The IMHC’s main goal is to promote the American Miniature Horse and the American Shetland Pony. They are quite different from their British ancestors and don’t resemble them at all. Instead they have the proportions, elegance and refinement of a true horse. They are versatile, gentle and offer a wide range of activities for people who can’t or don’t want to have big horses.
The result of nearly 400 years of selective breeding, historians tend to support the Miniature Horse breed as a derivative of many sources. In prehistoric times small horse breeds were most likely the products of surviving harsh natural climates and limited feed. Today, knowledge of genetics has made the possibility of breeding specifically for size a reality.
The American Shetland Pony derives from the traditional Shetland Pony from the Shetland Isles of Scotland, but as a result of cross-breeding with other horse and pony breeds, is taller and more elegant. It is the most numerous pony breed in the United States.