Falabella

Falabella mare with foal

The Falabella is an Argentine miniature pony breed. It is one of the smallest breed in the world.

Background information on the evaluation and breeding horses can be found at: exterior, interior and horse breeding.

Exterior

Falabella's are the smallest horses in the world, but should as other breeds have a very correct, rather elegant exterior. The head is finely cut and of medium size with a straight or slightly Hecht profile. The ears are small and portable. Foals usually have a strongly curved forehead. The well- set neck should not be too short; the withers are slightly marked. The short, straight back goes into a sloping croup. The shoulders are moderately steep. The legs should be strong, but slender and not too short; partly they act somewhat unterproportioniert in proportion to body. The mini pony race reached a shoulder height of up to 86.4 centimeters ( 34 inches ); Foals measure partially below 40 centimeters. The Falabella was bred exclusively to small size, not color, so that all colors are available, including piebald and Tigerschecken. However, rare colors are very popular, especially with ponies, which will be presented at shows. Are sought after especially in the Falabella Appaloosa color pelmet, snowflakes and marble stained. Mane and tail are thick and bushy.

Because of its small size - the smallest in 1978 was just 30.4 inches tall - it can not be ridden and is not usually shod.

Instead of 18 ribs, the Falabella has only 17 ribs and is discharged in 13 instead of the usual eleven months.

Use

The Falabella is mainly used as a shop and fashion pony, sometimes called pony carriage for smaller carriages.

In the U.S. Falabellas are often kept as house and petting; but there are full-fledged small ponies with an often highly idiosyncratic character.

Seeing-eye horse

Because of their great intelligence and affability Falabellas for blind people are trained to replace guide dogs in recent years. There are already animals that help blind people in daily use to increase their mobility. In the U.S., horses with appropriate training law the same status as guide dogs.

In past centuries, numerous panels at theaters of war and the police have shown that horses can remain calm in very stressful situations. These are reasons that make the view of the Guide Horse Foundation, an organization that trains seeing-eye horse, horses suitable animals; as well as the long life expectancy of over 30 years, the large field of view of the horse and possibly a more favorable training. Blind horses are led primarily by blind people with dog hair allergy, but there are also blind from the Arab culture that reject dogs and therefore prefer seeing-eye horses.

Breeding history

Your name received the Argentine ponies after the first breeding family from near Buenos Aires. Falabella's lead almost exclusively Shetland blood; the small size and elegant appearance were achieved by systematic selection. To a lesser extent, English Thoroughbred was crossed for finishing. Fallabella ponies are too small to be used for work. However, the larger specimens are quite capable of pulling light carriages with up to two adults in two- or Four Hand. Central, however, the breed used for shows, which also explains the extreme selection size, which goes partly at the expense of robustness and health of the horses. So the vast majority of the Falabella Foal is brought into the world by Caesarean section. Due to the low body weight of the ponies can not be kept outside without worries also because they feel cold easily.