"Are they real?".....
.... is usually the first question most visitors to the farm usually ask when the little ones are first seen. Immediately following that question comes, " Oh my God! They are just too cute! HOW tall are they??" Even though visitors are looking at them, most minds have an extremely difficult time wrapping around the fact that, there before them, stands two itty-bitty horses. Angel stands 19 inches from her withers to the bottom of her hoof and even smaller still is precious Pokey who, at just over 5 months old, stands abit over 17 inches tall.
Pokey, just over 1 month old
"Where did they come from?" "Will they get any bigger?" "What do they eat?" "Do you let them in the house?" "How can I get one?" are just a few of the many questions heard all of the time from visitors.
Angel and the Troops
We do not have all of the answers, we are only just now beginning to learn about Dwarf Miniature Horses. However, not liking their "Official" name, I have decided to give them a more "politically correct" name and now call them Micro Mini's. And just how cute is THAT? A cute name to go with the cutest little horses God ever created.
While there are many types of equine dwarfism, three that stand out are achondroplastic, brachiocephalic and diastrophic dwarfs.
Achondroplastic
These little ones have very specific physical characteristics. Achondroplastic dwarves have shortened extremities as well as small ears. However, they have a normal head, neck and torso. Furthermore, their intelligence and their lifespan is not affected by their dwarfism.
Brachiocephalic
These precious little angels have anomalies of their head and extremities. They have severe leg deformities as well as nasal constriction and mandible deformities. They often require facial surgery to open their nostrils to prevent suffocation. Furthermore, they have a severe underbite which sometimes hinders their ability to eat. Brachiocephalic dwarves have deformities much more debilitating than their Achondroplastic cousins.
Diastrophic
Characterized by severe, twisted extremities, ligament deformities, cow hocks, protruding spines, as well as many, many other deformities, these little ones are usually the result of horrific breeding practices. In trying to rapidly decrease the size of color breeds, unscrupulous breeders breed to dwarf stallions, oftentimes resulting in a life of pain and crippling anomalies for the precious little diastrophic dwarf offspring this breeding practice can produce.
When Angel was born, she had two legs that were clearly deformed. It was more her hooves than her legs, but rather than wait to see if the problem would worsen, we decided to try to make it better for her. Having devised a plan of action over a period of weeks, our vet and blacksmith carefully went to work. Before anything else could be done, Angel's hooves were first gently filed down to smooth, flat surfaces.
Initially she gave us quite the little fight as she did not care to be held for any length of time. Eventually she decided it wasn't as bad as she thought and she just relaxed and drifted off to sleep as these wonderful professionals labored so hard to help her.
A tiny bit more filing, just to be sure...
Once the filing was finished, the hooves had to be inspected carefully for uniformity, both laying down...
...and standing up. Once settled and napping, Angel wasn't too thrilled about being awakened and asked to stand. Silly little girl, there's no pleasing her!
With everyone satisfied that the hooves were ready, it was time to make, and apply, Angel's "new" hooves.
Of course, by now Angel is back to relaxing as everyone else works hard....
After hours of hard work, the end result made it all worthwhile as Angel struts her stuff and shows off her new *feet*....
The important thing to note when looking at these pictures is the lack of a twist in her hoof or leg. The improvement was incredibly dramatic! Angel was able to walk like any other *normal* horse for the first time in her short life! She is just too cute for words!
I will never understand why man is so hell bent on reducing the size of the horse. Why mess with something that is perfect? Just as with dogs, what is this facination with seeing how small we can make things? The horse was not meant to be small. He was not meant to be kept in apartments and backyards. Why are barns trying so hard to make horses smaller and smaller knowing all too well the risks of doing such a thing? And why for Pete's sake, when they do get a dwarf from a breeding gone wrong, do they euthanize these incredible little *angels*? Of course there are some that should be euthanized due to the severity of the anomalities they are born with, but what of those that are born with minimal or no deformities? I look at Angel and Pokey and wonder how anyone with a heart could possibly kill these beautiful, precious little ones simply because they "are." Why do people insist on taking God's job away from Him? For those of you who practice this type of horse breeding, then kill the imperfect ones, no worries because one day God will ask you that question Himself...and I hope I am the one right behind you so I can hear your pathetic attempt at an answer.