When Is A Miniature Horse A Pony

[Sterling]

I love talking miniature horses to people who come visit the farm. I had a mother and daughter come to buy some brown egg laying chickens this past week. In all the hustle and bustle of the excitement for them being on the farm and seeing little horses a lot of comments were thrown around along with giggling and laughing and just a good 'ol time. Later as I reflected on the good time and sharing my horses....I realized we did not get deep into conversation on "miniature Horse" and ponies. The question was not asked to me directly and thats ok because they just enjoyed being here and enjoyed the boys. So when you get in conversation with someone who does not know the miniature horses well...what do you tell them about our miniature horses? Are they ponies....or horses.....and how deep into that do you go?

 

[ForeverFarma]

Well, if you want to split hairs, by definition of HEIGHT, all minis are indeed ponies- ponies are less than 58 inches tall, so therefore would include minis. By definition of BREED, however, they are horses since they retain a horse phenotype.

As far as discussing what they are with folks unfamiliar with them, horse or pony works fine with me. I doubt a non horse person would really get the gist of what I'm saying any way if I tried to explain the difference. I do however unscrew my head when they refer to them as dwarf horses, mistakingly thinking just because they are small, they must be dwarves. That's when I have to explain the huge difference.

 

[RhineStone]

I would say they aren't Miniature Horses unless they are registered minis or come from reg. stock (which is still techically "grade" and would be a pony, so calling it a "mini" would be stretching it). "Pony" is a generic height term, while "Miniature Horse" is a breed term.

For example, I can have a Quarter Horse that isn't registered and it would be considered a "grade" horse. I can have a QH that measures as a pony, and it is still a pony because it is 58" (or 56" or whatever measurement the show you go to uses).

I can have a registered English Shetland that measures under 38" that isn't a Miniature Horse unless it is registered with a breed registry.

Now, if an open show has classes for Miniature Horses and doesn't ask for papers, I would show my horse in that class for safety's and logic's sake, just like if they had classes for QH, Apps, and Paints even though some of those horses may not have papers. You wouldn't put stock-type horses in an English-type horse class.....

Myrna (who has 16HH "ponies" in the paddock, because every day we go out and "feed the ponies"

)

 

[Anne]

Ponies, are defined by height AND registry for ex, ASPC, Hackney, etc

Grade horses of a certain height are "ponies"

Miniature horses are defined by and registered based on height, at least until the

registries are completely closed.

So by definition miniature horses are still "ponies"

 

[disneyhorse]

Miniature horses ARE ponies, period. They are small horses.

The miniature "horse" thing came in as a marketing ploy which obviously made an impact.

People try to say they "look" like a full size horse (even though they don't all really have the proportions any more than the American Shetland pony does).

At any rate, you can say they are a Registered Miniature Horse, but really all small equine are ponies by definition. And all ponies are "horses" as in equine. So it's just a matter of semantics no matter how you argue it!

Andrea

 

[Mona]

I always told people that they are registered as Miniature Horses, but that some Miniature Horses can also be registered Ponies through other registries, because their breeding/bloodlines make them a pony, yet their size allows them to also be registered as a Miniature Horse. I also went on to say that realisticly, most Miniatures are just bred down ponies anyway.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Nothing bugs me more than someone turning their nose up at me and telling me that their horses aren't "ponies", but "miniature horses". I laugh at them and ask if they're under 14.2? Then they're ponies. All minis are ponies.

Heck, I even call drafts ponies, but technically that's incorrect

 

[Eohippus]

Well, if you want to split hairs, by definition of HEIGHT, all minis are indeed ponies- ponies are less than 58 inches tall, so therefore would include minis. By definition of BREED, however, they are horses since they retain a horse phenotype.

As far as discussing what they are with folks unfamiliar with them, horse or pony works fine with me. I doubt a non horse person would really get the gist of what I'm saying any way if I tried to explain the difference. I do however unscrew my head when they refer to them as dwarf horses, mistakingly thinking just because they are small, they must be dwarves. That's when I have to explain the huge difference.

I would say they aren't Miniature Horses unless they are registered minis or come from reg. stock (which is still techically "grade" and would be a pony, so calling it a "mini" would be stretching it). "Pony" is a generic height term, while "Miniature Horse" is a breed term.

For example, I can have a Quarter Horse that isn't registered and it would be considered a "grade" horse. I can have a QH that measures as a pony, and it is still a pony because it is 58" (or 56" or whatever measurement the show you go to uses).

