The Falabella horse is the smallest breed of horse in the world, reaching around 30 inches in size.[1]. Descended from the Andalusian breed, the Falabella developed in the pampas of Patagonia. Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Andalusian horse The Andalusian horse is one of the purest breeds of horses in the world today. ... The pampas (from Quechua for plain) are the fertile lowlands that extend across c. ... In orange the area most commonly defined as Patagonia. ...
The Falabella is descended from Andalusian horses brought by early immigrants to the pampas of Patagonia. These original Andalusians were often left to roam free after failed colonization attempts. As a result, they developed characteristics suitable to the landscape and climate, as well as genetic mutations caused by a small gene pool. The gene pool of a species or a population is the complete set of unique alleles that would be found by inspecting the genetic material of every living member of that species or population. ...
To travel long distances and to withstand the strong sun and winds, the Falabella developed great stamina. Genetic changes resulted in the smaller size.
It was not until 1940 that the Falabella breed appeared in earnest, after breeding attempts by the Falabella family, led by Julio C. Falabella, saw the breed reach a standard height of first under 40 and then under 30 inches.[2]
Breed characteristics
Average breed heights for a fully-grown Falabella today are between 28 and 31 inches.
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