american miniature horses, bristish miniature horses and mini shetties

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sallypops

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whats the difference between them all, is it just that the miniature horses are finer?? and can anyone tell me why the american miniatures have their manes hogged to like a 3rd of the way down there neck??

they are so cute i love looking at pics of them
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so if u have any american or british mini horses lets see some pics
 
I love then all!!!

Mini shetlands are Mini standard shetlands, so very stocky. The 'american' mini's are a shetland,Arab,Hackney and various other X and bred down. They have the top bit of the mane hogged just for looks, like with arabs.
 
I don't have any american shets or minis or british minis, but I do have proper true to type Miniature Shetlands, and a couple of Standard Shetlands - I actually breed them. My website - Varkies Stud - is in my sig.
 
i would love to breed minis of all sorts love them!! i think the shetties are super cute and i think the mini horses are very elegant. would love like 10 of each kind lol!!!
 
americans take off the top mane to emphasise the neck for showing - done on lots of breeds

personally cannot stand miniatures/shetlands (ducks for cover) - give me a nice Welsh A
 
Damion until recently belonged to someone I know, but I believe he's just changed hands. Ted is a real little star. And duns are definitely the best colour, tho of course the pony has to be good type as well as dun - colour alone isn't enough.

It amazes me how many people tell me how much they hate shetlands. Firstly it amazes me, as all mine & 99% of those I've known (hundreds by now) have been little stars. The only ones which have been horrid have usually been allowed to be so by their owners/handlers. Secondly it amazes me as I can't imagine walking up to someone with (for the sake of example - could be any breed you care to put in it's place) an arab and telling them that I hate arabs?!?!
 
varkies valient has a lovely tail!! just was lookin at ur website. can i ask how you keep them in such good shape? do u drive them or anything??
 
lots of people refer to arabs as the 'poodles of the horse world' and consider them to be totally useless apart from 'posing' in the show ring and maybe doing a 'bit of endurance'

in fact they are no such thing

so why should it surprise 'shetland' people that equally there are others who consider their ponies to be pretty but generally not up to much other than showing.

What CAN you do with a mini apart from groom it, spend money on it, show it and breed it ?

Yet arabs get a bad press but because the mini's are 'cute and tiny' they don't. At least arabs can be ridden and do a job of work.

I've known LOTS of shetlands and uniformly they have been overweight nasty and pains in the neck and were totally obnoxious with children.

A true shetland that was bred for being ridden by a man to round up sheep in shetland isles is one thing. The general run of shetlands that are 'companions' sold to not necessarily knowledgeable people to suffer anguish with laminitis as lawnmowers is awful.

I can goto stands at horse shows and go 'awwwww' isn't that cute - but then the rational side of me states 'what good is it' ?

similarly with alpacas in farming. They've become 'fashionable' and VERY expensive and yet the only real market for them is to either sell them to other alpaca keepers to keep on breeding or to sell them to the 'wannabee' farmers who buy them thinking they are going to make money (and don't).

There are lots of adverts for alpacas. Equally there are lots of adverts for minis. Neither have a definable job to do other than look cute, get shown, get bred and cost a lot of money.

and yes - I HAVE said 'what use is it' to mini breeders at Hickstead and got told 'oh look at that picture over there - it can pull a cute little cart' - true !!
 
Sallypops - thank you. We try to take good care of our ponies, and it's great that it shows. Up until now, most of our ponies have been either breeding stock or shown in hand. This winter tho, I shall be starting on the first wave of backing to ride/breaking to harness. I fully intend all ours to be capable of a job of work.

reynold - while arabs aren't my kind of horse, I am not so ignorant as to think that they have no/limited use. I have seen arabs excel in various equine disciplines. It would be nice if people were able to view shetlands in the same light.

If a shetland is 'overweight, obnoxious & a pain in the neck' it is because people have made it so, and allowed it to be so. The problem is that people will insist on treating them like a dog or a pet, rather than a horse. And the truth is that shetlands need treating like they are about 16hh - which they are in their own minds!!!

If they are sold to unknowledgeable people, or have lammi, that is the fault of the breeder/seller, not the pony! We never sell to unknowledgeable people, never purely as companions, and we have NEVER had a single case of laminitis.

As to what use are they, what can they do - exactly the same as any horse/pony - just on a smaller scale. They can be ridden - they just have a lower weight limit. They can be driven - a decently built mini shetland should still be able to pull two averagely sized adults in a well balanced carriage.

They definitely should have more of a job than to look pretty - that's pretty insulting to the breed. They should be true to type, good conformation, great paces, excellent temperament, able to do a job of work. They are after all a native breed.
 
There is a super shettie at the eventing yard/stud where my Arab stally lives - he belongs to the daughter of the YO, is ridden regularly and does all PC activities; a great child's pony. YO is a BHSI, and the shettie is treated like any other horse/pony - and has been properly trained and managed.

This shettie is also very useful as a 'hoover': they send him into the big horses' stables (when they are out) to hoover up all the stray bits of hay that the horses drop and scatter about. (My boy in particular is inclined to chuck his hay around instead of eating it.) This way, no hay is wasted.

For some reason, my Arab boy is completely besotted with this little pony, although it's a gelding - he gets tremendously excited whenever he sees this shettie!

Maybe he recognises a member of a similarly maligned and misunderstood breed!
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Thanks Deadpan - We're very proud of him. His stable name is Rascal, and he certainly is! In that pic, he had just turned one year. He's now 2, and very mature for his age, and is about to be presented for his stallion license vetting, we'll be keeping our fingers crossed - then he'll be ready for whatever we decide to do with him next year.

To Htobago & other arab owners/lovers, I hope you did understand that I was using arabs as an example, I don't dislike them myself! And you're right, HT, arabs are like shetlands like that - often misunderstood & maligned.
 
I don't give a flying fig what people think of Shetlands, mini or otherwise, I love mine
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Mine are good companions and they are great with children.
I am careful about their weight and they have as much respect on my yard as the 17hh hunters, underestimate them at your peril
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Come and watch mine play fighting in the field - if they don't make you laugh, I'll buy you a drink
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oh what a can of worms!! You should have gone to MYHOS this weekend with me and Stinkbomb!!

Big difference is breeding obviously but lots of uses for mini's, cant stand people who are so short sighted that they cannot see their uses!!

They keep 8 year olds occupied like hell so mums can do big horsey things!

They are great companions, verge trimmers and also eat loads of bits n pieces the big ones dont in the field!

MOre than anything they are just amusing to watch!!
 
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