Thankfully , there are some human angels on earth that have taken on the near constant care that these special horses require . Celebrities such as Kaley Cuoco have adopted dwarf minis and are freely admitting although they are diminutive in size , in no way does this correlate with their near astronomical vet , farrier and special medical needs .
Their stories are worth sharing if just to give credit for their owner ’ s tenacity and perseverance .
CHRIS SHOWERS : Our dwarf is named Jasper . He is about 22 years old now , a rescue that has lived with us for about 11 years . He has a multitude of dwarf issues : over-developed bottom jaw , fused joints in his crooked legs , and a penis that points at a 90 % angle backwards ( yes , he pees and it goes almost between his back legs ). He is healthy because he can continually move around free range on our 15 acres and be “ a horse ” with his 36 year old OTTB girlfriend . He is a bossy , crabby little guy and is boss around the barn for certain . The only thing he has real problems with is getting up after he lies down . So I get him up every morning , and off he goes , he eats nothing but good quality hay and 24 / 7 pasture . He doesn ’ t gain too much weight because of his teeth / jaw problems . I am blessed to also have a farrier for a husband , because his hooves require near constant care and are as wacky as his conformation ! But we do love him to pieces .
CYNTHIA HALL : I have a dwarf . Yes there are health issues . She has an underbite that I have had a surgery procedure done twice on to slow the growth of her jaw . Her upper jaw did not grow properly and is short . She has a prominent deviated septum on radiographs . So I have to watch her exercise and breathing for as most know a horse does it ’ s breathing from its nostrils . Recently she has developed locking stifles when she rises from lying down . She has multiple allergies also . I have her on limited goodies because she gains weight easily . We break up her cookie into small pieces so she thinks she is getting in on the treats . She gets vitamin E daily for a skin condition also . I love her to pieces . She is a real hoot . But with that said it is pretty sad to know she has limits because of her dwarfism .
KRISTIN SANDBERG AMONS : We have a dwarf we use for therapy work , she has an underbite and is seen by an equine dentist every six months . When she came to us at 4 months old she had two feet that turned over . This required hoof extensions and extensive trims every 2 weeks for a few months . It was a painful process for her , but she now has semi-normal feet / legs with trims every 4 weeks . We have her on an all natural high protein diet as well as a joint supplement to hopefully help slow down the progression of any arthritis which she will be prone to . It is a commitment in terms of time , finances and knowledge but she is a doll and we use her to educate the public about why dwarfism is not a desirable trait .
PAULA JO BRIGHT : We have had three dwarf minis that we adopted over several years . They have copious health issues which magnify as they age . Not only is arthritis an issue , rotation of their leg joints is common . They go from looking totally normal to being very bowlegged in appearance over a period of several years . And no , it was not related to poor trimming from the farrier , quite the contrary . Poor bites are common . And those are things you can see . Dwarves of any persuasion ( equine , human , bovine , canine ) are prone to a myriad of internal issues , most notably cardiac abnormalities . We lost two of the three to ‘ sudden death ’ ( most likely of a cardiac nature ) and at a fairly young age ( neither saw age 6 ). There is no way I would risk passing those issues on to something else , their quality of life is not great , no matter the extreme care you give them .
Editors Notes : As of this writing only the University of Kentucky is offering the four dwarfism DNA tests . Tests can be ordered directly from the lab with results obtained from hair follicle samples . Sources say the Center for Animal Genetics in Tuebingen , Germany , who specialize in dog , cat and horse testing will soon be offering the dwarfism tests as well .
To request a test for your horse at the University of Kentucky , contact them via their website at :
Hair samples are used for this DNA test for these mutations . Fees : Full panel of all four mutation tests : $ 150 ; any test individually : $ 40 each .
For questions regarding the dwarfism test , please contact Kathryn Graves , PhD , assistant clinical professor and director of the AGTRL , at ktgraves @ uky . edu or 859 / 218-1193 .
SUMMER 2018 Miniature Horse World 33