for years I have told those who come to my farm and ask if they are different from ponies....... that anyone who tells them they do not have pony blood in them is either lying or uninformed.

Most,  if not all minis, can be traced back to Shetland roots......and if not Shetland, then other small ponies. 

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I totally agree Susan. I just don't get it. This topic gets brought up a lot and I cannot see getting upset over anyone calling them ponies. They ARE ponies as anything under 14.2 is a pony......PERIOD. Doesn't matter what breed. If I had a 14hh Arab..........it would be an Arab pony. It's that simple. There are way more important things in life to be upset about then people calling minis ponies. And I agree, the term Miniature Pony is much better suited. Guess Miniature Horse was just a more "marketable" name.

 

[horsehug]

Nope, I wouldn't mind if they were called Miniature Ponies at all!

Susan O.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Nope not at all. 
As a matter of fact for years I have told those who come to my farm and ask if they are different from ponies....... that anyone who tells them they do not have pony blood in them is either lying or uninformed.

I think it is a matter of semantics and also of the fact that when they were originally called midget ponies, the registries did decide to call them miniature horses so they would bring more money. I do not believe that is anything but a true fact.  I remember reading about this particular part of the history of their name in an AMHA show book many years ago. 

Susan O.

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Thanks for saying what I was trying to only saying it better

 

[Buckskin gal]

Interesting that the same horse would bring more money by just changing the name. Wonder if the Miniature Horse were renamed now to Miniature Ponies if the prices would fall? LOL

Nope not at all. 
I think it is a matter of semantics and also of the fact that when they were originally called midget ponies, the registries did decide to call them miniature horses so they would bring more money. I do not believe that is anything but a true fact.   I remember reading about this particular part of the history of their name in an AMHA show book many years ago. 

Susan O.

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[horsehug]

Mary (Buckskin Gal) ,

I have told people the truth about Pony blood in my horses for so many years and it has not hurt my market.

But people are funny...... and I guess it might affect a few.

You just never know!

Susan O.

 

[runamuk]

I think the novelty and marketability was created by the "false" idea that these were miniaturized horses.....ponies of that size had been well known for some time and the generations that grew up with them knew them to be ornery stubborn and willful.......so to create a selling point the WORD horse was used along with some of those still pervasive silly stories of how they came to be

I get more annoyed by people who believe the ONLY ponies out there are shetland

And I have co ownership in a purebred ARABIAN pony she is 14h on her tiptoes needing a trim

She is pony by height definition not by blood.......the miniature is both.

 

[Buckskin gal]

Susan, I too tell people that they have Shetland blood in them but the response I get most often is "they sure have nice dispositions compared to the Shetlands I have seen" Guess that comes from their own experience. I do know the miniature horses we have had are wonderful to train, intelligent and I love my miniature horses no matter what is way back in their heritage. I feel blessed to have them and thank the hard work of the earlier breeders for develping these wonderful horses.

Mary (Buckskin Gal) ,
I have told people the truth about Pony blood in my horses for so many years and it has not hurt my market. 

But people are funny...... and I guess it might affect a few.

You just never know!

Susan O.

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[billiethekid40]

Where then I will just let them know that my horses are "miniature horses" - anything above 38" and under "horse height" at the withers is what I consider a pony. 

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So once again we are brought back to the Shetlands. Now that we have Shetlands, registered Shetlands, staying under 38" and even under 34" you still say anything below 38" is NOT a pony? How can that be? At what point does *registered* Shetland PONY become not a pony, but HORSE?

I still stand behind the term pony as being anything under 14.2 hands high, wheter registered as a horse (like Arabians and Haflingers do) or a pony.

 

[MiniaturePrincess429]

OK, I usually don't get offended either, but actually argued with someone that said there was no such thing as a miniature horse, she kept telling me they were ponies and she had a minor in equine science so she should know, they were either horses or ponies, of course that ended my conversation with her.  I guess I should have pulled out my papers and said "See my "pony" is a registered miniature horse."  But I don't think I would have one the conversation anyway I looked at it. 

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I hate to bring this up BUT from a scientific standpoint they are ponies not horses....so your friend really is quite correct. The term miniature horse was coined as a marketing tool as people had overall a bad impression of ponies in general........they aren't truely scaled down horses they come from pony stock and most pony stock is derived from northern drafty breeds of ponies hence that distinctive pony look. Addmittedly the american shetland has some hackney blood which is a horse breed so if your miniatures come from known hackney lines then you do have some horse gene's back there a ways........

Me personally, I do and don't get offended. I do because well while you may argue that they are from pony lineage, they do not share "pony" characteristics. Plus if some one went up to you and said you Buckeroo linebred World, and National champion Stallion was a pony, I think you'd be offended. But I'm also not offended because, ignorance is a bliss and I will admit when I was younger, they were the "cute little ponies" to me. Flame Away

 

[Buckskin gal]

Ahhhhh but a pony is still a horse...it is just a small horse, according to proper definition.

 

[MiniaturePrincess429]

Ahhhhh but a pony is still a horse...it is just a small horse, according to proper definition.

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I AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[billiethekid40]

Ahhhhh but a pony is still a horse...it is just a small horse, according to proper definition.

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Ahh, and I never said different. What I DID say was that a pony is a pony and does not become ONLY a horse and lose its status as a pony just because he is under a certain height. In fact, he IS a pony because he is under a certain height!

Considering people still argue over whether an unregistered horse under 38" is still a miniature or "just a pony" the pony issue boggles my mind. If I lose my papers or sell my horse without them does he become a pony rather than a miniature horse just because I can't prove he a miniature horse? Wouldn't he have been a pony all along, but just one lucky enough to be registered as a certain breed?

 

[Chamomile]

I don't get offended and will tell people that they are Miniature Horses, BUT I call them ponies myself. I was raised with Shetland ponies, riding and driving, so it comes naturally!

Now I do want to address the statement that minis don't have pony characteristics. If I stood my minis next to the fence with a big horse at this time of year, I guarantee you will see the pony in them. They are fuzzy and stocky looking with all their winter finery. The big horses don't look like that... Also many mini horses don't shed in the spring as well as a big horse, they require some body clipping... and some mini horses bloat when eating green grass, not too many big horses tend to do that!! Those are a few things to think about. The feeding is a whole different ball game with the minis, they tend to lean more towards the feeding and care of a pony than a big horse. Just my two cents!

 

[shortymisty]

I guess what I was saying as that this person was so set on that there was no such thing as a miniature horse NONE!. Which, I do take offense. You can say their ponies, I call them ponies, I call them horses, what got me riled as this person, who is not around horses, claimed that there was no such thing as a miniature horse, so . . . if you call them miniature ponies, she would argue that point too. In her eyes its either a horse or a pony, end of her discussion.

So whileI am not offended, I could really care less, it did upset me that she was so adamant about there never been such a thing. Call them what you like, I will always call them my children, my babies and of course, my miniature horses.