 Casey is an example of an Achondroplasia dwarf. He's 4 years old in this picture. |
 Shorty is an example of an Achondroplasia dwarf. |
 Tessa at 8 years of age and 26” tall. She is yet another type of dwarf |
| Casey (above, left) and Shorty (above middle) is an achondroplasia dwarf. Note the fairly normal-sized head and body, with the very short legs. At 9 months of age, Tessa (above right) had surgery on her front legs. Her pastern joints were torn up with a drill bit and screws were inserted from the top of the coronary band down towards the center of her hoof. She was then braced for 3 months until her pastern joints fused together. If I had known about making the shoes when I first got Tessa, she would not have had to go through that painful surgery. | ||
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Little Bit (above left) at 14 days old and 13” tall with his front legs braced. He was down so far in his pasterns in back, that his little hooves did not even touch the ground. Little Bit (above right) at the age of 2 years old. Little Bit was an example of a Brachycephalic dwarf (20 “ tall at 2 yrs. old) He passed away at the age of 3 years 1 ½ months of age from complications of an impaction. |
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 Inky at 4 ½ months and 20” tall Inky has had problems with his back end ever since I adopted him at the age of 4 months; he is now 11 months old. He has already been x-rayed from the hoof up! Now, I am trying acupuncture to see if it will help him. |
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Maverick (below, right) is very weak in his hips and stifles (19 “ tall, 6 months old). Also, his left front hoof rolls over to the outside. An extension on the outside of his hoof keeps his hoof flat on the ground. Maverick is also Glutton intolerant, so he can’t eat horse feed. He is able to graze and eat grass hay and is still eating his Foal Lac pellets. |
 Dusty’s baby picture. |
 Dusty at 5 years of age. |
| Dusty
is a minimal dwarf (5 years old, 27” tall). His owner had surgery
done on his front legs before he was given to me. The vet put pins in
his legs, but the owner didn’t take him back to have them removed
soon enough and his legs over-corrected. His front legs are still quite
crooked, but he gets along just fine. |
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| By
no means should dwarves be bred for, but they should not be hidden or
destroyed either. Yes, some dwarves are born with such severe deformities,
that the only humane thing to do is to have them euthanized, but most
dwarves can live a good life. The life expectancy of a dwarf miniature
horse is not nearly as long as a normal Miniature horse. It will just
depend on the severity of the dwarf characteristics and the care the
horse is given. There are no two dwarves exactly alike, even if they
look to be the same type of dwarf on the outside; chances are they are
very different on the inside. We can only see how different a dwarf
is on the outside, but they are very different from a normal horse on
the inside as well. Sometimes dwarves just need a little extra help
to be able to live a good life. |
To read more please go to page 3
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