The Falabella

The Falabella developed during the 19th century in Argentina. The breed takes its name from the Falabella family, who spent years establishing the breed at their ranch outside Buenos Aires. Although the Falabella family developed the breed, the initial idea of producing a miniature horse came from an Irish man living in Argentina, Patrick Newtall. He spent years forming a herd of small horses that stand under 9hh, and he passed his knowledge and expertise on to his son-in-law, Juan Falabella, in 1879.

This was the beginning of the Falabella which were produced by crossing Shetland ponies with the herd established by Newtall. Falabella miniature horses, though, should never be confused with Shetland ponies. Shetlands are generally ponies of a stockier build, and, as a rule, do not possess the good nature of the Falabella. There were then furthur infusions by a very small English Thoroughbred and a small Criollo. To keep reducing the size of the Falabella, the smallest and best of the progeny were repeatedly inbred until the average size was below 30 inches at the withers. There is, interestingly, a degree of Spanish blood in the Falabella, since Newtall's original herd would have been largely founded on small Spanish horses, and then the later infusion of Criollo would have added to this.

The original intentions were to produce a tiny, miniature horse and not a small pony. It is hard to tell quite what the perceived function for developing this breed was, when considering how tiny and inbred they are. However, the Falabella is extremely strong for its size and has been used in light harness capacity, and has been ridden by small children. The conformation of the breed with its straight shoulder and tiny size, does not put it among the great ranks of children's ponies. They do have very good temperaments, and are intelligent and freindly, and perhaps their best role is as an ornamental and unique pet.

In appearance, the better examples are quite attractive small horses, appearing as a perfectly proportioned miniature horse, resembling the Thoroughbred or Arab, of under 34" (86.4 cm). Although the Falabella will produce a good, thick coat, once acclimatised to colder winters, in summer the coat is sleek and fine, as one would expect of any thoroughbred. True proportions may be imagined as looking through the wrong end of a telescope. However, due to inbreeding, they may also have a head that is proportionally too big for the body, and various other conformational defects, mainly in the legs and hind quarters. They have a wide range of coat colors and will often be spotted or pinto, which is a throwback to their Spanish blood. They are exceptionally long lived, and can continue past forty years.

Interestingly, it has been discovered that the Falabella was one or two fewer ribs than other equine breeds. in the 1970's the possibility that the Falabella Miniature Horse had only seventeen thoracic vertebrae, instead of eighteen, piqued the interest of Falabella Miniature Horse enthusiasts. In more recent years, during a postmortem in Italy, a most respected Veterinary Professor established similar findings. Last year research in skeletal anomalies in some Australian miniature horses also indicated the presence of 17 instead of 18 vertebrae The Falabella Miniature Horse exhibits further skeletal features similar to the Arab, and Morgan. These three breeds are most notable for their beauty, character, stamina and poise.



Written by Salina Covich. - 2004 (c)

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