It’s all relative

Einstein with his dog friend Hannah. Credit: Charlie Cantrell

By Louise Mayor

Meet Einstein, the world’s smallest horse. He is a pinto stallion, born last week weighing just 2.7 kg, and only 35 cm tall.

I got in touch with Einstein’s owners, Charlie Cantrell and Dr Rachel Wagner from New Hampshire, US, to ask what inspired the naming of this cute little fella.

They replied to say that they named him Einstein because they felt it would be a reminder of two things. The first was “that one has to be intelligent when purchasing a miniature horse [as] they require a massive amount of specialized care.” The second was that “Einstein believed in compassion for all living creatures. He was an advocate of humane treatment of animals.”

“Oh yes, and we thought the name was befitting of him because he had such a huge head for such a little foal,” they added.

So it turns out that Einstein the foal is aptly named! Indeed, supporting the owner’s comments is this animal-friendly quote from Einstein: “Our task must be to free ourselves – by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”