HORSE BREED
The small but mighty Falabella The Falabella miniature horse rarely exceeding eight hands, but despite their tiny size AMANDA MAC was intrigued to learn that you never call them a ‘pony’.
O
ther than their size, Falabellas are proportioned similarly to other horses. Reminiscent of Thoroughbreds or Arabians in their conformation, they have small, compact bodies, a sleek coat and slim frame. The neck might be somewhat stouter, and the head slightly larger when compared to a full-sized horse, but with very few other pony-like characteristics, they are referred to as miniature horses rather than ponies. Interestingly, they have one less vertebrae (17 instead of 18) and one less pair of ribs than their full-sized counterparts. But don’t be fooled! Despite their diminutive size, they’re surprisingly strong - as strong, in fact, as a horse considerably larger than themselves.
A little Falabella history The story of the Falabella began in South America during the 15th century, when the Spanish, who at the time were intent on conquering the continent, arrived with horses bred from Andalusian and Barb stock. However, the Spanish armies were eventually defeated and they withdrew from the region leaving their horses behind to roam freely. Due to the isolated, and oftentimes harsh, conditions in the southern end of the continent, considerable inbreeding
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Above: Señor Julio Falabella with Lady Rosamund Fisher. Lord & Lady Fisher kept a herd of Falabella horses at Kilverstone Hall, their historic estate in Norfolk, UK. Right: Falabella Mohican, a stallion from Argentina’s Establecimientos Falabella Stud (courtesy of Sugarfoot Miniature Horse & Pony Stud).
occurred. The result was that a number of small but extremely strong horses began to appear within the herds, particularly in Argentina. In the mid-1800s, an Irish jockey by the name of Patrick Newton (some sources suggest his name was Newtall or Newtoll) took an interest in these
HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2019
little horses. Using the smallest he could find, he began a breeding program specifically designed to further reduce their physical size with the object of establishing a true small horse breed. When Patrick died, the herd and breeding methods were passed on to his son-in-law, Juan Falabella.
