Saddles and Bridles

Mini Horse Guide

One of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen in all my years of being around horses is the picture of a teeny tiny horse curled up in a human’s lap. I was familiar with ponies and their unique appearance, but had never seen Miniature Horses – that look just like a big horse except they’re really small. Generally under 34″ tall at the withers according to the American Miniature Horse Registry.

Having ridden and shown full-size horses, I knew that just about all of the same activities could be accomplished with a miniature horse. Trail riding, carting, jumping, and more. Sometimes, depending on the size of the horse and the rider, these would be done with no one actually “riding” the mini – they’d be on the ground, and would guide the horse over the jumps or whatever the exercise was. Pulling a cart with an adult or two in it is something most minis can do easily, as they can pull a lot more weight in a cart than they can on their backs.

Many older horse folks turn to minis when the big guys get to be too much work (not to mention expense). They can continue to indulge their love of horses but on a smaller scale. As our bodies get older, we begin to appreciate the smaller things in life as they are less wear and tear on our bodies!

There is no such thing as a Miniature Horse breed. They are descended from many different breeds of horses, and even ponies, as breeders sought smaller and smaller animals. There are many different registries for miniature horses, and some refer to the specific parent breed. Mini Arabians, for example, look pretty much like regular sized Arabians, and the conformation requirements are often the same or are very similar. The introduction of ponies into the bloodlines to bring in smaller size often introduced the typical pony look rather than the horse look. And using dwarf ponies or horses produced a distinctive look of its own, not to mention health and physical problems.

Mini Horse Guide

But I was astounded to learn that Miniature Horses were also used as guides for the blind! Mini horses possess the kind of temperament that makes them wonderful guides – they are much more affectionate and bondable to humans than larger horses, but not as susceptible to over-bonding the way that some dogs can be. The show very good judgment in keeping their person out of trouble, and their size (26″ or smaller) is comparable to a dog’s but they have more strength and stamina to assist their person.

They can be house trained, so they can go anywhere a guide dog can go including airplanes, restaurants, the theater, etc. Anywhere a service dog is allowed, the guide horse can go to according to the Americans With Disabilities Act. How cool is that??!!

Why would someone want a guide horse? Well, for one thing, not every likes dogs! Or they are allergic to them, but horses are considered to be hypo-allergenic. Equestrians who find themselves in need of a guide tend to prefer the animal they’ve loved all their lives. Minis tend to live good long lives – 20-30 years is typical, with some reaching 50 years of age easily. This is important for people who strongly bond with their service animals and have a hard time saying goodbye to their service dog every 8-12 years. Mini horses are stronger than dogs, and this comes in handy if the person needs assistance in getting into or out of a chair.

Guide horses are trained and certified by the Guide Horse Foundation and are provided free of charge to their new owners. Extensive training by experienced horse trainers using a variety of techniques from the horse, guide dog, behavioral science, and cavalry/riot police horse training disciplines develop a safe and trusted guide horse for some lucky person.  They rely on donations of both money and horses to continue this wonderful program, and I hope that if you’re a horse-lover you’ll consider making a small contribution to this great effort.

One thing that touched me was that many of the miniature horses in the program are rescues. Each year in this country, thousands of unwanted horses both large and small are sent to slaughterhouses or are rescued from abusive or neglectful homes. This program gives these doomed animals a new lease on life, in a way that makes an unimaginable difference to the lives of the people they are helping. Each animal is carefully screened for physical health and temperament, because a person’s life will depend on them. It amazes me that animals who who received in some cases horrific abuse at someone’s hands could still give the unconditional love and support to a human being in need. I doubt that many people, given the same treatment, would be so forgiving.

Anyway, this is a great program and I hope it’s given you a few things to think about. One of my pet peeves is the totally mindless and irresponsible breeding programs (both in dogs and in horses!) that goes on, to the point where people have flooded the market with unwanted animals. And in these bad economic times, people are abandoning them in record numbers.  What are we thinking??!!

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