It is interesting that the smallest and lowest horses in the world are not ponies at all, but an independent rare breed of Falabella, which was bred for a long time and systematically in Argentina.
The shortest breed
The smallest horses are considered representatives of the Falabella breed bred in Argentina. From the end of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century, the Falabella family of horse breeders was engaged in the consolidation of the main characteristics of the breed and its breeding on a ranch near Buenos Aires. Initially, breeding began with a herd of Creollo ponies and small Spanish horses.
Falabella horses reach a height at the withers of 40-75 cm. A stallion named Little Pamkin broke the record for growth among his relatives - 35, 5 cm. The weight of animals is from 20 to 60 kg. Horses can have any color - bay, piebald, roan, chubar. They have small hooves, short legs (but longer than ponies), proportional and graceful body, thin skin, beautiful mane. Moreover, they have a rather large head, and one rib and one less vertebra than other breeds. They love to jump over obstacles and they do it very well.
Falabella are good-natured, intelligent, energetic, easy to train and have a long lifespan - they can live up to 40 years or more.
Unlike ponies, due to their more graceful build, falabella are not suitable for riding and heavy agricultural work. Nowadays, they are mainly used for horse riding by children, as decorative and even pets. The latter is not surprising - everyone is accustomed to miniature dogs, and falabella attracts lovers of small animals.
A unique feature of the breed is that it carries a dominant gene that provokes the birth of smaller offspring in ordinary horses, if they are crossed with falabella (artificial insemination is used for this). Each new generation of Falabella gives more and more stunted horses.
Falabella are very expensive - an average of 4-6 thousand dollars.
Special cases
In addition to the falabella, there are other champions in the horse world. Listed in the Guinness Book of Records in 2006, the Tumbelin horse, belonging to the breed of miniature dwarf horses, has a height of 43 cm and a weight of 26 kg. The reason for its diminutive size is a dwarf gene, according to the horse's owner, American farmer Mike Goslin. In general, Tumbelina is healthy, but her hind legs are somewhat short and disproportionate to her body.
In 2010, Einstein's foal was born on an English farm. At birth, he had a height of only 36 cm and a weight of 2.7 kg.
There are other contenders in the world for getting into the Guinness Book of Records.
