Miniature Horse Federation Inc.
Standard of Excellence
This standard of excellence is profiling an adult horse.
In General:
The Miniature Horse should ideally resemble the overall appearance and proportions of a light horse breed, for example:
Australian Stock Horse
Arabian
Thoroughbred
Head:
The overall appearance of the head of a mare should be feminine and refined, in stallions, masculine and muscular.
The expression of a mare should be gentle and kind, and the stallion capable of showing great alertness and enormous challenging dignity.
From the tip of the muzzle to the base of the ear ideally should not exceed the length of neck, which is taken from directly behind the poll along the neck in a straight line to the beginning of the wither.
The profile ideally should be flat at the forehead, not bulging and pronounced. The profile should be straight or slightly concave (dished) not convex (roman or camel nosed). This 'dish' should commence just below the level of the eye.
Eyes:
Eyes should be bright and alert, ideally set well apart and placed low in the head, e.g, when the head is viewed in profile, the eyes are placed one third the total length of head from base of the ears. Eyes can be any colour or parti-coloured.
Ears:
Should ideally be set parallel and of medium length, not too long and not too short. Edges of the ears should be refined and the tips ideally curved inwards.
Jowls:
Ideally should be well defined yet not heavy and of adequate width apart to allow free air flow. In mares they should be more refined, and in stallions more pronounced.
Jaw-line:
Ideally should be straight. Allowance is to be made for young horses with erupting permanent teeth. A straight jaw-line is required to allow correct dentition.
Muzzles:
Ideally should be small and tight, nostrils should be very flexible and when excited should become greatly extended. The lips and muzzle ideally should be of a soft texture similar to suede.
Teeth:
Must be of an even bite, a maximum unevenness of 3 mm permissible. An even bite is paramount to allow a horse to graze.
Head and Neck attachment:
Ideally the throat latch angle should match the angle of the neck where it adjoins the poll. This attachment allows great flexibility of the head in any direction and ample room for the windpipe.
The Neck:
Ideally should be the equal length from where the neck joins the wither, to the point where the back joins the loins. The neck should be set high from the chest, for example to allow adequate room for a harness breastplate.
The neck should be refined, and the horse is alert, nicely curved with even curvature on the underside and on the topside.
Stallions should exhibit a masculine crest without coarseness. Ewe neck or heavy muscling on the underside is undesirable and can be an indication of an under conditioned horse.
The Shoulder:
Ideally should be well sloped with an angle of 45 degrees, should be well defined without excessive muscling concealing the line of the shoulder. The shoulder should be set clear from the neck allowing ample room for the heart.
The Chest:
Ideally should be well muscled of good width creating an arched appearance between the front legs, which would be neither, too narrow or too wide. A narrow chest would render inadequate width between the shoulder giving the shoulders the appearance of being too closely set.
The Front Legs:
Ideally should be, when viewed from the front, parallel to each other and not too closely positioned or positioned too widely apart. If the chest width is correct the leg should be spaced correctly. The legs should be straight and if a weighted string was held at the top of the centre of the leg, the string should centrally pass through all joints and bones ending up in the centre of the front of the hoof.
The front legs when viewed from the side should be straight; the elbows should stand away from the body. This allows freedom of movement. Both the pastern and hoof angle should be 45 degrees. The cannon bone should be one third the length of the leg, and the forearm should be two thirds the length of the leg. The forearm should be muscled. The knees should be flat and of proportionate size to support the horse weight and withstand concussion. The long bone should be flat and have substance. Long bones that are too fine are considered a weakness but should not be coarse.
The Body:
Ideally should be rounded and trim but not have a "slab sided appearance". The depth of girth and the flank should be of similar proportions without a "pinched" appearance through the flank, or 'herring gutted'.
The Leg/Body Proportion:
The front leg measurement from the ground to the elbow should be obviously greater than the depth of the body from the elbow to the highest point of the wither.
The Wither:
Ideally should well defined without being sharp or flat.
The Back:
Ideally should be the equal length of the neck measurement, to where the back joins the loins. The back should be strong in appearance and well-muscled on either side of the spine, slightly concave to give the correct shape and position for where a saddle would normally sit. The loins should be short and strong. Any dip 'soft loins' or rise 'roach back' in the loins is a serious weakness.
The Croup:
Should be long, wide and relatively level and muscular. Short and steep croups are not desirable. The highest point of the croup should be forward towards the line of the flank. The highest point of the croup should not be higher than the highest point of the wither.
The Top-line:
(the back, the loins, and the croup) should be smooth and without any sharp angular lines.
Tail:
Should be carried away from the body once the horse moves forward. It should be set to allow freedom of movement, as the tail is required for balance, in which case the tail should not be set too low. The hair of the tail should be similar in texture to that of the mane, which should be devoid of coarseness.
The Hindquarters:
Are contained in the area lying between the rear of the flank and the root of the tail stretching down to the gaskin, and should be of generous size. They should be well muscled over the top, over the gaskins and the inner thighs. When viewed from behind the hips should be relatively wide and high in relation to the horse's build.
The Hind Legs:
Should be, when viewed from the back, parallel to each other and not too closely positioned or positioned too widely apart. When viewed from the back the legs should be straight and if a weighted string was held at the point of buttocks the string should centrally pass through the hock and end at the centre of the back of the hoof. Legs should be well muscled and strong. Ideally the angle from the point of buttocks to the stifle, and from the stifle to the hock should be 135 degrees. Hocks and long bones should be flat. Long bones that are too fine are considered a weakness, but should not be coarse.
The Hooves:
Should point directly ahead of the horse. The front hooves should be round with open heels, the back hooves slightly elongated with open heels. The angle of the hoof and pastern should be the same, ideally 45 degrees. The hoof wall should be smooth and un-ridged. They should not show signs of clubbed foot.
The Action:
Of the horse must be free flowing at all gaits with great freedom of use of the shoulder. At the free walk the hind feet should at least step into the front foot-print. At the trot there should be flexion at all joints with the hocks coming well under the body giving driving impulsion.
The Temperament:
In mares should be kind and gentle with a tender patience with children and the infirm.
The gelding should be willing and amicable.
The stallion should be bold and proud yet in touch with their handler and their directions.
The Coat:
Should be a fine texture and lustrous. Ideally the coat should be fine as on a Thoroughbred. Any colour or pattern is accepted.
The ideal Miniature Horse - in the words of Homer Davenport
"He is a very perfect animal; he is not large here and small there. There is a balance and harmony throughout his frame. He is the quintessence of all good qualities in a miniature, compact form."
