IF DONE RIGHT, you can certainly make money raising miniature horses, donkeys, and mules. That said, miniature equines are appealing for reasons beyond their financial worth. They can do many jobs, from driving to showing, packing (with miniature donkeys and mules), and therapy for people who are confined indoors. They’re easy to house, feed, and care for; and minis are priced for everyone’s budget, ranging from $150 into the five-figure range.
Parts of a miniature horse (same terms apply to donkeys and mules)
Miniature horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules think and behave exactly like their larger cousins.
The manner in which miniature horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules see, hear, taste, smell, and experience sensation are all pretty much the same.
An equine’s vision is its primary means of detecting danger, so sight is very important to horses, donkeys, and mules. Both eyes can be used together to focus on an object (binocular vision) or independently of one another (monocular vision). Equines have blind spots directly in front of and behind them. They can see very well to the sides and reasonably well toward the back, especially when the head is lowered. By raising or lowering his head or turning it to one side, a horse, donkey, or mule can more clearly focus on specific objects, whether near or far. Equines can quickly adjust their focus from distant to near objects, and they easily detect the smallest movement, even from far away — a trait especially important to wild and feral equines.
Equines have superior night vision, though it’s not as acute as that of cats. Their eyes need time to adjust when moving from light into darkness, hence an equine’s usual hesitancy when being loading into a dark horse trailer.
And equines discern some but not all colors (though researchers disagree about which colors they actually see).
Equines use each eye independently to see to the sides and binocular vision to see to the front.
Equines see well to the sides, and reasonably well in the front, but they have a blind spot directly behind them.
When a horse, pony, donkey, or mule flips its lip up and back in a “horse laugh,” it isn’t amused; it’s flehmening.
The flehmen response (from the German word flehmen, meaning “to curl the upper lip”), also called the flehmen position or flehmen reaction, is a grimace most ungulates, cats, and a few other mammals make to examine scent. Miniature llamas, equines, sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle all flehmen.
When an animal flehmens, it flips its upper lip upward and back to expose and draw odorants into its Jacobsen’s organ, a pheromone-detecting organ located in the roof of its mouth. Intact males do this to determine if a female is in heat, but both sexes flehmen after sniffing unusual scents, especially the manure or urine of unfamiliar members of their own species.
An animal flehmens to draw scent into a pheromone-detecting organ in the roof of its mouth.
An equine’s sense of smell is incredibly acute. Equines refuse foods that smell different from their usual fare, making it difficult to persuade them to eat feed laced with medication or dewormer. They frequently sniff objects and each other (as well as each other’s urine and dung) to identify their surroundings. Mares and jennies recognize their neonatal foals by smell. Equines also learn to associate certain odors with friendly or scary situations. Some, for instance, misbehave when they smell the medicinal aroma of an approaching vet.
Equines’ sense of hearing is very similar to that of humans, but they can probably hear a higher pitch than we can.
Equines’ ears are controlled by 10 separate muscles, allowing them to turn their ears in almost any direction. Their ears capture sound independently of each other, but sounds are processed and analyzed at the same time. When an equine hears or sees something unusual, it pricks both ears in that direction to capture the minutest sounds and funnel them to the ear canal and the brain.
Because they have relatively larger ears that capture a lot of sound, miniature donkeys and mules likely hear much better than shorter-eared miniature horses and ponies do.
Equines prefer sweet and salty to bitter or sour flavors. They rarely consume poisonous plants, owing to their bitter taste.
Equines are extremely sensitive animals with exceptional tactile perception. Their most sensitive areas are around their eyes, ears, and muzzle; their withers, ribs, flanks, and legs are also sensitive. Overall, horses and ponies are more sensitive than donkeys, with mules falling someplace in between.
Virtually all types of equines enjoy being scratched when groomed, especially if the spot is itchy.
A well-defined pecking order or herd hierarchy exists within every herd of equines, large or small, and every newcomer has to earn a place in the group. Where an individual stands in the hierarchy depends on its age, sex, personality, aggressiveness toward other herd members, and, in the case of mixed herds, its species. Unweaned foals assume their dam’s place in the order and often rank immediately below her after weaning.
Equines offer a warning before biting or kicking, except when they’re startled or extremely angry. They threaten by offering to bite or kick their adversaries. Mild threats often occur at feeding time, when defending a favorite resting spot, or when mares are teaching their foals to behave.
Bite threats involve fierce glares, laid-back ears, abrupt upward jerking of the chin, or extending the head and neck toward the opponent. Stronger language involves pinned ears and a mouth slightly opened as if to lunge and bite.
When giving a mild kick threat, an equine lays its ears back and swivels its rump toward its opponent. Escalating threats include lifting or stomping a hind leg, lashing the tail back and forth, and, in donkeys and many mules, hopping on the hindquarters without actually kicking.
