The British Miniature Horse Society has been made aware of at least one article being circulated which contains a great deal of incorrect information about our society and how it operates and also the UK miniature horse world in general. We felt that the following statements would be useful information for any owner/potential owner of miniature horses.
DEFINITION - The official DEFRA definition is of an equine measuring no more than 87cm at the wither at maturity. This is also the definition given by the AMHA, although ambiguously they state that the measurement (34”) be to the wither, measured to the last hair of the mane! Therefore any equine taller than this is not a miniature horse (also stated by the AMHA), and so is not eligible to take part in miniature horse classes. The difference in measurement between the wither and last hair of the mane can be as much as 2”(5cm), so care should be taken when purchasing a horse to show in classes that are measured to the wither.
MEASURING - The BMHS measure horses at every show, this is carried out by officials of the society, often assisted by members. The procedure is open to view by all those attending, so that it can be seen to be fair. The AMHA have similar procedures for measuring. Some societies rely on the honesty of competitors and do not measure at all. It has been suggested that our horses should be measured by the JMB, in line with other horse and pony organisations. Currently no miniature societies are affiliated to the JMB (cost is a consideration). The principle reasons that the BMHS do not plan to use the JMB are that it only measures horses over 4yrs old, so most horses in BMHS classes would still have to be measured separately, and the cost, £75+ for each measurement, is felt to be too high and may preclude members from showing.
TYPES OF MINIATURE HORSE - Whilst the chief defining characteristic is size, there are other criteria which differentiate miniature horses. The BMHS definition is of a miniature version of a full sized light or riding horse of British type, in comparative weight between a hack and a hunter. The AMHA name the American Quarter horse as the full sized comparison, whilst the various Falabella societies indicate that the aim of the original breeder was to produce miniature versions of various breeds of horse eg - Arab, Thoroughbred, Appaloosa.
STUD BOOKS AND REGISTERS - What is the difference?
A Studbook is an approved record of breeding; a register is a list of horses wished to be included, for any reason. A horse can only gain entry to a Studbook if it can be proved to be the offspring of two horses already entered in the Studbook (the BMHS currently also offer Studbook status to horses who pass an examination by three judges and a vet, subject to a sliding scale of fees dependent on score which is usually less than £200)). A horse can be registered on any register for which it is suited, for example; spotted, coloured, show jumping, etc. regardless of its breeding. In the UK, Studbooks are regulated by DEFRA, who must approve the organisation that establishes or maintains a Studbook.
The following are the only DEFRA approved Studbooks for miniature horses:-
American Miniature Horse Club GB – for the American Miniature Horse (not Studbook of origin*)
British Falabella Studbook – for the Falabella Horse (Not Studbook of origin*)
British Miniature Horse Society-for the British Miniature Horse –Studbook of origin
Additionally, DEFRA recognise The International Miniature Horse and Pony Society as the Studbook of origin for the International Miniature Pony.
*These organizations must refer back to their Studbook of origin for verification of breeding.
CLASSES AT HOYS AND RIHS - Any organisation can apply to hold championships at either of these events. Both the BHS (RIHS) and Grandstand Media (HOYS) require considerable donations to cover the cost of attendance, either directly from the society or from other sponsorship. The BMHS needs almost £20,000 to attend these two shows annually, which is partly funded by sponsorship but mostly from society funds. All societies involved require that horses participating must be registered with them and the classes are only open to members. For example a coloured horse competing at RIHS must be registered with BSPA, whereas to compete at HOYS it must be registered with CHAPS. Qualifying classes are run under the relevant society’s rules, with judges from their own panel. The BMHS would be fully in line with the other major showing societies (BSHA, BSPS, NPS, etc) if it only allowed registered horses to compete at RIHS or HOYS. However, for the past 4 years we have opened our young stock classes to unregistered horses, provided that their owner is a BMHS member. We also run classes for unregistered horses of all ages, including a Championship at our Breed Show in September.
ACCUSATIONS MADE AGAINST THE BMHS - We are not prepared to answer scandalous statements made about incidents involving third parties. However we are happy to state that, as a democratically run organisation, any disputes are dealt with openly by our Board of Trustees, who are all elected by the membership and answerable to them. We can correct some of the false allegations made against us without mentioning individuals.
Banned members – One member was banned for life in, we believe, 1996. No current trustees were serving at the time of the ban, so no further details can be given. One member is banned for a period of years following a disciplinary procedure which was reported fully to the membership. No other members are currently banned.
Suspended members – One member is currently suspended. The suspension would be lifted if the member would provide the information that had been requested on several occasions.
Refusal of membership – In the past ten years, only one person has been refused membership. The reason given for refusal was that the society has on record a number of complaints, made against the individual seeking membership, by several members, non-members and organizations, which included a large amount of evidence of wrong doing involving miniature horses.
We wish to make it clear that anyone can obtain a BMHS passport (regardless of breeding) or register a horse onto our Studbook, provided that the horse is eligible for registration (ie.has two BMHS registered parents). The owner of the horse does not have to be a member of the society.
