The photo was taken by Cindy Pierson Dulay and it won the Media Eclipse Award for Photography. The photo is of Thoroughbred Stephan's Angel leaping in the air while being saddled before the Miss Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in 2004. Pierson Dulay's photograph appeared in the July 2004 issue of Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred.

 

 

Meet Thumbelina, the world's smallest horse

by ARTHUR MARTIN Last updated at 22:29pm on 8th October 2006

  

Littlest pony: Thumbelina.

 

Standing just 17 inches tall, she is never going to be a champion show-jumper.

In fact, the tiny mare is so small she would struggle to leap over a bucket. But such things are of little concern for feisty Thumbelina who has just been officially recognized as the world's smallest horse.

 

The five-year-old received the title from the Guinness Book of Records after her astonished owners realized she was never going to grow any bigger. She was born on a farm in America to a couple who specialize in breeding miniature horses. These popular show horses usually weigh about 250lb and reach a height of 34 inches when they are fully grown. But when Thumbelina was born, it was immediately clear she would never grow to this size.

 

At birth she weighed 8lb - the weight of many new-born babies - and eventually she grew to a mere 60lb.

Thumbelina's extraordinary size has been put down to dwarfism, which makes her a miniature of a miniature.

But despite this massive difference in size, it is feisty Thumbelina who rules the roost over the stallions and racehorses on her 150-acre farm.

 

'When she was born, she was so small we thought she wasn't going to make it,' said Michael Goessling, whose parents Kay and Paul bred the miniature horses. 'She weighed eight pounds when she came out and she looked very ill. We feared the worst. Because her legs are proportionally smaller than her body and her head, she has to wear orthopedic fittings to straighten them a lot of the time. 'But we love her and wouldn't want her any other way.'

 

At a mere 17 inches tall (four hands), the mare measures up to the shins of the 'normal' horses in the paddock.

The Goessling family have bred miniature horses for the past 15 years on Goessling's Goose Creek Farm in St Louis, and these usually stand at 34 inches at the withers - the ridge between the two shoulder blades. But the owners of the mini horse began to realize they may have bred a record-breaker when she stopped growing after a year. 'My parents have bred hundreds of miniature horses, but we have never had one as small as Thumbelina,' Mr Goessling said. 'She was just a complete fluke and we call her a mini mini.'When she was young she found the dog kennels and decided she wanted to bed-in with the dogs, rather than with bigger horses.She spends all her time playing with the spaniels, but we have to try and stop her grazing on grass, because she is not allowed to eat too much.'

 

Thumbelina survives on a cup of grain and handful of hay, served twice-a-day. Normal horses lives for about 35 years, but she is only likely to live up to the age of 17 because of her size. She has the ability to become pregnant and give birth to foals, but her owners have decided not to allow this to happen. Mr Goessling, 39, said: 'There could be complications during the pregnancy, so we think it is better to avoid the risks. And although we love Thumbelina, we do not think it is right that the gene which creates dwarfism in horses is carried on through future generations.'

 

The tiny mare has become sometime of a celebrity in her home town in America, but Mr Goessling insists they will never sell her, no matter what price is offered. 'She is too precious to us to sell,' he added. 'I think my parents would sell me before they part with Thumbelina. She has that special Wow factor, which you only get when you physically see how small she really is'.

 

 

The President and the Queen...........

       Air Force One arrives at Heathrow Airport and President Bush strides to a warm and dignified handshake from the Queen. They ride to the edge of Central London, where they board a magnificent 17th century carriage hitched to six magnificent white horses.

       They ride towards Buckingham Palace waving to the thousands of cheering Britons; all is going well. Suddenly the right rear horse lets fly with the most horrendous, earth-shattering fart ever heard in the British Empire, and the smell was so excruciating, both of them had to use handkerchiefs over their noses.

       The fart shakes the coach but the two dignitaries of state do their best to "ignore" the incident.  The Queen turns to President Bush "Mr. President please accept my regrets... I am sure you understand there are some things that even a Queen cannot control."

       George Bush, as always trying to be presidential, replies:

       "Your Majesty, do not give the matter another thought... If you had not mentioned it, I would have thought it was one of the horses."

If Horses Were in High School, What Cliques Would They Be In? Quarter Horses: Definitely jocks. Strutting around flexing those muscles, showing off their butts...definitely jocks. Thoroughbreds: Preppies. Sometimes athletes, never 'jocks'. Monogrammed blankets, leather halters, Nike eventer shoes, the latest custom trailer and tack. They are the "new money" rich. Appaloosas: Could only be the stoners. They like to trip acid so they can watch their spots move. Arabians: RAH! RAH! SIS BOOM BAH! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TEAM!! (Need I say more?) Shetland Ponies: Frightening, spiky hairdos, snotty attitudes and any color of the rainbow .... gotta be PUNKS. Some even sport tattoos. Friesians: Big, buff, and always in black, they are the biker clique. Cigs hanging out of the corner of their mouths, dangerous glint in the eyes, daring anyone to cross their path. Morgans: They're the nerdy teacher's pets, running around doing everything from yearbook to decorating the gym and ratting out the bikers, stoners and jocks. They have perpetual wedgies. Drafts (all breeds): No real clique, they're just the big guys who sit in the back of the room and fart a lot (and then laugh). Who's going to STOP them? Icelandics and Paso Finos: They're the little squirrelly geeks who flit around a dance trying to fit in and fail miserably. The kind who wear Toughskins jeans from Sears (or would that be rip off WeathaBeetas??). Ahkle Tekl (Akle Takl? Ackle Tackle....!! Akhal Teke!!): Foreign exchange student(s). And no one can spell their names either. Hackney Ponies: A breed this manic would have to be a band geek. Marching along with their knees and heads held high.....even going to the bathroom. Warmbloods: Old Money Preppies, as opposed to the TBs who are new money preppies. All their tack is imported from Europe, they drink Perrier water and eat only organically grown feed. They look down on everyone and talk amongst themselves about summer in Paris and skiing in Gstad and wasn't it dreadful how provincial Spruce Meadows has become?

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