Einstein Horse? We know what you’re thinking. But no, Einstein was not a horse with a strong IQ, nor did it give the theory of relativity! It was just a horse, a famous horse.
Teeny-Weeny Einstein Horse
They say good things come in small packages!
An average horse is over 5 feet tall and weighs around 1,500 pounds. A miniature horse is normally half as tall and weighs just 250 pounds, but at five months old, Einstein was well behind his peers. This little miniature horse stood just 20 inches tall and weighed only 47 pounds. From the beginning, Einstein was curiously tiny.
A miniature horse typically weighs between 21 and 22 pounds at birth. When Einstein was born, he weighed just 6 pounds (2.1 kg) and was only 14 inches (35.5 cm) tall.
A well-balanced horse, everything about this tiny horse is exquisite, from the head to the legs, the length, width, and height.
History
Einstein was a dark bay or brown miniature horse, one of the world’s smallest, bred in Brazil by Fazenda Mondesir and born in New Hampshire in 2010. He was sired by the American Horse of the Year (1985), Spend a Buck. Gay Charm, his dam, was the Brazilian Champion (1998), Three-Year-Old Filly. Ghadeer was his damsire, a son of Lyphard and a powerful stallion in Brazil who sired twenty-five Group One winners.
His dam and sire were 32 and 30 inches tall, and both had championship titles in miniature horses.
When Einstein arrived in the United States, his new owners consigned his race conditioning to Helen Pitts, who had taken over their stable following Kenneth McPeek’s retirement. Both Pitts and McPeek are American trainers of Thoroughbred horses.
Einstein vs. Thumbelina
Thumbelina (born May 1, 2001, died 2018) was a dwarf miniature horse that held the record for being the smallest horse ever. She was the world’s smallest horse, being 43 centimeters (17 inches) tall and weighing 26 kilograms (57 pounds), according to Guinness World Records. Her head was noticeably larger than the rest of her body. She had very small legs and a very large torso. She was just a few inches shorter than Einstein, but she weighed twice as much. Unlike Einstein, Thumbelina was born with an obvious case of dwarfism. Despite his size, Einstein looked like a picture-perfect horse.
After Thumbelina died in 2018, Einstein was given the title of the world’s smallest living horse.
Einstein’s Surgery
Einstein set a new record as the first and only horse to have surgery by a canine specialist neurosurgeon at the age of only two months. Einstein had a spinal cord injury and underwent an eight-hour operation at Cornell University, which saved his life.
He even appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show barely eight weeks after his surgery!
Racing Career
On February 25, 2006, Einstein horse made his American debut at Gulfstream Park in Florida, where he won the first of his two Gulfstream Park Turf Handicaps. He went on to win races on three different track surfaces. One at the Turf Classic Stakes on turf and the Clark Handicap on dirt, both at Churchill Downs in 2008. He won the third one at California’s richest race at the Santa Anita Handicap on Pro-Ride synthetic dirt in 2009.
On May 2, 2009, Einstein successfully defended his championship in the Woodford Reserve-sponsored Grade I Turf Classic Stakes. On June 13, he was attempting to set a world record by being the first horse to win Grade 1 races on all three surfaces in the same year, first at Santa Anita, then at Woodford, and finally on dirt in the Stephen Foster Handicap, which he had finished second in the year before. He struggled to get a clean run in the Stephen Foster and was constantly impeded before finishing third to Macho Again.
After that, he raced in the Arlington Million in 2008. He competed against the best turf horses in the world, including American talents Gio Ponti and Presious Passion. The race also featured international stars, such as Gloria De Campeao (the French horse that finished second in the 2009 Dubai World Cup), Cima de Triomphe, and Stotsfold. Mr. Sidney, Just As Well, and Recapturetheglory, who finished fifth in the 2008 Kentucky Derby, were among the other American entrants. Einstein had a poor race and never displayed his usual late burst, finishing sixth after rising star Gio Ponti.
Frank Stronach announced on September 3, 2009, that he had bought Einstein from Midnight Cry Stables. Under the new owner, Einstein participated in the Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar Racetrack in California, where Longshot Richard’s Kid beat Einstein by a neck.
On November 7, he ran in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He had previously won on the same track at the same distance and on the same surface, but he was not a favorite owing to the presence of Rip Van Winkle and Zenyatta, the country’s best mare. Einstein was one of the race’s biggest disappointments, placing 11th out of 12 competitors.
Einstein raced in the Grade II Clark Handicap on November 27 at Churchill Downs, and despite carrying the race’s high weight, finished a good third after starting from the outside gate (14th Post Position) and being held in the stretch.
Stud Career
Beginning with the 2010 breeding season, Einstein was retired to stand stud at Stronach’s Adena Springs farm near Paris, Kentucky.
Death
On March 11, 2019, he was retired to Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky. On October 28, 2020, he was euthanized at the age of 18 due to cancer complications.
Einstein was a dream horse; he was a small little horse that you could pick up and put in your lap if you had him in your yard.
Einstein was one of the most famous horses based on size. Want to know more about famous horses throughout history? Read the stories of 25 famous horses.