The smallest and one of the rarest breeds of horses in the world, the Falabella Pony is a miniature horse that originated in Argentina. While it is not strong enough to ride, its intelligent, friendly nature makes the Falabella an ideal pet.

The Falabella is a hardy animal and is sometimes used in a harness. They are capable of jumping. The Falabella is friendly, intelligent, gentle and courageous.

Similar in appearance to Arabian and Morgan horses, the Falabella shares the beauty, character and poise of the larger breeds in a very diminutive package. Rarely exceeding 8.5 hands in height and averaging about seven hands, the Falabella is quite tiny. It has a dominant dwarfism gene, meaning that even when mixed with larger breeds the offspring is likely to be very small. The Falabella also has seventeen vertebrae, rather than the usual eighteen, and is missing one pair of ribs.

One day in Argentina over a hundred years ago, an Irish man named Newton saw a miniature horse drinking at a watering hole near his ranch. He captured the tiny horse and bred it with small Thoroughbreds and Shetland ponies. It took several generations to achieve today's Falabella. The Falabella was named after Newton's daughter, who married a man named Senor Falabella.

The Falabellas stable should be cleaned of droppings and swept every morning. The bedding should be aired out daily and new bedding put in every evening. They should be fed hay and hard feed every morning and evening. The amount depends on the size of the horse. They should be groomed and have their hooves picked every morning. They should be wormed every 6-8 weeks and have their hooves trimmed every 6-8 weeks.

Falabellas have a longer gestation period than most horses. While the average gestation period is 11 months, the Falabella's lasts for 12 to 13 months.