DelSastre EBF Mi Oriana, American Miniature Horse

American Miniature Horse Broodmares

The first American Miniature mare I bought spontaneously in 2012 has turned out to be a real stroke of luck. The purchase took place in a way that is normally not recommended ;-). A friend showed me her photo on Facebook and a few messages later I was the proud owner of my first mini! Fortunately the breeders had not promised too much. “Juliet” (Ravenwood A Year To Remember) was a picture perfect and correct mini mare. Unfortunately, she died way too early in 2016 after having a reaction to anesthesia.

Since starting with the Minis, several mares have found their way here and some have been sold again because it was not such a good fit after all. By now I own a small group of high quality mares, all of which have proven themselves either in breeding or the show ring or both. My herd consists of AMHA and AMHR registered American Miniature Horses and a triple registered American Shetland Pony mare.

I have a preference for rather large and elegant mares, but for various reasons decided to stick only with A-size Minis (maximum 34 inches measured at the last mane hair). Unlike other breeders, I am less fixated on details like extreme Arabian heads, very small Minis, special colors or spectacular movement. A harmonious overall picture is more important to me. This includes beauty and correctness of conformation, flowing movement as well as a friendly temperament.

For breeding, I mostly rely on outside stallions. It is much quieter in the stable and simplifies the keeping of horses enormously. I prefer to select the right stallion for a mare instead of randomly covering all mares by the same stallion. The selection of stallions in Europe is relatively large, so that the best possible mating can be chosen for each mare.

Cross J Painted Gem, ASPC/AMHR mare