Horses and ponies flee when faced with a scary situation, whereas donkeys and mules are wired to freeze in their tracks. Because of this trait, donkeys and mules are unfairly pronounced stupid or stubborn when the truth is that they’re confused or afraid.
Also, unlike horses and ponies, donkeys and mules rarely put themselves in harm’s way. Handlers misread this response and think they’re being stubborn or cantankerous when, in fact, they are simply refusing to do something they think might endanger their life, like working beyond their capability or entering a dark, scary place they’ve never been before, such as a poorly lit or unfamiliar trailer.
Equines feel safer in groups and fret or panic if isolated from their herd (or even a favorite companion). This tendency hails from the time when their ancestors ran free, and herd outliers and the slow or careless became some predator’s lunch. Horses are more apt to panic than the far more stoic donkey, but separation anxiety takes a toll on both species.
Equines create close bonds with one another and frequently with other creatures around them, such as barn dogs or humans who dish out their supper. Mutual grooming strengthens these bonds. Donkeys form especially strong bonds with their companions and often suffer deep emotional pain, leading to depression and refusal to eat, when a close companion is sold or dies.
Horses and ponies belong to the subspecies Equus caballus of the broader family Equidae. Ponies are smaller versions of horses, but miniature horse owners claim their Lilliputian equines are horses, not ponies. This isn’t entirely correct.
A great deal of folklore surrounds the origin of today’s miniature horse. Much of this lore is quite colorful but unverifiable.
We do know, however, that in 1880, young Lady Estella Hope and her sister, Lady Dorothea Hope, began breeding tiny Shetland ponies at their family’s estate, Hopetoun House, in Scotland. By 1900 the ladies had sold ponies to both Queen Victoria and the Empress of Russia. Just prior to World War I, they and their ponies moved to Robertsbridge, in Sussex, from where they continued to breed and show ponies until the death of Lady Estella in 1952 at age 92. A photograph of Lady Hope driving four Shetlands less than 36 inches (91 cm) tall, featured in the February 1901 issue of the Black and White Budget, is one of the first photos ever taken of a British four-in-hand (a carriage drawn by four ponies).
We also know that by the mid-1800s shipments of “pit ponies” were regularly imported from Britain and the Netherlands to work in Appalachian coal mines. Most were shaggy Shetland ponies bred for working in the coal mines of Wales. Some were very small; in 1888, import records indicate one such pony named YumYum stood just 31 inches (79 cm) tall.
During the early 1900s, importer Norman Fields of Bedford, Virginia, began keeping and breeding the smallest of the animals he imported from Britain, calling them “midget ponies.” He bred these for more than 50 years, and by 1964 his herd numbered 50 head.
Walter Smith McCoy of Roddenfield, West Virginia, also founded his herd with imported pit ponies around the same time. At one point he collected all of the ponies he could find that were less than 33 inches (84 cm) tall and used these to found his herd of midget ponies. In his self-published book, The Story of the World’s Smallest Ponies, he wrote, “I discovered that the smaller the ponies were, the more they sold for — usually five or six times as much as the large ponies would bring.” He went on to say, “I found 10 or 12 ponies that small [under 33 inches]. From these few ponies, by continually breeding the smallest down to the smallest, I now have 100 ponies under 32 inches tall, 20 of which are under 30 inches.” The tiniest of all was his pride and joy, a mare named Sugar Dumpling. She was 20 inches (51 cm) tall and weighed only 30 pounds (14 kg). On September 16, 1967, McCoy held the first miniature horse sale, at which he sold an array of the “world’s smallest midget ponies,” many of which were used to found additional herds in North America.
So how did midget ponies, also sometimes called midget Shetlands or miniature ponies, come to be called miniature horses? To understand, we’ll need to take a brief peek at the history of the American Shetland Pony.
The British Shetland Pony hails from the Shetland Islands off northern Scotland. Small equines have inhabited those windswept islands since the Bronze Age, and while their origin is uncertain, it’s believed they are related to the ancient Scandinavian pony because the Shetland Islands were physically connected to Scandinavia until the end of the last Ice Age, around 10,000 to 8,000 BC.
Shetland Islanders used stout, short-legged Shetland ponies to pull carts carrying peat and seaweed. The first written record of these ponies was made in 1603 in the Court Books of Shetland. The Shetland pony became the first pony to have its own breed society when the Shetland Pony Stud Book Society was formed in 1890. Today’s minimum height for a British Shetland is 28 inches, and its maximum is 42 inches (71–107 cm), or 10.2 hands; these sizes are also historically accurate.
Shetland ponies were first imported to the United States by Eli Elliot in 1885. Many importations followed, primarily to provide pit ponies for mines in the South. Better ponies provided foundation stock for the development of the American Shetland Pony.
In 1888, the American Shetland Pony Club was formed to, according to the club’s current Web site, “preserve the bloodlines of the Shetland Pony while improving and refining the breed.”
