The Falabella horse
Is it a horse or a pony? - The Falabella is a very special breed, the characteristics of which have been established after many generations of selection. The name 'Falabella' actually comes from the son in law of the original man who first started to develop the breed in the nineteenth century. The breed was actually established in the 1850 by an Irishman named Patrick Newtall. He noticed a number of small horses being kept within the tribes of some Indians. After acquiring some, and after many years of breeding he passed his small herds onto his son in law Juan Falabella. Juan added some English thoroughbred blood, some Criollo and even Shetland. By 1893 the herd had become stable and the characteristics for the breed were firmly established. Since this breed has been shown to be man made it is in fact a breed of horse!
Today the numbers of pure bred animals are still few, but by maintaining DNA records we can ensure that these horses maintain the ideal standards that have been fixed through generations of breeding.
No horse can 'become' a Falabella if it is not pure bred and proven to be so by having either an offical Argentinian breeding certificate or by being DNA tested, but Falabellas can 'become' other breeds such as American Miniatures. In fact it is probable that the American Miniature horse breed owes quite a lot to this breed for many great blood lines, it being only officially established in 1971. Many registered American Miniatures are in fact Falabellas.
Falabellas are extremely tough due to their natural rearing. They are a true horse and very clever, with a bold gait and bright eye. They still retain their miniature height which is generally under 38” -and they can be very easily humanized!
