How to Select a Miniature Horse

The miniature horse should look like an exact replica of a larger horse - only smaller.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• National Horse Magazines
• Horsecarts
• 8-foot Lead Rope
• Halter

1. Check the horse's height, measuring at the last hair of the mane. In order to be a registered miniature horse in the American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR), the horse cannot measure more than 38 inches in height; the maximum-height requirement for the American Miniature Horse Association (AMHA) is 34 inches.
2. Know that miniature horses come in every color.
3. Understand that miniature horses have bloodlines that include Dutch and English mine horses, and were used in the Appalachian coal mines as late as 1950.
4. Miniature horses come in two basic body types: a draft horse type and a fine-boned refined type. The ideal miniature is a mixture of the two.
5. Attend the American Miniature Horse Association National Show in October.
6. Read the official miniature horse magazine called The Miniature Horse World.
7. Understand that the miniature horse makes an ideal horse for pulling carts.
8. Keep in mind that some of the pedigrees of today's miniatures come from the Shetland pony.
9. Know that the miniature horse makes a great pet and has a nice disposition.

Tips & Warnings

• For more information on the miniature horse, contact the American Miniature Horse Association at 5601 S. Interstate 35W, Alvarado, TX 76009, [phone].
• Horses have personalities just as humans do; it's advisable to spend time with a horse to get to know its personality before you buy it.