Ponies registered in the organization’s first studbook were small, stocky beasts like their British ancestors; 27 percent were 38 inches (97 cm) or less (the current maximum height for Class B American Miniature Horse Registry miniature horses) and 36 ponies were between 28 and 34 inches (71–86 cm) tall.
Shetlands were frequently crossed with ponies of other breeds, including Hackney and Welsh ponies, to produce a taller, leggier, more streamlined pony that was wildly popular from the 1920s through the early 1960s. During this period, outstanding animals sold for astronomical prices. Primarily because of overbreeding, the market became saturated and the bottom fell out of the Shetland pony industry practically overnight. Ponies that sold for high four-figure prices only years before now exchanged hands for a few hundred dollars. In some places it was hard to give away the average Shetland pony.
As interest in Shetland ponies plummeted, an increasing number of pony people, looking for a way to recoup their losses, became interested in producing the type of extra-small pony that continued selling well even in the failing Shetland market. In 1971, a group of breeders approached the American Shetland Pony Club about establishing a separate studbook for midget Shetlands. The registry acquiesced, naming a committee to formulate the rules and regulations for the new registry. The committee, in a forward-thinking flourish of salesmanship, decided to distance the new breed from its failing Shetland forbears by dropping the words Shetland and pony and calling them “miniature horses” instead.
And that’s how they’re known today.
MINI EQUINE TRIVIA
The first class for “Midget Ponies” was held at the Shetland Congress national Shetland pony show in 1948.
Shetlands and American Miniatures come in a full palette of equine colors, including a wide range of dilute coat hues such as crèmes and duns, and any eye color is accepted. Shetlands never come in Appaloosa colors, but American Miniatures can and do.
PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES AMONG MINIATURE DONKEYS, HORSES, MULES, AND HINNIES
The American Miniature Horse isn’t the only small horse breed available in North America. Additional small breeds of Equus callabus exist, among them the American Shetland Pony, the British Shetland Pony, the Critically Endangered Caspian horse of Iran, and the Falabella horse of Argentina.
Registered by: American Miniature Horse Association, American Miniature Horse Registry, among others across the world
PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES AMONG MINIATURE DONKEYS, HORSES, MULES, AND HINNIES
Origin: Developed primarily using Shetland pony genetics
Size: Depending on registry, maximum heights are 34 to 38 inches (86–97 cm)
Color: Any color is acceptable
Type: Two types: a refined, horselike miniature and a cobby, British Shetland-type mini
The American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR), a subsidiary of the American Shetland Pony Club, was incorporated in 1971 to register miniature horses 34 inches tall and shorter (they later created two divisions: Class A for minis 34 inches or less and Class B for larger individuals up to 38 inches tall). Breeders dissatisfied with the registry’s early policies soon founded a plethora of offshoot groups, including the American Miniature Horse Association (AMHA) in 1978. The American Miniature Horse Registry and the American Miniature Horse Association remain the two major players, although several smaller North American registries exist.
Early breeders who used registered Shetlands in their breeding programs, and who wished to distance their breeding programs from those of the failing Shetland industry, often listed these animals’ breeding as “unknown.” Others, however, embraced their minis’ Shetland heritage. For instance, Gold Melody Boy, grandsire of Boones Little Buckaroo (1983 AMHA National Grand Champion) was sired by and out of registered Shetland ponies. Buckaroo’s maternal grand-dam was sired by a Shetland, too.
American Miniature Horse
And miniature breeders whose animals can be traced to a particular group of Shetlands, Arenosa-prefixed Shetland ponies, are usually quick to publicize that fact. Audrey and Clinton Barrett founded the Arenosa Pony Farm of Victoria, Texas, in 1941. At a time when many people were crossbreeding their Shet-lands to Hackneys, Audrey Barrett preferred to intensely linebreed her ponies to the Barretts’ best-known sire, a 39-inch (99 cm), black-and-white pinto named Kewpie Doll’s Oracle. The average height of ponies in the Arenosa herd was 40 inches (102 cm), though many were small enough to be registered as miniatures. Three Arenosa animals were entered in Volume One of the American Miniature Horse Registry Stud Book, all with their Shetland pedigrees intact.
Another noteworthy Miniature Horse foundation stallion of Shetland lineage was Rowdy, a 34-inch (86 cm) stallion foaled in 1973. Rowdy sired Lazy N Boogerman, the AMHA National Grand Champion Stallion in 1992 that subsequently sold for $110,000 at the NFC Dispersal Sale in 1993. Rowdy’s sire was the registered Shetland Kewpie Doll’s Sun, and his sire was Kewpie Doll’s Oracle!
While today’s show-winning American Miniature Horses are sleek, horse-proportioned animals, American Miniatures run the gamut from ultra-refined to miniature draft horse type. There’s an American Miniature Horse to suit every taste. Furthermore, minis of all types are hardy, friendly, generally very laid-back, easy-care animals. Five miniatures eat less than one full-size horse eats, and they take up much less room. They’re perfect for retirees who want to keep horses but lack the physical wherewithal to deal with bigger steeds or for small children who aren’t a good fit on larger horses. They shine in a wide array of additional uses, including showing, pleasure driving, animal-assisted therapy, and keeping the back pasture nicely mowed.