I can have a registered English Shetland that measures under 38" that isn't a Miniature Horse unless it is registered with a breed registry.

Now, if an open show has classes for Miniature Horses and doesn't ask for papers, I would show my horse in that class for safety's and logic's sake, just like if they had classes for QH, Apps, and Paints even though some of those horses may not have papers. You wouldn't put stock-type horses in an English-type horse class.....

Myrna (who has 16HH "ponies" in the paddock, because every day we go out and "feed the ponies"

)

Agreed. I think these two posts pretty much sum up what I try to explain to people and what I feel, especially about the registry (even if its not "closed"). You can't argue with genetics and the point about an unregistered QH being a grade horse is very true. Even if its background is papered QH's it doesn't matter when that horse doesn't have its papers. It still cant' be called a QH, show in QH shows, or anything like that so its essentially a grade horse. I know I always tell people that they're miniature horses, especially because theres a lot of negativity with pony attitudes!

 

[Relic]

Oh wow in my neck of the woods anything under 34 is a miniature horse

anything over is a pony

and omg shetlands from what l gather seems to be a dirty word people want to sweep under the rug so they don't have to deal with them

must be a regional thing or something l really like shetlands and love my miniatures and the handful of ponies we have..

 

[~Lisa~]

To answer the question in the topic..

When is a miniature horse a pony?

one word answer... ALWAYS

 

[shadelady]

To answer the question in the topic..

When is a miniature horse a pony?

one word answer... ALWAYS

Amen to that

 

[Poodlepill]

Ok now, I thought all miniature horse owners scowl and reject the term "pony" in reference to their mini's....LOL now you are all saying they ARE ponies!! Thats it I AM calling my shorties ponies!

Also I thought ponies had an extra bone in their leg? wives tale yes/no?

 

[Appsolutely]

Well, I still cannot understand this, you can register a shetland in AMHR, but cannot register a 38" AMHR as a Shetland...go figure And these are the same registry.

 

[JennyB]

Well, I still cannot understand this, you can register a shetland in AMHR, but cannot register a 38" AMHR as a Shetland...go figure And these are the same registry.

That is because to be a registered Shetland(ASPC)a pony must have reg. ASPC Parents and ALL have pedigree's back to the 1800's. Miniature Horses unless reg. with ASPC don't have much pedigree's.

 

Years ago before most of us were born, Reg. and non-reg. breeders didn't like having foals that were tiny, so they sold them without papers and eventually the foals from those tiny mares and stallions made their way into the AMHA/AMHR registries. Plus AMHA and IMHA dumped the Shetland papers(ASPC) into the trash. They didn't want anyone claiming their "Miniature Horses" had ANY Shetland pony blood, but they do...they most certainly do

 

Jenny

 

[Lori W]

I love it when people - especially children - see my little equines (miniature horses, ponies, whatever) and ask "Is that a baby?" or "How big will it get when it grows up?". It's so much fun explaining! I just keep the explanation at the level of the person and try to find a common point of reference they can relate to. One I often use is the difference between a toy poodle and a regular or standard size poodle. Works for me!

 

[mizbeth]

Lisa is correct.

GENERALLY speaking they are Ponies. Specifically (which is a bit more than new folks can digest at one time), they are Shetlands, Miniatures, different types in each of those categories and registeries and so on.

 

[midnight star stables]

Miniatures ARE ponies. Some ponies can be miniature.

Ponies in general are recognized by their height of under 14.2 hands. Miniatures are recognized by their height of under of under 38".

I think the confusion comes with ASPC Shetland Ponies, as they are a breed recognized by their pedigree on their paperwork. AMHR/AMHA miniature horses however, are recognized by the height on their paperwork and not their pedigree.

Here are my ponies:

Joy is AMHR/AMHA

Dove is AMHR/ASPC

Both my cute little miniature ponies!

 

[Sterling]

Thank you to all who have posted so far. Very cool to see everyone's take on this subject. Midnight Star....your ponies are beautiful.

 

[Sandee]

Here's a real example of pony or mini... My gelding is a registerd Shetland but measures under the 38" at the last mane hair so he's also registered as a Miniature horse. Doesn't look much like most of my miniatures.

">

 

[Shari]

To answer the question in the topic..

When is a miniature horse a pony?

one word answer... ALWAYS

Love it!

Genetically speaking, the mini's are shetlands.

Funny how Shetlands of my childhood got a bad rap and everyone loved "miniature horses".