Upon seeing a miniature horse, many remark on the adorableness of the “pony,” while others ask what they offer other than companionship.
But don’t be fooled, these small creatures are anything but one-trick ponies, experts say. In fact, they are not ponies at all. A full grown miniature horse, known tenderly as a “mini,” can be as tall as 34 to 38 inches to their withers.
These little guys have made big gains in popularity in Ontario.
At the annual “Fuzzy Show,” dozens of members of the Miniature Horse Club of Ontario (MHCO) gathered for their first show of the season. They are the first to say how kind, fun and versatile miniature horses are.
Doug Savage, president of the 23-year-old club, said the popularity of the miniature horse has grown in the last decade.
Each year the club opens its show season with a Fuzzy Show, at which members can have fun, learn new tricks and socialize.
This year’s show, held on April 9 at Quardream Equestrian Centre north of Mount Forest, saw dozens of minis in one arena showing off their longest whiskers, longest bridle path, shortest unclipped body hair as well as some costume and trick classes.
But it’s not all fun and games. There is a competitive side to miniature horses.
Many members of the MHCO are hoping for a shot at getting to the American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR) national show held each fall in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The AMHR has two height classifications, explained Savage: an ‘A’ division horse is under 34 inches tall and ‘B’ division horses measure between 34 and 38 inches.
According to the American Miniature Horse Association (AMHA) standard of perfection, a miniature horse “is a beautiful, small, well-balanced horse that if all reference to size were eliminated, would have the same conformational proportions of other full-sized light breeds.”
Savage said the breed has evolved over the years.
“The style of the miniature horses 10 years ago was like a mini draft horse. Now they’ve bred into them more of the Arabian style horse, finer bone, better movement,” said Savage.
“The mini horse has graduated to the point that a lot of them have Shetland blood.”
Savage said people get into miniature horses for many reasons: seniors start showing minis because the “big” horses are harder to handle and children use them as a stepping stone for bigger horses.
“There’s so many people getting into them that had big horses and they have a young family; the young kids are getting their confidence up before moving up to bigger horses,” he said.
Nikki Trumpler, 16, of Alliston, said that was how her family started training miniature horses.
“My sister was afraid of big horses and my mom intended to use them as a stepping tool to work her way up, but we sort of got hooked on them,” she said.
The AMHR national show is the highest level of competition show, Trumpler said. The national show has over 1,600 horses competing in 356 classes, from halter to driving and even jumping.
Halter class is like a dog show, said Trumpler. The minis are shown on their conformation.
The driving classes can use a single mini or a team of horses to drive two-wheel or four-wheel wagons. In the jumping class, minis leap over jumps taller than they are and are judged on grace and accuracy. There’s even an obstacle course where the horse is led through a series of obstacles such as a tilting bridge.
Trumpler, who has been to the national show twice, said, “It was so great, there’s so much competition and so many great horses.”
In 2014, she entered her mini “Jimmy” in the halter class and ended up winning reserve champion in the yearling youth gelding under class. She and a horse named “Steven” won reserve champion in the youth driving versatility under 34 inches class last year. Trumpler was also the 2015 Champion AMHR youth showmanship in the mares and geldings over 34 inches division age 13 to 17. In 2014 she was reserve grand champion in this division.
Miniature horses are not just used for shows and competitions.
Carolyn Aarup of Dakota Winds Farm in Meaford uses her horses for therapy when she’s not driving.
“I went into therapy work because one of my mentors used to go to retirement homes and I thought what a fabulous thing to do,” said Aarup who is also the treasurer for MHCO.
“So now on average we go to about four local nursing homes every year, when the weather is nice, with our minis. She added the therapy can be especially beneficial for residents of retirement or long-term care homes that may have had horses in the past.
“They’ll reach out and they’ll just be like ‘oh, it smells so good’ or ‘it feels so good’, then they’ll start reminiscing and it’s really good therapy,” she said.
Aarup added not all minis can be therapy horses – it depends on their temperament. They have to be patient, not mind being coddled and, of course, they must like the attention.
She relayed one story about bringing a therapy mini to the bedside of a 40-year-old man who suffered a severe stroke.
“He couldn’t sit up properly and he had been totally non-responsive. He’d look at things, but he didn’t speak; he didn’t move, he didn’t do anything, he didn’t say anything,” she said.
Aarup took his hand and placed it on the horse’s neck.
“Well all of a sudden he started moaning and making noises and trying to speak and he started getting, not agitated but very excited, and reaching out and holding on to the horse.”
Aarup said the nurses couldn’t believe it, saying it was such a big moment for the man to react this way.
She said she would also watch her horses move automatically toward the person in the home on their own, providing comfort.
“That type of thing gives me so much pleasure,” said Aarup.
The MHCO returns to Quardream on May 28 for a spring driving clinic before its first show in June. Visit mhco.ca for information.