If you hope to sell American Miniature Horses at high-end prices, choose double-registered AMHA/AMHR stock. Although animals can be “hardship” registered (by paying an extra fee because both of their parents aren’t recorded in that registry’s studbook), the costs of hardship breeding stock are steep and the rules complicated. (AMHA currently hardships a stallion for $1,200 or a mare for $600; AMHR registers AMHA-registered stallions for $400 plus their age-appropriate registration fee and mares for $200 plus their age-appropriate registration fees.) And don’t accept papers from smaller registries in lieu of AMHA or AMHR registration; most buyers don’t consider them registered minis unless they’re registered with at least one of the big two organizations.
Always use a measuring standard to verify any animal’s true height. The recorded heights on registration certificates are notoriously inaccurate.
Registered by: American Shetland Pony Club
Origin: Created by crossing imported British Shetlands with Hackney and Welsh ponies and selecting for refined conformation
Size: Not to exceed 46 inches (117 cm) (11.2 hands) in height, measured at the highest point on the withers. Shetlands average 42 inches (107 cm) (10.2 hands) tall.
Color: Any color but Appaloosa
Type: Two, Classic and Modern
Two Shetland Ponies, a Classic and a Modern, facing one another
The American Shetland Pony Club was founded in Morton, Illinois, in 1888; since then they’ve registered more than 150,000 ponies.
Today’s leggy, ultra-refined American Shetlands no longer resemble their sturdy British Shetland ancestors. There are two types: Modern and Classic. The Modern is a lean, elegant, stylishly high-stepping pony suited to roadster and fine harness competition. Classics resemble American Shetlands of the 1950s. Some Classics also qualify as Foundation Shetlands. Foundation Shetlands must come from only “A” papered ponies on the pedigree printed on their registration papers and measure 42 inches (102 cm) or less; Foundation Shetlands are more conservative in type and have slightly more bone and substance.
The registry designates an animal’s background by placing an “A” or “B” after its registration number. Shetlands with Hackney Ponies in their backgrounds have a “B” prefix and must show in Modern Shetland classes. Ponies with an “A” suffix do not have any Hackney heritage and can choose between Modern and Classic classes, depending on the pony’s conformation and movement.
American Shetlands are very intelligent, hardy, active ponies. Classics are well suited to be children’s riding ponies, and both Classics and Moderns make superb driving ponies for pleasure and shows.
LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS
The Kennedys’ Falabellas weren’t the first miniature equines to grace the White House lawn. Teddy Roosevelt’s sons, Quentin and Archie, owned a beautiful, 39-inch (99 cm) pinto Shetland named Algonquin that they kept at the White House during their father’s time in office. Once, when Archie was ill, Quentin enlisted the aid of the family coachman and smuggled Algonquin to Archie’s room by means of the White House elevator.
The most famous Shetland pony of all time is arguably Merrylegs of Black Beauty fame.
The most expensive Shetland pony in history was Supreme’s Bit of Gold, who sold for $86,000 in 1958.
American Shetland ponies are measured at the highest point of their withers, whereas American Miniature horses are measured at the last hairs of their manes. Therefore, many early-day Shetlands measuring 40 inches (102 cm) or less would have been small enough to register as American Miniature Horse Association Class B Miniature horses.
Registered by: Shetland Pony Society of North America, Shetland Pony Stud-Book Society (UK)
Origin: Shetland Islands (UK)
Size: Shetland Pony Society of North America: ideally no more than 44 inches with a maximum height of 46 inches (112–117 cm). Shetland Pony Stud-Book Society: no more than 42 inches (107 cm)
Color: Any except Appaloosa
Type: Compact, cobby, broad; small, elegant head with tiny ears; rounded barrel, short back, strong hindquarters; long, full mane, forelock, and tail
British Shetlands have remained unchanged since the breed evolved on the Shetland Islands hundreds, maybe thousands, of years ago. The island’s harsh weather and a scarcity of feed made the British Shetland the compact, hardy animal it is today.
The Shetland Pony Stud-Book Society was founded in 1890 to maintain the breed’s purity by encouraging the breeding of high-quality animals. Hallmarks of this ancient breed are short, muscular necks; compact, stocky bodies; short, strong legs with shorter than normal cannon bones in relation to their size; and intelligence mixed with character. British Shetlands have long, thick manes and tails and a dense double coat in winter to withstand harsh weather.
There are few purebred British Shetlands in North America at this time, though interest in the breed is growing. The Shetland Pony Society of North America registers British Shetlands, though not all SPSNA-registered Shetlands are of British origin. The organization also double registers animals with American Shetland Pony Society Foundation papers as well as Canadian Shetlands.
