Community Forum

Miniature Horse Breeders

Until registries are in place the Breeding Communities forum will be for players to work together towards creating or improving their favourite breeds.
Forum rules
Each breed may have only one topic. The first post in the topic is to be informative. It should help explain the breed, and breeding goals; advice on how to select mares and stallions; and links to ideal Stallions available for breeding.
Keeping a directory of breeders working on the same goal is also helpful.
All new threads must be approved.
horsegirl008
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Re: Miniature Horse Breeders

Post by horsegirl008 »

ScarlettDeath wrote:
horsegirl008 wrote: Read the first post - I know you'll be excited ;)
Thank you so much! :D
Np :)
horsegirl008
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Re: Miniature Horse Breeders

Post by horsegirl008 »

EclipticEnd wrote:It'll probably take me a while to make my way to Minis since I want to start up a fresh batch that aren't immediately related to any of the current ones, which ideally would mean making brand new Falabellas which in itself is a bit of a process.

It's going to be a long breeding line. A lot of the breeds aren't readily for sale so it'll be a lot of from-scratch producing.

I've already gotten started with some Shetland breeding. I'd love to end up with 60k+ HGP Shetlands, but that's going to take a lot of work. It's already going to be a process just getting them into more of a Mini/Fala friendly evaluation since Shetlands are like tiny drafts and Minis/Falas are more like tiny horses. You're welcome to watch my progress if you want; I'll be keeping them on this account in Barns/Pastures labeled 9. I'll be trying to get a little group that evaluates well for both breeds and I'll keep a few and sell the rest.

I'm hoping to reach an end goal of 60k+ HGP Miniatures and Falabellas which I then intend to sell and/or pass over to active breeders for those breeds. Same with the Shetlands though they will be made to fit the Mini/Fala breeding guidelines rather than the Shetland ones.
This sounds great - good luck!! 8-)
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EclipticEnd
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Re: Miniature Horse Breeders

Post by EclipticEnd »

No updates at the moment; I'm stalled while I sell some horses.

Out of curiosity, what're all of you looking for in new Miniatures? Is there an HGP range that you'd like? A specific color or gene, like Tobiano, Roan, Dun, Cream, or Pearl? Does COI matter very much to you?

I'm still working on Shetlands, but they're going to be a good way to bring in new colors and patterns since I'm crossbreeding to get a higher HGP. I'm not sure that I can guarantee something like Tiger Eyes, but genes like Champagne are within the realm of possibility. I'm already adding some Pangare/Mealy shading and I've also discovered that my Shetlands have pearl lurking in their genes (an exciting thing as I've never worked much with pearl).

I took a peek at the six most recent Mini foals. There were multiple Chestnuts (with and without Flaxen), a Palomino and Cremello, and a Bay Dun. All but one had spotted Blankets, and the one without had Tobiano in the form of high socks. One was in the 50k HGP range, one in the 40k, and the rest were 30-37k HGP.

I'm not sure if patternless horses could be of interest, or even more Tobianos? My target HGP will be 55k or higher; generational breeding should allow that to go over 60k if you breed the horses correctly.

Since I'm making Minis for the Miniature community, I figure your opinions matter the most and you'll know what you're missing more than I do. Any and all suggestions are welcome. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to do everything, but I'll give it a shot!

Edit: I think I might try for Pearl and facial markings. Pearl's one of those genes that you don't often see utilized and facial markings are somewhat uncommon, so I feel like they'd be a nice little niche to add to the Mini community. Also appearing are multitudes of Snowflakes. Any additional patterns can also be added in terms of Tobiano or Blankets, etc. I'm also not going to worry about COI; mixing with non-related Minis and Fals will lower it anyway.
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EclipticEnd
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Re: Miniature Horse Breeders

Post by EclipticEnd »

Hiya! It's been a while since I've updated you guys!

Shetlands are in the 59k-65k HGP range. I've got some evaluating pretty great for both Minis and Fals. The ones that aren't evaluating well are exceptional Shetlands regardless.

They're all either Pearl or Pearl carriers. Apricot (Pearl on Chestnut) or just Chestnut are the only colors I have because all of the Extension (Black) genes went missing very early on. More color will be added with the other breeds involved for the Fals, though! Blazes went missing early on as well but have made a comeback which I'm excited about! I don't think the blazes will make it through to the Minis and Fals though; the other breeds don't carry that marking and without a ton of inbreeding I just don't think it'll stick. Other patterns are Blankets/Leopards and Snowcaps/Fewspots along with Tobiano. A rare few have visible Tiger Eyes, which means that gene is hiding in some of them still. The Pangare gene's still around I believe and they might end up with Sooty as well; we'll see!

I've been doing my best to keep some of the dilutions like Champagne, Silver, and Cream out of these horses. The main Thoroughbred stud I'm using for the Falabellas does have both Silver and Cream, but I intend to breed those genes out of the final products. You'll be (hopefully) looking at 2x Pearl, Tiger Eye, LP and Tobiano horses in Apricot, Black Pearl, Brown Pearl, and Bay Pearl. They should be pretty unique!

I've been doing my best to create my own recipe horses for this to give you a new bloodline, but it's taking me a long time. The Shetlands have been ready for a while now, I've just been idly breeding higher HGP while waiting for the other breeds to be born and grow. I've recently noticed that some Criollos are up for stud and I've decided to use some of them to save some time. I did manage to breed one of my own, but she's a filly who isn't yet fully grown. Regardless, there shouldn't be much common ancestry between what I'm making and what you guys have. I'm still going to breed more Criollos if I can. If I happen to get a colt then I'll scrap the foals made with public studs and continue as I have been.

That's really all I've got. Sorry for the long wait! I'm hoping they'll be done before July, but that might be pushing things. I tend to play slowly, after all. Hopefully they'll be worth the wait! I intend to breed them to 62k+ HGP (if they don't end up there naturally) before releasing them to the public.
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