Why do all Miniature Horses have to be bred?

Why is it every idiot that manages to pick up a couple of Miniature Horses suddenly thinks they need to be a hobby breeder?

Now, this is not against Miniature Horses. I like Minis; I think they are adorable little guys and there are some great breeders and awesome horses out there. But I swear, Miniature Horses are treated like dogs sometimes and people act like puppy mills!

Just like any other breed of horse (or any pet animal for that matter), not every Miniature Horse needs to be bred! In fact, most don't! Just like Paint Horses, Quarter Horses, Arabians, Thoroughbreds, and everything else, most of them are not breeding quality! They might be awesome animals, but a sparkling personality is not a reason to pass their genes on. Plenty of horses have great minds and personalities so that excuse is silly.

It never fails though. Some old retired couple or young kid out of college manages to get a couple of grade or cheap registered Miniature Horses, and its always a colt and a filly. And then they have these wonderful plans to breed them when they are older and have beautiful babies and live happily ever after! Of course, in the mean time, they are keeping the two little horses together, increasing the chances that the colt is going to get the filly knocked up her first heat, opening the poor little thing to all kinds of possible and likely complications! And of course, they never show the horses or really train them or do anything with them. They just let them frolic in the pasture and scamper about like over-sized, hoofed poodles or something.

People, just because they are smaller than the average horse or pony does not make them less of an equine! All the rules and morals that apply to big horses and ponies should apply to Miniature ones! More in fact because Miniatures are known to have the "dwarf genes" and that breed produces dwarfs a lot more than any other breed does! You have to be twice as careful with breeding stock in Miniatures just because of that. They need certain conformation features to be perfect to help insure as much as possible the resulting foal is not a dwarf!

Like any small animal, Miniatures Horses have several issues due to their size, including bites because their teeth are "full-sized" or close to it, several types of dwarfism, dystocia (difficult births for those not sure), and cryptorchidism (males having one or two retained testicles). Just like the breeders of small dogs have to be extra-careful with their breeding stock and choices due to the possible problems associated with size so should Miniature Horse breeders!

I am sick and tired of every moron who picks up two grade Miniature Horse foals for $100 each or so thinking they need to be breeders! No, no you don't! They are great companions and "pets" and wonderful little animals. But they are not breeding material! Miniature Horses are like any other breed right now; the prices are low and the market is down. You are not going to make more money with Miniatures, you are not going to have an easier time getting the foals sold, and it is not easier to breed them!

And what is worse, any time some of this idiots post about their plans and some responsible breeders or people tell them "you need to geld the colt" and "this is why this is a bad idea", you not only have the original person calling you mean and throwing a bit, a bunch of other "breeders" will do the same! They say silly things like "How dare you be so mean when they are new to Minis?!" and "What right to do you have!" and such. Oh, give me a break.

People who enable idiots to do stupid things are just as bad. It is not supportive, it is irresponsible and wrong. And of course then the original person goes on about their hurt feelings and how mean everyone is and how they cried and cried. Wow. Don't care. You needed to hear it and more importantly you need to listen. These aren't little pet labradoodles you can throw in a backyard to have puppies (not that you should do that too), and you should not practice irresponsible horse care and breeding because Miniature Horses are little and cute and fun.

Miniature Horses are living, breathing smaller versions of equines. They are delicate, beautiful, intelligent little horses who need the same level of care and responsibility as the big ones. It might be on a slightly smaller scale, but your obligations are no less and neither should your morals be.