British Shetland Pony
Registered by: Caspian Horse Society of the Americas, Caspian Horse Society (UK), International Caspian Society
Origin: Iran
Size: From less than 10 hands (40 inches [102 cm]) to 12.2 hands (50 inches [127 cm])
Color: All colors except spotted (pinto or Appaloosa)
Type: According to the Caspian Horse Society of America and the UK, the Caspian is a horse, not a pony. Its limbs, body, and head are in proportion to each other. The overall impression is of a well-bred, elegant horse in miniature.
Caspian horse
The Caspian, a breed of great antiquity and a precursor of the Arabian horse, descends from now-extinct miniature horses that lived in the region of Persia from 3,000 BC through the seventh century AD. The breed’s direct connection to these ancient horses was verified by DNA testing performed in the 1990s by Gus Cothran at the University of Kentucky’s Horse Genome Project.
In 1965, Louise Firouz, an American-born horsewoman living in Iran, discovered a remnant population of Caspians in the Elburz Mountains south of the Caspian Sea. She brought three Caspians back to her Norouzabad Equestrian Center in Tehran. A year later she returned to the mountains and obtained seven mares and six stallions, becoming the first serious breeder of Caspian horses in more than 1,000 years.
When Prince Philip of Great Britain visited Iran in 1971, the Shah presented him with a pair of Caspian horses. Intrigued, Prince Philip approached Ms. Firouz about exporting breeding stock to Great Britain. Over the next eight years, she exported 29 Caspians, thus providing foundation stock to fuel the rebirth of this ancient breed outside of the Middle East.
According to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, about 2,000 Caspians are now registered throughout the world, 600 of which are in North America. Caspians are listed as a Critically Endangered breed on the ALBC Conservation Priority List (see pages 16 and 17).
Registered by: Falabella Miniature Horse Association
Origin: Argentina
Size: Falabella Miniatures come in a variety of sizes with no height restriction; most are between 28 and 34 inches (71–86 cm) tall
Color: Any color is acceptable
Type: No specific type is preferred over another
Falabella horse
In 1845, Irish-born horse trader Patrick Newtall was traveling south of Buenos Aires in Argentina when he came upon a group of unusually small horses. He bought some and began breeding them on his Argentine ranch. Later his son-in-law, Juan Falabella, added European Thoroughbred genetics for refinement; Shetlands and miniature horses from Belgium were also added to the mix. By the early 1900s, the ranch consistently produced miniatures less than 33½ inches (85 cm) tall, and by 1927, Juan’s grandson, Julio César Falabella, had amassed a herd of several hundred of these small horses. The breed came to the attention of North Americans when, in 1962, Julio sold two Falabellas to President John F. Kennedy, who gave them to his children, Caroline and John-John. Both Time and Newsweek magazines published images of them grazing the White House lawn.
Fewer than 1,000 Falabellas are registered with the Falabella Miniature Horse Association. Only small herds are known to exist in most countries, and the estimated worldwide population is only a few thousand. It is the Falabellas’ prestige, rarity, and long history that set them apart in miniature horse circles. Many are double (and triple) registered as American Miniature Horses.
Cobby and cute, miniature donkeys belong to the subspecies Equus asinus of the broader family Equidae. The ones we know and love descend from pint-size donkeys brought to North America from the Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia, where they were originally used as working donkeys.
Miniature donkeys first came to America in 1929 when New York stockbroker Robert Green imported six jennies and a jack that he had purchased sight unseen during a trip to Europe. A year later marauding dogs attacked the herd, killing three jennies. The jack and the three remaining jennies comprised the first breeding herd of miniature donkeys in the United States. Green soon imported more tiny donkeys from the Mediterranean region, and by 1935 he’d amassed 52 head. Wealthy buyers such as Henry T. Morgan and August Busch Jr. also imported animals from the Mediterranean after beginning with Green-bred stock.
In the early 1950s, Daniel and Bea Langfeld of Danby Farm (already breeders of world-class Shetland ponies) purchased a miniature donkey for their daughter, who had cerebral palsy. They soon became large-scale breeders with as many as 225 donkeys in their herd. The Langfelds widely promoted their donkeys, charming the readers of national horse magazines with ads documenting the ongoing adventures of Parader’s Seventy-Six Trombones (a Shetland colt) and Ricardo (his miniature donkey sidekick).
In 1958, Bea Langfeld established The Miniature Donkey Registry, which she turned over to the American Donkey and Mule Society in 1987. Today there are more than 50,000 donkeys registered in the Miniature Donkey Registry studbook, some of which have up to 500 recorded ancestors tracing all the way back to the first miniature donkeys in America. The height limit for MDR-registered donkeys is 36 inches (91 cm).
A second miniature donkey registry, the International Miniature Donkey Registry, was incorporated in 1992. It differs from the Miniature Donkey Registry in that it registers donkeys in two divisions (Class A donkeys are 36 inches [91 cm] and under, and Class B donkeys are 36.1 to 38 inches [92–97 cm] tall) and it awards registered stock two-, three-, and four-star ratings based on each donkey’s conformation.
