Little Enstien

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Hey All,

I agree that he does look like he has some dwarf traits, which only time will tell if they manifest into more.I'm no expert as far as that is concerned. I do know that these people are doctors have plenty of money and love him to pieces. Although it may not be the ideal situation for many and they may not be the most horse savvy people in the world they don't seem to want anything more than to show off the little horse that they fell head over heals for and if he has a good home I'm okay with it. As far as people running out and sticking mini horses in their yard...breeding anything..... they are already doing that, take a look at craigslist sometime. I know this is probably going to get me flamed but it's just my opinion. I just don't think we should knock these people down because they really are decent people. And I do think their heart is in the right place because they sure don't need the money. As a side note I think the horses that I have seen on this site are beautiful beyond compare but please remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder. P.S. No I am not personal friends with them but I am friends with someone who is.
 
Splash's Mom-thank you for that post. I agree with you 100%
 
Consider if Einstein had been born back in the early days of the miniature horse, when it was all about the tiniest horse possible. He would certainly have been used for breeding and would probably show up in many bloodlines. Some of the historical miniature horse stallions look much worse.

The only way things changed with breeding through education -- those who cared spoke up, and today ethical breeders recognize that dwarfism, though often cute and tiny, can mean a life of pain for the horse.

Oprah is so involved in the ethical treatment of animals that she should be open to a well-spoken, reasonable advocate for healthy, normal minis informing her about the tragedy of dwarves. Not a mass of hysterical protests, but an intelligent, calm spokesperson.

I'd vote for an expert such as John Eberth, or one who has owned a number of dwarves, such as Bill or Janelle (Little Bit).

Educating Oprah and the public about why dwarves do not make good pets and showing a good example of a mini is newsworthy. Demanding that she show the AMHR or AMHA champions will sound self-serving and most likely be ignored.
 
I was not going to add my two cents to this threat, but why not, it's a public forum and what it is here for. I have watched Oprah for years and am a big fan of hers. The show in which this horse was featured on simply featured amazing animals in the world. A dog that rides a skate board, an elephant and dog that are best friends, a girl that is obsessed with spiders, etc. I am sure the people that raise bulldogs are not up in arms about their breed being misrepresented by having a bulldog ride a skateboard. It is cute and amuzing to the average joe. I have had horses all my life and enjoyed the clip about Einstein. Do I think he is perfect...no I don't. My years of breeding minis tells me that. Does my next door neighbor think he's perfect...absolutely. She isn't a horse person and doesn't know any different. She saw a beautiful little horse that was loved by his owners...and I truly do believe he is loved. She called me so excited and thought it was a great story.

In the rough economic times, when a quality breeder is having difficulty selling thier quality horses, myself included, I think this was good publicity for the miniature horse breed. It was an introduction of our breed to the world. Was it the best sample to choose...no. If they had featured Miss Kentucky on the show, it wouldn't have gotten people as excited I don't think...because she is not a "novelty". She is perfect in my eyes...but in the eyes of any average joe, they would say, yes she is a pretty miniature horse, but what's so special about her???. But bring Einstein on the stage who is going after the world record as the smallest horse in the world, now that is what catches peoples attention. I still will never forget the first time I saw the woman on TV that had the longest fingernails in the world....had they shown people with just long finger nails I wouldn't have remembered...but they showed the woman with the longest, and that I remembered 25 years later! Get where I am going with this???

This Oprah episode introduced the miniature horse to the world...to many people who didn't likely know they existed. This ten minutes of fame on Oprah did more promoting for our breed and introduced our breed to more people than AMHA, AMHR, the Nationals, the World Show, magazines, private advertising, etc. could have done. 25 million plus people saw a cute little horse on the Oprah show, and for those that do take an interest because of it and go out and want to buy a mini, hopefully they will be informed by the people they are purchasing from and educated about our breed. Some will not, that I know, but hopefully good things can come from the Oprah show. Bad things will result as well. Its no different than when Walt Disney releases a movie featuring a certain dog...there is a large increase in the number of those dogs on the market and sadly even larger numbers in the pounds six months later.

