Racehorses:
Ruffian
Man O' War
Phar Lap
Book/Film Stars
The Black Stallion
Misty of Chincoteague
Flicka
Black Beauty
Seabiscuit
Hidalgo
The Horse Whisperer
Trigger
Mr. Ed
Dreamer
The Horses of the Lord of the Rings
Miscellaneous
Famous Stuffed Horses
The World Famous Diving Horses
The Royal Lipizzanner Stallions
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Muscial Ride
World Record Holders
Thumbelina-The World's Smallest Horse
(From: UK DAILY MAIL)
This five-year-old received the title from the Guinness Book of Records after her astonished owners realised she was never going to grow any bigger.
She was born on a farm in America to a couple who specialise 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 orthopaedic 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 realise 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.'
Oldest Horse
The oldest horse reliably recorded was Old Billy. He lived to be 62
years old. He was foaled in 1760 and died in 1822. He was bred by Edward
Robinson of Woolston, England. Oldest Pony The oldest pony reliably
recorded was named Teddy E. Bear, and lived to be 55. He was owned by
Kathy Pennington of Virginia Beach, VA. He was still alive as of 1998.
Largest Mules
Apollo and Anak (foaled 1977 and 1976, respectively) are the largest
recorded mules. Apollo measured 19.1 hands, and weighted 2,200 pounds,
and Anak stands 18.3 hands and 2,100 pounds. Both are owned by Herbert
L. Mueller of Columbia, ILL, and were by mammoth jacks and Belgian mares.
As of 1998 they were both living.
Goliath-The World's Tallest Horse
Goliath stood 19 Hands 1 Inch (6' 5" at the withers) and weighed about
2,200 lbs. Goliath ate 18 lbs. of grain, 40 lbs. of hay, and drank 20
gallons of water each day. Goliath was a gelding, and was born in 1992
in Alberta, Canada. He died the 20th July 2001.
Brooklyn Supreme-World's Largest Draft Horse
The World's Largest Draft Horse: Purebred Belgian stallion by the name
of Brooklyn Supreme. He stood 19.2 hands (6'6") at his withers. He weighed
over 3,200 pounds. He was foaled in 1928 and died in 1948. This photo
was taken when he was fully mature. He lived in Iowa.
Heatherbloom-Highest Jump Ever Made By A Horse
Heatherbloom, foaled in Canada in 1895, was a dark bay Thoroughbred
gelding by Philosophy standing a scant 16 hands. Purchased by Howard
Willets of White Plains, NY from Robert Allan of Montreal, he cost the
"damn fool price" of $1,000 as a four-year-old, but Willets considered
his purchase a once-in-a-lifetime bargain for "the greatest jumper that
ever entered the show ring." (He was later to turn down an offer from
Barnum & Bailey for twenty-five times the purchase price!)
Heatherbloom's official horse show high jump record was 7'10 1/2",
made at Richmond, Virginia, but he is even more famous for two jumps
he made unofficially; one at Donnelly's in 1902 (to permit Harper's
Weekly to take a picture), where he cleared 8'2", and the other at Willets'
Gedney Farm in White Plains, where he cleared 8'3" (and, standing back,
was 27' in the air). His jump of 8'3", if properly certified under the
rules, would even today constitute a World Record, exceeding both the
international (FEI) record of 2.47 meters and the AHSA mark of 8' 13/16".
Highest Career Earnings Generated By A Filly
The highest horse racing career earnings by a filly or mare is ¥1.08
billion ($8.3 million) by Hokuto Vega (foaled 1990) in Japan from 1993
to 1997. She was scheduled to retire after the Dubai World Cup on April
3, 1997 but was fatally injured in that race and subsequently died.
Got Country Grip-Fastest Paint Horse In the World
Got Country Grip is breaking world records, including his own. Following
is a chronological breakdown of the gelding's record-breaking career:
* 2005 - set the record for single year Paint racing earnings for a
2-year-old. * April 30, 2006 - broke the Paint Horse world record at
400 yards with a posted time of 19.55 seconds at the PSBA Stakes at
Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla. * May 24, 2006 - ran a time of
17.26 seconds, setting a new world record for Paint Horses in 350 yards
at the Oklahoma Horsemen's Association Derby Trial at Fair Meadows Park
in Tulsa, Okla. * June 9, 2006 - broke the world record he previously
set at 350 yards with a posted time of 17.23 seconds at Fair Meadows.
He also set the Fair Meadows track record for all breeds. In his last
two record-breaking runs, Got Country Grip earned a speed index of 108.
Carols Treasure previously set the Paint Horse record in 2005 at both
distances with times of 17.44 seconds at 350 yards and 19.59 seconds
at 400 yards. According to the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA),
the fastest recorded time at 350 yards was set by 3-year-old Quarter
Horse, AB What A Runner, with a posted time of 17.057 seconds in 2003,
at Ruidoso Downs in Ruidoso, N.M. Corona Ease, a 4-year-old Quarter
Horse, holds the world record at 400 yards with a posted time of 19.002
seconds, according to AQHA. The record run was set in 2005 at Zia Park
in Hobbs, N.M.
Camarero-World Record Most Consecutive Race Victories
Camarero, foaled in 1951, was undefeated in 56 races in Puerto Rico
from April 19, 1953 to his 1st defeat on August 17, 1955 (in his career
to 1956, he won 73 of 77 races).
Forestry Colt-Most Expensive Thoroughbred Ever Sold At Public
Auction
At the Fasig-Tipton Florida Select sale of 2-year-olds in training
at Calder Race Course, in March 2006, a Forestry colt sold for $16-million,
which shattered the former world record of $13.1 million for Seattle
Dancer at the 1985 Keeneland July select yearling auction. The previous
world mark for a juvenile was the $5.2 million for Ever Shifting, a
Tale of the Cat colt, at the 2005 Fasig-Tipton Florida sale.
Holborn Hanover-Fastest Mile Paced
Holborn Hanover, the 2004 Meadowlands Pace winner, set a track and
world record for the fastest harness race mile in history with a 1:46.4
clocking in the second $195,000 U.S. Pacing Championship division on
Aug 05, 2006, at the Meadowlands Racetrack. Holborn Hanover eclipsed
Primetime Bobcat’s 1:47.2 world record set on May 13, 2006 and shattered
the track record of 1:47.3, shared by Jenna’s Beach Boy [June 22, 1996]
and Lis Mara [July 29, 2006]. |