Miniature donkey
There’s a lot to like about miniature donkeys. They’re large enough for children to ride and strong enough to pull a cart carrying an adult and one or two children; they’re easygoing and gentle to a fault; they’re economical to keep and feed; and they’re arguably the cutest creatures on God’s green earth. They’re readily available throughout North America, and there are also fair-sized populations in Britain, Australia, and parts of Europe. And they’re the perfect choice for knowledgeable breeders who want to show a profit breeding miniature equines.
Miniatures can be purchased for next to nothing (unregistered geldings and jacks bring $100–200 in some locales) or for hefty five-figure prices. There is a strong market for high-end miniature donkeys, especially of the color du jour (at the moment, solid black with dark points).
Although miniature donkeys range in height from 26 to 36 inches (66–91 cm) (38 inches [97 cm] for International Miniature Donkey Registry stock), judges and breeders prefer donkeys in the 32- to 34-inch range.
Miniature donkeys come in all colors, including spotted. Spotted miniature donkeys (and mules!) can be double-registered with the American Council of Spotted Asses (see Resources).
Miniature donkey owners can show their animals at miniature donkey shows or open shows for donkeys and mules of all sizes and kinds. Showing donkeys is like showing horses but less stressful. Donkey and mule shows are more laid-back than most horse shows, and they’re specifically designed so that competitors have a good time.
Miniatures are shown in halter classes (judges rate the donkey’s conformation and movement), color classes (50 percent of the score is based on color and the other 50 percent on conformation), showmanship classes (judges rate the handler’s ability to prepare and show a halter donkey, rather than the donkey itself), as well as a variety of performance classes including driving (pleasure driving, obstacle driving, team driving, reinsmanship, turnout, and harness races). There are also costume classes, trail and jumping classes (handlers lead the donkeys in these events), snigging classes (dragging a log through an obstacle course), and coon-jumping classes (in which the donkey jumps a hurdle from a standstill).
Entries can also play games such as musical tires (played like children’s musical chairs), catch your ass (a timed event in which donkeys are released at the opposite end of the arena and competitors run, catch their own donkeys, and race them back to the starting line), diaper race (contestants vie to be the first to lead their donkey to the other end of the arena, diaper themselves, and race the donkey back to the starting line without the diaper falling off), and a slew of equally hilarious events.
Miniature donkeys are well suited for recreational backpacking. They’re easy to handle and close to the ground, which makes loading them a breeze. And they’re small (and tidy) enough to transport to the trailhead in a van or an SUV.
Recreational packing gear for miniatures falls into one of three classes: training packs, companion packs, and packsaddle and pannier (pack bags) combinations. Good packing gear of any type provides adequate padding, alleviates pressure on the spine, and is very stable, allowing for slightly different weights in each saddle bag without shifting to the side or moving while the donkey walks.
A training pack, also called a day pack, is a simple, soft-sided, saddlebag-like affair. It has a single girth and a built-in breastcollar and britchin (a harness that fastens around the donkey’s chest and drapes across its hindquarters to keep things from sliding backward or forward when traveling uphill or downhill). The fabric connecting the two bags lies directly on the donkey’s back; this is not a good thing — too much weight pressing directly on any animal’s spine over a prolonged period of time can inflict permanent damage. Training packs should be used for carrying light loads on day hikes and nothing more.
The companion pack is a nice choice for longer day trips or overnight camping (but not for extended trips). A good companion pack features a thick, divided pad that keeps the weight off its bearer’s spine, detachable panniers (pack bags) like those used in full-scale packing gear, a single girth, and a built-in britchin and breastcollar to keep it in place. Companion packs designed for packgoats fit most miniature donkeys.
Sawbuck-style packsaddle
Packsaddle outfits include two large, detachable panniers and a sawbuck-style packsaddle (the sturdy type of packsaddle usually associated with packmules; see illustration) secured with one or two wide girths as well as a britchin and breastcollar. The sawbuck provides complete spinal relief, making it possible for the donkey to carry considerably heavier loads than what can be carried with the other packs. Unfortunately, packsaddles and panniers for miniature donkeys are hard to find (donkey entrepreneurs, take note), so miniature donkey packers must adapt goat-packing saddles (which fit most miniatures surprisingly well) or custom-build their own.
Miniature donkeys are the perfect driving animal for nervous or novice drivers, yet they’re also a joy for anyone who loves driving but doesn’t like the fuss of coping with a potentially fractious horse. While frightened horses and ponies spook and flee, donkeys freeze in their tracks when confused or afraid. We’ll talk more about that in a bit.
