The World's Smallest Horse

Einstein the pinto stallion weighed just 6lbs when he was born on Friday in Barnstead, New Hampshire. Photo: Reuters

A newborn miniature horse in Barnstead could lay claim to the title of smallest horse in the world. The pinto stallion, Einstein, arrived Friday morning weighing just 6 pounds and measuring 14 inches in height at Tiz A Miniature Horse Farm, 158 Garland Road, Barnstead, New Hampshire, UK. Einstein’s breeders is reaching out to the “Guinness Book of World Records, ” according to New Hampshire News.

“It’s the miracle in Barnstead,” co-owner Rachel Wagner said. Wagner, a family practice physician, lives with husband Charles Cantrell, a live entertainment producer, in Bellingham, Wash., but the couple spend their summers at a house in Gilmanton.

The horse holding the current world record is Thumbelina, a chestnut mare born in 2001 near St. Louis. Thumbelina was born 11 inches tall and 8.5 pounds. She now stands 17.5 inches tall and weighs 58 pounds.

Wagner said she submitted an application Friday night to the Guinness World Records to see if Einstein could oust Thumbelina. Wagner said she doesn’t know if the size of the horse is determined by height or weight, and was not sure whether the horse must be measured when fully grown.

The three-day-old foal, which could be the smallest horse ever born, is petted by a visitor at the miniature horse farm. Photo: Reuters

“Thumbellina, who holds the current Guinness world record, was born at 9 pounds,” said Dr. Rachel Wagner. One key distinction between the two horses, Wagner added, is that Thumbelina is a dwarf while Einstein is regularly proportioned. Dwarf miniatures can have oversized heads and stumpy legs, but Wagner said Einstein is “physically perfect.”

Breeders said what really sets Einstein apart is his proportion � he shows no sign of dwarfism. “The head, to the legs, the length, width, height, everything’s just beautiful about this little horse,” said Charlie Cantrell, Einstein’s co-owner.

“Most of the ones that are really, really tiny are what we call dwarfs, and they have some sort of dysmorphic features that aren’t really normal or healthy,” Wagner said. “This little guy is like all horses, he’s almost all leg.” “I have been at this for 20 years-plus and I have never seen one this tiny or even close to it,” said Judy Smith, of Tiz a Miniature Horse Farm. She also noted that Einstein isn’t a preemie. He was born three days after his due date, she said.

Co-owner Dr Rachel Wagner holds a ruler up next to the tiny horse as he plays in a field. Photo: Reuters

Between 10 and 15 miniature horses are born on Smith’s farm each year. Smith and her husband, Larry, attach electronic devices to pregnant mares, and a beeper goes off at their bedside when the horse lays down in anticipation of giving birth.

At about 3 a.m. Friday, Smith said the beeper went off as Einstein’s mother, Tiz Finesse, was about to go into labor for her first time. Both Tiz Finesse and Einstein’s father, Bear Branch Painted Feather, are award-winning miniatures, Smith said.

Smith said she had never seen a horse as small as Einstein. The average size of a newborn miniature horse is 21 inches and 18 pounds, she said. Nervous about his fragility, she stayed by his side for four hours after his birth to make sure he would be okay, hesitating to even rub him with a towel. They outfitted the pony with a small dog coat to keep him warm.

Later that morning, Wagner said she and Cantrell were eating breakfast at Parker’s Roast Beef & Seafood in Chichester when they saw the Smiths looking “shocked.” Wagner, 40, bought a horse from the farm two years ago and has known Judy, 68, since she used to vacation in Gilmanton as a child. “We rushed over here,” Wagner said. “We laid eyes on him and I fell in love.”

Cantrell and Wagner said they considered gelding Einstein, but now they’re going to wait. So, it’s possible the little stallion could have some tiny offspring of his own. For now, he’s just busy looking cute. “You just can’t help but just smile and fall in love,” Wagner said