538 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



SHETLAND PONIES. 



THE Shetland pony has been invested with a halo of romance 

 somewhat out of keeping with the prosaic surroundings of its 

 native home; and this, apparently, from a very early date, for 

 we chanced to read not long ago that, traditionally, "the Shet- 

 land pony was carried from the Caucasian range, by ancient wor- 

 shipers of Odin, to Scandinavia, thence to Shetland " in which 

 tradition we discern a trace of humor, if nothing more, as, consid- 

 ering the size of some of these animals, they are much more fitted 

 to be " carried " than to transport any one, whether from the Cau- 

 casus or elsewhere. But this is not all. Not only is the origin of 

 the breed thus presumably lost in the mists of antiquity ; a num- 

 ber of popular misconceptions also prevail in regard to the pres- 

 ent-day nature and habits of the animals, all of which it seems 

 desirable to correct. They are now not only drafted annually in 

 large numbers to the south, but are extensively shipped abroad. 

 A few words, then, in regard to the breed, as it exists to-day, may 

 not be out of place. 



To begin with, we must contend in opposition to the popularly 

 received belief that there is no such thing as the genuine Shet- 

 land pony, in the sense of a single pure and original breed. 

 There happen to be several distinct kinds in the islands, and 

 these, besides being subject to natural variation, have been further 

 increased in number by crossing. Crosses apart, however, an Unst 

 pony is very different from a South Mainland one, while both of 

 these again differ from a Fetlar specimen. There are also Fair 

 Isle and Bressay varieties. It would be invidious to seek to indi- 

 cate in this paper which of these is to be considered the best. 

 Each kind, no doubt, has its special excellences, but a sufficient 

 latitude is perhaps allowed when we state that a pure-bred pony 

 may be anything between, say, thirty-six and forty-eight inches high 

 at the shoulder. A small-sized pony, again, is not necessarily any 

 better or more valuable than a large one ; though for certain pur- 

 poses, such as working in coal-mines, the smaller animal only is 

 employed. As a general rule extremes of size, either way, fetch 

 correspondingly extreme prices. 



Broadly speaking, the ponies to be seen throughout, say, the 

 mainland of Shetland and they are to be met with everywhere, 

 in spite of reported scarcity may be divided into two classes, 

 those kept by large breeders, generally in fenced parks, and the 

 proletariat class employed by the peasantry in labor. Strings of 

 the latter may be seen any day upon the roads, dragging peat-fuel 

 from the hills in Lilliputian carts. They are wonderfully tough 

 and strong for their size, live upon hard fare, and require, or at 