Mules are the sterile offspring of a donkey jack and a mare. Hinnies are the less-common opposite sterile cross: they are sired by a stallion and out of a jenny. They come in a wide range of sizes, from massive draft mules to tiny miniatures, and it is hard to tell the two types apart by looking at them. Miniature mules (and hinnies — but to keep things simple, let’s refer to them both as mules) are a growing sensation among miniature livestock enthusiasts; little wonder, as they’re so darned cute!
Anything you can do with a miniature horse or a miniature donkey you can do with a mini mule, with the exception of breeding it (mules are hybrids and, with very few exceptions, sterile). Their rarity makes them stand out in virtually any venue, so if you’re looking for an unusual miniature, think mules.
The American Donkey and Mule Society (see Resources) registers mules of all sizes, but the primary registering body for miniature mules and hinnies is the American Miniature Mule Society. The organization registers mules in two divisions: Class A (under 38 inches [97 cm]) and Class B (over 38 inches and under 48 inches [97–122 cm]).
Miniature mules can be shown at all-mule venues and at combination donkey and mule shows in miniature mule classes as well as classes written for full-size mules. Class topics are far-ranging and include halter, showmanship, riding, driving, and all the fun events like coon jumping, snigging, and costume classes. Mini mules make first-class recreational packers, too.
Larger miniature mules are sturdy enough to carry children and small adults.
The most important thing to remember when beginning with mini equines is to buy animals suited to your needs. If you want to breed, buy the best individuals you can afford, taking into consideration conformation, disposition, breeding records, registration status, pedigree, and size. If you want to show in halter classes, choose halter-quality animals. When showing in performance or driving for pleasure, select strong, sound animals with good minds. A show mare, stallion, jack, or jenny with many championships under its belt may cost $20,000; a pretty cob-type American Miniature mare or a well-trained miniature donkey gelding to drive costs closer to $500.
Everything we talked about in chapter 4 applies to buying miniature horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules, but there are several additional points to consider.
Dwarfism is rampant among miniature horses and, to a lesser degree, miniature donkeys. If you plan to breed, learn to recognize the subtle signs of dwarfism we discussed in chapter 4. Reread that information now; it’s that important.
Miniature equines, particularly American Miniature Horses and miniature donkeys, are prone to a number of dental abnormalities that may or may not be easily corrected. These include:
Poor occlusion. A severe underbite is strongly associated with dwarfism, and poor occlusion of any type requires ongoing dental work in the form of floating (rasping) teeth to remove sharp edges that form when grinding surfaces don’t line up, so look for miniatures with good bites.
Crowding. Surprisingly, the teeth in the average mini’s mouth are the same (or nearly the same) size as those as full-size horses and donkeys. Large teeth in a small jaw equate with painful crowding and even impacted teeth. Veterinary dental intervention may be necessary.
Retained caps. Equines lose their baby teeth between two and three-and-a-half years of age. Normally, emerging permanent teeth push out caps (pieces of baby teeth remaining after their roots dissolve) as they come in. In minis, caps sometimes adhere to erupted permanent teeth. This may cause swelling below the eyes, localized sinus infections, and runny eyes. Fortunately, you can usually remove caps yourself.
Learn about the maladies that affect the species and breed you’re interested in owning. For instance, all of the animals described in this chapter, except the Caspian, are more prone to obesity and feed-related maladies such as laminitis (see box below), hyperlipemia (see box, page 297), and Cushing’s disease (page 131) than are their full-size counterparts. These conditions can be prevented (or, in the case of Cushing’s, treated), but every owner must be able to recognize early symptoms.
LAMINITIS
Laminitis is caused by inflammation inside the sensitive laminae (layers) of the hooves. Chronic laminitis is often referred to as founder. There are two sorts of laminae in an equine’s hoof: sensitive laminae attached to the coffin bone and insensitive laminae attached to the inner hoof wall. The function of the laminae is to keep the coffin bone suspended within the hoof capsule and to allow for normal hoof wall growth over the coffin bone. Founder means to sink to the bottom (like a ship); this is precisely what happens when the coffin bone sinks down through the hoof capsule due to an afflicted animal’s body weight tearing through weakened laminae. Obese equines are exceedingly prone to developing laminitis, as are small equines on overly rich diets or ones that have even temporarily gorged on lush spring grass or rich feed. Every owner of equines large or small must learn to recognize the earliest stages of laminitis.
Early symptoms: Heat in the hoof wall; increased digital pulses in the pastern; lying out flat, reluctant to rise; hesitant gait (“walking on eggshells”); standing in a saw-horse stance with the front feet stretched out in front to alleviate pressure on the toes and with the hind feet pushed farther back than normal to bear more weight. If in doubt, call your vet. Unless quickly and aggressively treated, laminitis often cripples an equine for life.
A typical laminitic rocking-horse stance
Miniature equines can be housed in a variety of structures, such as existing horse facilities, three-sided field shelters, and moveable structures such as large Port-A-Huts (see Resources). The most important things are that their living quarters be kept draft-free and provide adequate cover from the weather.
