Falabella

Origin

The origin of the Falabella horse is intimately linked to the origins of the horse in Latin America. The Andalusian horses that the Spanish brought with them to help them with their conquests, chosen for their rusticity and endurance, were later left to survive on their own due to unsuccessful attempts to conquer the area inhabited by humans.
Running aimlessly across the vast plains, the surviving horses went through a series of biological processes and structural changes needed to adapt to new conditions that were different from those in their native places.
Whether it was hot or cold winds were blowing from the south west, or there were storms or the land was arid, horses were forced to run long distances to find water and food. this made them very resilient.
Their instincts and the ability to sense danger were sharpened by the persecution of Indians and Pumas.
All these factors, along with isolation and mating between members of the same families, caused genetic mutations in the breed in subsequent generations.
This led to the appearance of a type of horse that appears to be the ancestor of the Falabella breed and was first seen before the middle of the nineteenth century in the flocks of Mapuche Indians in the southern part of Buenos Aires province in Argentina.
After many years of mating and selection, the Falabella family has established a herd of harmonious and well-structured horses with a height of less than 102 cm, maintaining the same proportions of characteristics that Falabella horses had at the beginning.
The Falabella family began to improve the breed and refine the shape of this horse. To achieve these goals, Falabella introduced specimens from European breeds, small purisange, Welsh ponies, Shetland, small horses from the eastern part of Europe, Criollos.
Successive generations of the Falabella family have grown very small horses much more harmonious in shape than their predecessors and reduced the height of the present standard to less than 76 cm.
After 1940, Julio C. Falabella started a registry of births and genealogical details for some of these horses. Due to his remarkable memory and some old data he possessed, he was able to obtain, with interference, genealogical details up to 20 years ago.
This first register, not always methodical, was systematized in the mid-60s, using classical genealogy technologies. In 1980, while honoring the work done by J. C. Falabella in developing the breed, the Establecimientos Falabella decided to restore the registry.
Incorporating new tools, like a calculator, the chronological numerical order was changed, and the ascending numbers from 1980 were entered in each horse's register.
The descending numbers, preceded by the acronym "A" were passed to horses born before 1980. Similarly, old explanatory notes have been researched and techniques have been improved, giving the register the form it has today.
Since the beginning of 1950, when the breed began to spread all over the world, to this day, Sovereigns, International personalities and horse breeders have shown great interest in the Falabella breed.
It can be said, without any hesitation, that there is no place in the world where Falabella has not stepped on. From Alaska to Tierra del Fuego (the southernmost point in the world), from the sweltering regions of the Arabian peninsula to the cold fjords of Norway, from blooming Japan to the Atacama, the Falabella breed has been sheaned or procreated or developed in an amazing manner.

Appearance Falabella

It is a horse that possesses all the traits and attributes of its higher relatives. The fixed nature of the genetic characteristics of the Falabella breed allows their natural reproduction.
Foals are raised with the same temperament. The average height is between 70 cm and 77 cm in a young horse aged 2-3 years. In mature horses, the height can be between 76 cm and 83 cm.
Smaller or taller these horses are exceptional. These proportions of these little horses are in complete harmony. This horse has a lot of colors.
Black and brown colors are the most common. Madder and hazelnut color are some of the most attractive combinations. There is no Appaloosa blood in Falabella. Appaloosa is a type of horse native to North America.
Red or black spots in this breed are unusual but there are a few specimens that have these spots in Falabella flocks.
In contrast to other horses that are also so small, it differs because many horses of the other breeds improperly transmit the size, temperament, and conformation of its offspring.
The Falabella breed does not need any artifice during gestation and tries to survive with this small height.
Its natural rusticity and ability to adapt to their environment allows this breed to survive in severe weather conditions, sometimes even better than their taller relatives, without any special care that may be required by another type of horse.
The wonderful characteristics of this breed are its temperament and its ability to adapt to its environment. Although it is a lively and rustic field animal and thanks to the company of people, Falabella has become a cute and docile animal.

Falabella Behavior

Most falabella ponies are considered intelligent and easy to train.
Despite their size the pony can be ridden by young children.
They can jump obstacles up to 1m without a rider and can be used as guide animals because of their intelligence.