A few weeks back, I saw a post on Facebook that AMHA posted stating they had been contacted by the Oprah show. Never heard anymore about it but I think it is safe to assume that it was in reference to this story. If Einstein is so obviously a dwarf I guess AMHA or AMHR shouldn't have registered him if he is a registered horse. As far as the harness, I found it a little odd too, but the more I thought about it, can you imagine how hard it would be to lead him safely with a halter when he is so little. Maybe this is a little better way...I am not defending it, I just like to look at things from different perspectives.

I think this horse is truly loved by his owners. I think they are very proud of him. There are some spectacular breeders in this world that do some pretty horrible things to horses in order to make them win in the show ring. There is plenty of abuse that happens by members of our own breed, by some of our trainers, and some of the owners. Some of the things that I see some show horses put through for our simple enjoyment sickens me. Some of it just goes too far, and to be quite honest, when I walk through a horse barn on a 110 degree day and see horses double wrapped in neck sweats, etc. it bothers me. These horses don't seem happy to me. Some spend more time in a trailer and stall than they do a pasture. What a life. This is just one example, and we all know the extremes that people will go to in order to win. So when I see a horse that is loved the way that it is by these people, it makes me happy, as there are many, many, many animals in this world who are not loved.

I remember the horse that made me fall in love with Miniature horses when I was a kid. Smidget, the worlds smallest horse. He had his own fan club and I was a member. Clearly now I know he was a dwarf...but as I child I dreamed of one day owning a little horse like him. It's like the lady said on the Oprah show...what little girl doesn't dream of owning a tiny little pony...

In closing, while maybe this little horse isn't the perfect example of the miniature horse breed, Einstein is a much better example than what has previously been protrayed...and we are moving in the right direction. People are taking this a bit too serious in my opinion, and hopefully it will generate interest in our market that has been struggling in recent years. It isn't going to stop the junk breeders, it isn't going to stop the rich from buying a tiny little pony no matter the quality, and we can't rely on Oprah to educate the world about every aspect of our breed of horses in her short clip about a cute miniature horse. This little horse has created quite a buzz.

I just wanted to voice my views and am sure I will condemmed as it goes against what most on this thread feel. But sometimes you just have to speak what you feel, so please don't bash me for my opinion. Thank you.
 
Very well said Wildhorses.
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In regard to the use of the dog harness...don't know if this could be the "why" of it, but just made me wonder...could it be because they haven't found a halter small enough to actually fit him correctly? So the next best thing was a dog harness? Again, don't know if that's why, just a thought.
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I wouldn't be surprised that he wasn't in a halter to show off his head/face.

This even possibly could have been the show's request and not the owners' choice.

The reason I say this is we've been filmed with our Great Danes for a couple shows that have been on tv and one of them "That's My Baby" that was on Animal Planet wanted us to actual recreate and even fake some things.
 
I remember the horse that made me fall in love with Miniature horses when I was a kid. Smidget, the worlds smallest horse. He had his own fan club and I was a member. Clearly now I know he was a dwarf...but as I child I dreamed of one day owning a little horse like him. It's like the lady said on the Oprah show...what little girl doesn't dream of owning a tiny little pony...
I remember Smidget, at least in name and that he was a little miniature horse.
 
As far as the harness, I found it a little odd too, but the more I thought about it, can you imagine how hard it would be to lead him safely with a halter when he is so little.
I can imagine it - and it is VERY easy to lead a mini around when they are that little - why would it be especially hard? Have his two "nannies"/trainers not taught him that? Yes, there are halters that are very small - I am looking at one now. One that all our smaller foals have learned to lead and tie in - and they never had any difficulties with the concept. I am sure that it would fit Einstein just fine. He just does not look all that astoundingly little to me - I will bet there are other young minis out there that are his size. He just seemed to be annointed "the smallest horse" and that has always puzzled me...

