I've actually seen some miniature horses similar to this but not as small, a long time ago somewhere in California.
[hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"]Meet Thumbelina, the world's smallest horse
[/p] Standing just 17 inches tall, she is never going to be a champion show-jumper. [/p] In fact, the tiny mare is so small she would struggle to leap over a bucket. [/p] But such things are of little concern for feisty Thumbelina who has just been officially recognised as the world's smallest horse. [/p]The five-year-old received the title from the Guinness Book of Records after her astonished owners realised she was never going to grow any bigger. [/p] She was born on a farm in America to a couple who specialise in breeding miniature horses. [/p] These popular show horses usually weigh about 250lb and reach a height of 34 inches when they are fully grown. [/p] But when Thumbelina was born, it was immediately clear she would never grow to this size. [/p] At birth she weighed 8lb - the weight of many new-born babies - and eventually she grew to a mere 60lb. [/p] Thumbelina's extraordinary size has been put down to dwarfism, which makes her a miniature of a miniature. [/p]But despite this massive difference in size, it is feisty Thumbelina who rules the roost over the stallions and racehorses on her 150-acre farm. [/p]'When she was born, she was so small we thought she wasn't going to make it,' said Michael Goessling, whose parents Kay and Paul bred the miniature horses. [/p] 'She weighed eight pounds when she came out and she looked very ill. We feared the worst. [/p]'Because her legs are proportionally smaller than her body and her head, she has to wear orthopaedic fittings to straighten them a lot of the time. [/p] 'But we love her and wouldn't want her any other way.' [/p] At a mere 17 inches tall (four hands), the mare measures up to the shins of the 'normal' horses in the paddock. [/p]The Goessling family have bred miniature horses for the past 15 years on Goessling's Goose Creek Farm in St Louis, and these usually stand at 34 inches at the withers - the ridge between the two shoulder blades. [/p] But the owners of the mini horse began to realise they may have bred a record-breaker when she stopped growing after a year. [/p] 'My parents have bred hundreds of miniature horses, but we have never had one as small as Thumbelina,' Mr Goessling said. [/p] 'She was just a complete fluke and we call her a mini mini. [/p] 'When she was young she found the dog kennels and decided she wanted to bed-in with the dogs, rather than with bigger horses. [/p]'She spends all her time playing with the spaniels, but we have to try and stop her grazing on grass, because she is not allowed to eat too much.' [/p] Thumbelina survives on a cup of grain and handful of hay, served twice-a-day. [/p] Normal horses lives for about 35 years, but she is only likely to live up to the age of 17 because of her size. [/p] She has the ability to become pregnant and give birth to foals, but her owners have decided not to allow this to happen. [/p] Mr Goessling, 39, said: 'There could be complications during the pregnancy, so we think it is better to avoid the risks. [/p]'And although we love Thumbelina, we do not think it is right that the gene which creates dwarfism in horses is carried on through future generations.' [/p]The tiny mare has become sometime of a celebrity in her home town in America, but Mr Goessling insists they will never sell her, no matter what price is offered. [/p] 'She is too precious to us to sell,' he added. 'I think my parents would sell me before they part with Thumbelina. [/p] 'She has that special Wow factor, which you only get when you physically see how small she really is.' [/p][a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=409317&in_page_id=1770"]Link [/a]
