And some day maybe unregistered minis will have equal opportunities as well, but they have none now. Where would you ever see non-registered minis being accepted at a mini show? Heck, even registered minis have enough problems being shown what with constant measuring, which can be hit or miss from what I have read here these past several years. Unregistered large horses have tons of show opportunities every day...to compare them to unregistered minis is like apples and oranges...the only similarity is the shape.
If the foal has terrible conformation, shows signs of dwarfism, or has some problem that prohibits it from ever becoming a useful horse in the performance ot driving ring...that is different. I am talking about the many horses that just wouldn't bve "perfect" enough for a breeder to breed. And that too can be subjective.
If they are THAT bad, one should perhaps take a long hard look at one's breeding program. If a horse being produced by your farm isn't even good enough to be driven, or shown by a 4-H youth...that horse isn't the originating problem.
Sadly, that is only TOO TRUE, and one of the main reasons I have decided to get away from breeding. I see far-far too many horses being pumped out of both registered AND unregistered stock that are being bred only because they have reproductive organs...not because their foals will become a benifit to the breed.
The single thing with unregistered big horses, is there is jsut about tons mroe to do with one, not having papers isn't going to stop them from being an awsome horse. It won't stop them from being able to be trail riding horses, cow horses, or jsut plain old good kids horses. The options for big horses without papers are just so much more than mini's. I mean mini's you get one for a pet, you put 'em out in the yard and play with 'em. Or you can drive 'em, but that's about it. You want to get into just about any fun stuff, and you've GOT to have papers. Big horses you don't. We live adn work on a ranch, so being horseback is a job requirement. Out of the 7 QH's we have here, only 3 are papers, the other 4 aren't. Of those 4 that aren't one is my 2 yr olds horse, he was my old kid horse, an awsome all around babysit, wouldn't harm a hair ona kids hair horse. One is a PMU colt, and the other two are just general ranch horses. All are nice horses. Funny enough the worst one we have is a Skipper W bred AQHA red roan that would as soon as kick or paw your eyes out as look at you. One of my husbands best cow horses was a grade QH, tough as a boot in the rocks, knew how to keep his feet under him, and would watch a cow like a hawk. But again, it's just different with the big ones, there so many opportunities to have and use big horses without papers, that jsut isn't there with mini's.
What I am trying to get across is that just because a horse isn't HALTER material, shouldn't make it unworthy of registration. WHY should a horse with a not so perfect head/neck/croup ETC...be relegated to the backyard, rather than given a chance to shine in the ring in another dicipline?
The thing is--and I think this has already been said--there are SO many more opportunities for full size horses to show even when they aren't registered. They can do dressage, H/J, eventing, and any classes at the open shows--pleasure, reining, gymkhana, whatever. In this area, all of those things are available.MA that is a great point...Large horses- so many are not registered and are still highly sought after and bring darn good money as hunters/jumpers or west horses.
It all comes down minis being a breed that is bred to be bred.
