Thumbelina on Regis & Kelly

[Dorrie & Frank]

Thumbelina has been on a tour of the talk shows because of the annual publication of Guiness World Record book. They actually gave time for an interview and I don't know the man who owns her but he did a very nice explanation that she is a genetic fluke, that we do not breed for dwarf features, she is a special one of a kind and they sold her parents to places where they would not be bred because of the prominence of the gene. He talked about miniatures and did a fair job in describing the breed and the industry. It was nice to finally see a good spokesman setting the record straight about standard minis versus dwarves.

 

[_minihorses4ever_]

I thought he did a very good job as well. I don't feel Regis was really understanding it all though.. Oh well, atleast he got the message out to viewers.

And Thumbelina is just the cutest little thing. She looked really fancy all decked out with her show halter.

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

I don't feel Regis was really understanding it all though

I don't think it is fair to expect him to. There are several miniature horse people, who themselves don't even understand it.
I understand it because it is something that interests me and I want to know all I can about it. Now, if you were to try and explain quantum physics to me.......forget it.

 

[Just Us N Texas]

I saw them on the Today show. Briefly gave him a chance to talk, and I feel he did a good job explaining that she was a total surprise to them and was not what they as breeders were expecting or wanting. I mentioned before that she was adorable and got somewhat flamed for it. My opinion still stands that I feel he did a good job, and she was absolutely cute! We all know that she is not what any of us want or are breeding for, and because of her, many others now know that. They are (the owners) are taking her to a lot of charitable events, and are raising money for their causes. My daughter has had the good fortune of meeting the young man's parents, and feels they are very nice and also are concientious breeders.

 

[HGFarm]

As long as they are educating people, and it sounds like they are, I dont see anything wrong with it. Many folks may not be aware of what a dwarf looks like, and I have known a couple of folks who got stung when they were new to Minis and bought a cute little thing, only to find out they had gotten stuck with a dwarf.

Dwarfism happens. It's a fact of life. Education is the best tool.

Plus, at least they are doing something positive with her as well and you can tell that she is the pampered princess and greatly loved. If she is what it takes to get folks to donate to help those in need, then so be it. It does not sound like she is being misrepresented in any way, nor are the Minis as a breed. She is living proof that life does not always give you what you think it should, and perhaps she makes folks think more to help the folks that need help.

 

[sfmini]

It is just a shame that they don't travel with a good quality mini to show what we are trying to produce....

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

It is just a shame that they don't travel with a good quality mini to show what we are trying to produce....

You know to me the bigger issue is not this one little dwarf who is frankly adorable..

but me and Raven were just talking about this

in all the horse breed books with pictures of different breeds all the minis are always fat stumpy hairy little things cute yes but certainly not what the breed is striving for

She recieved 2 horse books for Christmas and a book with pull out wall posters and while the minis are cute they look like mine in full winter coat.

I wish other breeds or I guess our registries would really make an effort to change that idea to the general public

 

[RAPfrosty]

It is just a shame that they don't travel with a good quality mini to show what we are trying to produce....

You know to me the bigger issue is not this one little dwarf who is frankly adorable..

but me and Raven were just talking about this

in all the horse breed books with pictures of different breeds all the minis are always fat stumpy hairy little things cute yes but certainly not what the breed is striving for

She recieved 2 horse books for Christmas and a book with pull out wall posters and while the minis are cute they look like mine in full winter coat.

I wish other breeds or I guess our registries would really make an effort to change that idea to the general public

I totally agree with your statement! I always noticed how minis shown in breed books or magazine articles are always overweight and usually poorly proportioned/conformed.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

I didn't see the interview as I don't generally get to see TV, but I would assume the guy with Thumbalina was Kay and Paul's son. He is the one who got the whole Guiness thing going with Thumbalina. Her owners are experienced mini breeders with many champions in their herd. They are genuine, kind and sweet people. They have given Thumbalina a wonderful life where she is treated like a princess and gets the BEST vet care money can buy.

I know that when my husband and I first met them it was to see one of their stallions (a Skip A Star son) who is the sire to one of our show mares. They were very gracious to us and when we met Thumbalina, Kay was VERY careful to explain that Thumbalina is not what is bred for and that the mare was sold to a non-breeding home as was the sire (after Kay had him gelded).

All of their horses are very well taken care of and the ones that go to trainers only go to those that have reputations of being VERY kind to the horses.

I think they are doing a good job at "promoting" Thumbalina and certainly are good "mini" people with big hearts. They are very active in the charitable community here in the St. Louis area and are very supportive of children's needs.

:

 

[Dorrie & Frank]

I agree about getting the word out about how beautiful our show horses are when they are being shown. We all love our fuzzy pajama minis but have our breath taken away by the same horses groomed for show and photos!

 

[Jill]

I saw that episode when it originally ran and I also thought that the owner of Thumbelina did a nice job of explaining about her and briefly miniature horses. Regis didn't get it, that's true. (oh, he's just annoying to me anyhow). However, I think the the "general" population would have processed the information in a similar way, or at least a lot of people would. Learning about miniature horses isn't probably interesting at all to most people! Of course, the interest level "we all" have could outweigh the lack of interest the general population would feel if it were something we could quantify :bgrin

 

[Little Bit]

I didn't get to see this particular interview, but it sounds as though Thumbalina's owners are great people and I REALLY have to commend them for doing the RIGHT thing with her sire & dam! I feel that is the only choice we have at this point in time, to reduce the number of dwarf foals being born each year! That and EDUCATION, the more people who know that dwarfism in the Miniature Horse IS a reality, the better the breed will be. I would like to stress that all breeders take the time to educate any prospective buyer that dwarfism IS a real part of the Miniature Horse breed and even hand out pictures of true dwarves, and minimal dwarves so people can see and know what to look for, especially if people are looking to getting into breeding these little horses! Not only dwarf characteristics, but conformation faults, such as bad bites, crooked legs, cow hocked legs, toeing in or out, too short a neck, etc... just all over conformation faults.

When I was looking for a little show filly years ago, I still remember the farms I visited and the breeders who thought they could sell me a horse with conformation faults as a show horse...needless to say I lost all respect for these people!

Unknowing people could have paid big bucks for these horses who certainly were NOT show quality horses little lone breeding quality.