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The Falabella was developed during the
nineteenth century in the country of Argentina. The breed takes its name from
the Falabella family, who spent years establishing the breed on their ranch
outside Buenos Aires. Although the Falabella family is credited with beginning
the breed, the initial idea of producing a miniature horse came from
Patrick Newtall, an Irish man living in Argentina. He spent years forming a
herd of small ' horses' that stand under nine hands high, and he passed
his knowledge and expertise on to his son in law, Juan Falabella, in the year
1879.
The Falabella was produced by crossing
Shetland ponies with the herd produced by Patrick Newtall. There were then
further infusions by a very small English Thoroughbred and a small Criollo. To
keep reducing the size of the Falabella, the smallest and absolute best of the
progeny were repeatedly inbred until the average size was below thirty inches
at the withers. There is, interestingly enough, a degree of Spanish blood in
the Falabella, because Newtall's original herd would have been founded largely
on small Spanish horses, then with later infusions of Criollo blood.
Originally, intentions were to produce a
tiny, miniature horse and not a small pony. It is quite hard to tell what the
perceived function of developing this breed was, when considering how tiny and
inbred they are now. However, the Fallabella is extremely strong for its size
and has been used in light harness capacity and is often ridden by small
children. The conformation of the breed, with its straight shoulder and small
size, does not put it very high in the ranks of children's pony. They have
very good temperaments, are intelligent and friendly, and it is becoming
apparent that perhaps their best role is as an ornamental and unique pet.
In appearance the better examples are quite
attractive little horses, but due to inbreeding, they invariably have heads
that are too large for their bodies, and various other defects of
conformation, mainly in the legs and hindquarters. Interestingly, it has been
discovered that the Falabella has one or two fewer ribs than other equine
breeds. They have a wide range of coat colors and are often spotted or
painted, which is a throwback to their Spanish blood. They are exceptionally
long-lived and have been known to live longer than forty years.
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