I am not sure if he is just butt high in a growth spurt or if that is all hair that gives him a bit of a roachbacked look - but it sort of reminds me of a mini colt I worked with years ago who had scoliosis. It got worse as he grew older...

I doubt that the harness was the show's idea - wouldn't it be better if he looked more like a horse than a dog and actually wore a halter to emphasize that point?

I hope his exposure on Oprah will not backfire - many people will think all minis are that little, will always stay that little and that you can simply plop one in your backyard...
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You know, wildhorses, very well said. I certainly see your points.
 
I was not going to add my two cents to this threat, but why not, it's a public forum and what it is here for.

sometimes you just have to speak what you feel, so please don't bash me for my opinion. Thank you.
Thanks very good points, I must say even an extra small does not fit my little foals even at 4 months, have to put a knot in them.

So just might of been safer to have the harness.
 
I can say without a doubt there would be no trouble at all finding a halter to fit that colt, he just is not that small. I am pretty sure that the harness was just the owners way of saying " see how small he is, we cannot even find a halter to fit"

That is a very mild deceit, but it is a deceit, nonetheless.

I personally object to all the hype around him. He is not that small.

He is not that good.

We need Oprah to have the Champion under 28" and Bill and Wanna Lee's Brat Pack on her show, and just give five minutes to showing the difference.

Even if you could get a Dwarf for nothing (and if you give a pint of blood as payment you sometimes can) you would still be left paying the price of a Champion in Vet bills.

If Thumbelina and Einstein are what the public truly see as Minis and what the public wants then what on earth are we doing trying to breed really really good ones?

I have a colt who is perfect and 23 1/2" (to the withers) at seven months.

Should I call Oprah???
 
It has been made very clear that Thumbalina is a dwarf and not a registered Miniature. Nobody has ever claimed she was not a dwarf.

As to Einstein, we are all still rather assuming at this point on something that I feel only time will tell. He could just have poor conformation with his back and rear end.

I dont feel it is fair to pick on why they used a harness vs. a halter on Einstein. What difference does it make? I dont think it was done to deceive anyone. And non horse people would not even know the difference- so what is the point about ridiculing what they used as a control device while he was on the stage? I dont get it.

Rabbits, it sounds like your foal is in about the same size range as Einstein- a nice letter to Oprah, or the records book, would maybe put him in the competition for Worlds Smallest? Join in the fun.
 
Not to start anymore conflict but I was reading on an online article that Einstien has already had to have one back surgery to help him "walk correctly".. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this??
 
I have been watching this post with great interest and do not wish to comment on details. However, Einstein HAS been registered with the AMHA and I would have thought that they would have looked at his pictures a lot more closely than some because of all the publicity that surrounds him. On looking up his AMHA pedigree it is clear that there is a lot of very small breeding behind both the sire and the dam so it is not really a surprise that he was born so small. Having said this, and looking at everything that has been said about his current height ect ( and from personal experience of these bloodlines) I would expect him to finish up in the 27-28" range. Time will tell.
 
I've not heard about him having any back surgery and at the length of his hair coat, it certainly was not recently as it is all grown in the same length. Sounds like a rumor to me, but you can always contact who ever wrote the article and ask where they got their facts.

What I dont get is how can they declare him the worlds smallest horse with the book of records when he wont be done growing for two or three years?
 
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What I dont get is how can they declare him the worlds smallest horse with the book of records when he wont be done growing for two or three years?
I think the title he actually holds is the smallest horse at birth...as to the other, he will have to mature first, as I understand it.
 
Ah, thanks for the clarification, but wouldnt they have had to do an official measurement and all the other stuff they do then to put it in the records, or did they? (folks from the record book to verify)
 
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Meet-Einstein-One-of-the-Smallest-Horses-in-the-World/5

In this picture above - he looks dwarfy to me. The roached back is not normal. I have had several normal quality foals born as small as 15" and they never went through a stage where they had a roached back like that. I have seen roached backs in many dwarfs though. IMO, Einstein still has undesirable characteristics and I hope he is eventually gelded. I wish they had a picture of his bite as in one picture it looked like it was off.
 

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