Fences must be tall and stout enough to keep predators out and miniature equines in. Equines do well in cattle-panel, woven-wire, and electric fencing, and they quickly adapt to Electro-Net and similar portable fences. Barbed wire is unsuitable for any type of equine. High-tensile fencing is a poor choice for reactive horses (mules and donkeys don’t tend to race blindly into hazards the way excited horses do), because on impact the fencing slices into the animal’s skin.
It can’t be said enough: don’t overfeed easy-keeping miniature species. Miniature horses and small-breed ponies are apt to eat themselves into obesity and its associated dangers. High-quality grass hay should be the basis of a mini equine’s diet, and most animals can have free access to it. Youngsters, mares in late gestation, and lactating mares need more protein. Limit treats; those calories add up.
Many people enter the miniature horse and donkey breeding business thinking it’s exactly like birthing full-size horses. It’s not.
For example, miniatures of all sizes, both large and small, are far more prone to experience serious foaling dystocia than are full-size mares. Because of the difficulty in manually repositioning foals inside such tiny reproductive tracts, Caesarians aren’t terribly uncommon.
And miniature horse mares are notorious for experiencing premature placental separation, commonly known as red bag deliveries (see box below).
You have to be there when a miniature equine foals. If you (or better yet, a vet) are there to help, everything usually works out fine.
Let’s assume you’ve purchased a pregnant miniature mare or jenny. Keeping in mind that no individual is likely to show every sign, these are some things you’ll observe.
Most mares and jennies begin “bagging up” (developing enlarged mammary glands) four to six weeks prior to foaling. Some individuals show little development until days or even hours before foaling.
A hormone (relaxin) causes the muscles and ligaments in the pelvis to begin relaxing three or four weeks before foaling. This causes the rump to become increasingly steeper as labor approaches — the area along the spine seems to sink and the tailhead rises. This is noticed both from a hips-to-tail side view and from a side-to-side rear view.
The perineum, the hairless area around the vulva, sometimes bulges during the last month (this is more evident in miniature equines than in full-size mares and jennies). About 24 hours before foaling occurs, the bulge diminishes and the vulva becomes longer, flatter, and increasingly flaccid.
A few days before foaling, muscles in the floor and walls of the abdomen begin relaxing and its shape changes, making the mare’s or jenny’s belly seem to come to a point when viewed from the side and become narrower when viewed from the front or back.
As the cervix begins to dilate, usually a few days to a few hours before foaling, the cervical seal (wax plug) liquefies. When this occurs, females often discharge strings of mucus from their vulvas. This can be clear, thin goo; a thicker, opaque white substance; or a thick, amber-colored discharge tinged with amniotic fluid.
The following behaviors indicate that the mare or jenny is in first-stage labor; this generally lasts for 12 to 36 hours prior to actual foaling:
Her udder will engorge with milk, to the point where the teats are filled to bursting. If her udder is pink, it will blush a rosier red and take on a shiny, moist look as foaling approaches. Wax plugs may form on the ends of her teats or she might drip or stream milk.
She may drift away from the herd to seek a nesting spot, sometimes in the company of her dam, a daughter or sister, or another companion. She’ll yawn and stretch (stretching helps put her foal into birthing position); urinate frequently and/or pass small amounts of manure; and she may go off her feed.
When she begins pacing, pawing, kicking at or watching her belly; circling; or lying down and getting up again — especially with her tail cocked out behind or kinked to the side — it’s time!
The foaling (second-stage labor) should progress as described in our Breeding chapter. Turn back to chapter 11 and read it now.
Typically, roughly an hour after the foal arrives, the mare or jenny goes into third-phase labor to deliver the foal’s placenta — the tissues in which it developed inside of her uterus. With equines, it’s very important that these tissues come out promptly and intact. A retained placenta, or even a retained piece of placenta, can lead to metritis (infection within the uterus) and subsequent laminitis. Follow these tips for aiding with third-phase labor:
Leave the stall and reduce distractions to encourage the mare or jenny to lie down and expel the placenta.
Don’t pull exposed portions of the placenta. Pulling encourages the uterus to prolapse — something you never, ever want to experience.
Wear protective gloves when handling placental tissue. In the unlikely event the mare or jenny is infected with a zoonotic disease such as brucellosis, it can be passed to humans who handle the placenta with bare hands.
After it’s expelled, spread out the placenta and check if pieces are missing. It should be T-shaped and inside-out (the purplish red part on the outside), with one torn spot from which the foal emerged. If you think something is missing, place it in a bucket of cool water, cover it, and call the vet.
Intact horse placenta
Foals are programmed by nature to seek sustenance in dark places, but that includes any dark area in the stall. Experienced mares and jennies circle and nudge their foals to put them in the correct position to nurse, though first-timers may have to be haltered and held until their foals make the right connection. Once you’ve dipped the foal’s navel and you’re sure he is nursing (watch his throat to see if he’s swallowing), leave the mare or jenny and her foal alone to bond.
