I know I spelled “versus” wrong, but bear with me. This deliberate misspelling comes from how I used to laugh when my kids and others would start up a video game and one would say to the other something like this: “Here’s where Sonic has to verse Knuckles.”

Anyway, what’s all this about miniature horses? By my experience, a “miniature horse” is called a “pony.” My brief spate of not-so-scientific research, however, indicates that there is more to the story. The first source I found said that ponies, while usually smaller than horses, also have different temperaments, are often smarter and sneakier, and stronger and hardier for their size.

This fits with my experience to an extent. You may have heard me speak of the Shetland pony we got when I was a child. Her name was Candy, but there the sweetness ended. She was sneaky, liked to bide her time and then bite, and she was an expert at unseating her rider. She had short legs, a big head, and shaggy fur. Pony. Our Welsh pony, Blizzard, was a bit bigger and a bit kinder to his humans, but not that much. Horses, apparently, are often easier to train and less likely to question authority. Of course, there are always outliers, such as my horse Nova, who was even better at dumping me on the ground than the two ponies—and I had a lot farther to fall. Although I must acknowledge that Nova’s behavior was terror-induced and off-the-cuff, while the ponies laid cunning plans.

In scrolling down further I see a mention of proportion as a marker of the difference between miniature horses and ponies. Apparently, a miniature horse is proportioned more like a real horse, slender and relatively long-legged. OK, mystery solved. No more snarling about the terminology, at least not from me.  

So, miniature horse enthusiasts, enjoy your gentle fairy creatures. Just watch out for Vogons.

Sources

Distinguishing Between Horses and Ponies (thesprucepets.com)

Learn about the Vogons and their dreadful behavior here:  Vogon – Wikipedia