Miniature Horse
Measured under thirty eight inches at the withers, and built to horse proportions rather than pony ones. Often kept for driving and for therapy work.
Photo by newagecrap, CC BY 2.0
Overview
A miniature horse is a horse in every way that matters medically, at under 38 inches at the withers. It colics, it founders, it cannot vomit, and it needs the same feet, teeth and vaccination routine as an animal five times its weight.
What changes is the margin for error on food. A mini gets fat on grazing that would barely maintain a riding horse, and obesity brings laminitis with it, so restricted grazing and low sugar hay are the normal management rather than a diet for a problem animal. They live 25 to 35 years, longer than full sized horses, and that is the commitment being made.
Temperament
Bold, personable and prone to being spoiled. A mini is small enough that people let it do things they would never permit from a horse, and it grows up with no manners as a result.
They are herd animals like any other equine and should be kept in pairs. They are widely used for driving and for therapy visits precisely because they are people oriented and easy to transport, which works only when they have been trained properly.
Care and grooming
Low sugar hay, weighed rather than estimated, and grazing on a track or with a muzzle where the paddock is rich. Weigh tape the animal regularly, since a mini can put on a dangerous amount without looking obviously fat.
Feet every six to eight weeks and teeth annually. Dental problems are more common in miniatures than in full sized horses, because the same number of teeth is fitted into a much shorter jaw.
Living and exercise
Half an acre with shelter is plenty of space, and the fencing has to be tight to the ground, since a mini goes under things a horse would go through.
They still need daily movement and company. A miniature horse kept alone in a small paddock with unlimited grass is the standard picture of how these animals end up laminitic, and the fix is a companion, a track and less grass rather than a smaller feed scoop.
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