It’s not a secret that horses are available in different sizes, colors and characteristics. From the smallest Falabella with a permissible height of max 78 cm (30 inch), to the tall Shire horse with an average height of 163-185 cm (64-72.8 inch). There are horses that have records for being the fastest, jumping highest or longest. There are also records to be the smallest.
In this article we go through 3 different but very small records. Which is really…
- the world’s smallest horse of all time,
- the world’s smallest living horse and
- the world’s smallest horsebreed?
The Smallest Horse Ever, Thumbelina
Thumbelina, born 2001 in St. Louis, Missouri in the USA, is the American dwarf horse as with her 43 centimeters (17 inch) and 26 kilos (57 lb) in full growth size titled as “the world’s smallest horse of all time” in the Guinness Book of Records in 2006. Thumbelina died in 2018, 17 years old.
The American Dwarf miniature horse Thumbelina was born in 2001 in St. Louis, Missouri and got her name from the girl in H. C. Andersson’s fairy tale “Thumbelina” given her small size. The mare is chestnut colored, a common reddish brown color on horses. In her face she has a white consistent blush.
Why Was The Horse Thumbelina So Small?
Dwarf miniature horses are a small breed in themselves, but Thumbelina still managed to surprise with her minimal size. Her extremely small physique is not only due to the breed, as Thumbelina at 43 centimeters 26 kilos is half as big as the average for the breed that is 70-80 centimeters and 70-100 kilos. It is not only the small breed American miniature horse, which makes Thumbelina the smallest horse in the world. It is also due to a physical condition called dwarfism and causes conformational problems such as shorter legs than normal and deformed skulls.
The complications in horses can be debilitating. Despite the complications with the gene that created the dwarf plant, Thumbelina was fortunately an active and relatively healthy horse. She toured in the USA and has even met Big Jack who at his 2.1 meters ( 20 hands 2+3⁄4 inches) in height and 1,136 kilos ( 2,600 pounds) was named the world’s tallest living horse when he was measured in 2010. Unfortunately, Big Jack passed away at the age of 20 in 2021.
The World’s Smallest Horse 2022, Bombel
The world’s smallest horse of all time, Thumbelina, died in 2018 – which made the title of the world’s smallest living horse passed on to the next little horse…
The world’s smallest living horse is the miniature Appaloosan Bombel from Poland, which measures 56.7 centimeters (22.3 inch) in height. He is also known for being the world’s smallest male horse of all time. Bombel was born in 2014 and was only two months old when his owners Patryk and Katarzyna Zielinska first saw him. They noticed early on that he was not growing as he should and decided to contact the Guinness World Records where he received his award as the world’s smallest male horse of all time & the world’s smallest living horse.
Despite its small size, Bombel has a big heart. Every month, Bombel visits a local children’s hospital where he gilds patients’ day.
The Smallest Horse Breed, Falabella
There are many small horse breeds on the planet. All breeds that are under 148 centimeters are pony breeds. Ponies are divided into different categories depending on their height. The largest pony category is called D-pony, followed by C-pony, B-pony and finally A-pony.
In the smallest pony category, A-pony, we find breeds that are less than 107 centimeters (42 inch) in height. Among others Shetland pony, Miniature horse and Falabella. The horse breed falabella is a maximum of 78 centimeters in height and weighs an average of 50-60 kilos (110-132 lbs). At birth, a falabella weighs no more than 5-7 kilos (11-15.5 lbs), which makes the breed the world’s smallest horse since 1940 when the first falabella was registered.