540 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



weathers, they should have their heads loose, in rough pasture ; 

 and in summer they can safely be left out at night, with the ex- 

 ception of young foals. Strange to say, the latter are remarkably 

 delicate. For indoor food common wheaten bran made into a 

 mash, with the addition of a little Indian meal, suits them much 

 better than oats ; while hay or straw, with turnips or potatoes, and 

 perhaps a little linseed cake, complete their stable dietary. Gen- 

 erally speaking, they are somewhat gross feeders, and, though 

 capable of standing unharmed a surfeit which would ruin an 

 ordinary horse, they should have a carefully measured allowance, 

 varying according to their size and to the work they have to do. 



Now, as to the much-vexed question of height. A variation of, 

 say, three hands between the average large and small sized ponies 

 means a good deal in the case of such a tiny animal. Yet it ob- 

 tains, as we have said, among undoubtedly pure-bred specimens, 

 and entirely independent of any foreign cross. Accidental varia- 

 tions of size occur, of course, in breeding, and may be perpetuated, 

 though this is not always to be relied upon. The true explana- 

 tion, according to one of the most experienced of Shetland judges, 

 is that size is mainly, though perhaps not entirely, a question of 

 feed. Scanty feeding on hard pasture tends to diminish the 

 height, and also to develop that superabundance of hair which 

 is popularly (though erroneously) regarded as one of the distin- 

 guishing marks of the genuine strain. 



The craze for undersized ponies, in our opinion, has had its day. 

 Except as curiosities, or for the purposes of the menage, these 

 pygmy animals are practically useless. The conventional Shetland 

 pony the animal represented in picture-books namely, about 

 forty to forty-four inches high, very tight-jointed, and with an 

 impossible growth of hair all over him, is just about as bad a type 

 of this famous race as can well be imagined. From his build he is 

 generally short-winded and thoroughly impracticable in his paces. 

 A South Mainland specimen, on the other hand, long and rakish in 

 build hard-grown, as the saying is and clean-limbed, will far 

 surpass his companion in staying power. One of this hardy breed 

 in our opinion the ideal Shetland pony has been known to 

 travel from Sumburgh to Lerwick and back the same day, with 

 a tolerably heavy riding weight, say fifty-six miles altogether of 

 extremely hilly road. But, minor differences apart, there are cer- 

 tain characteristics unfailing tests in their way with the experi- 

 enced judge which go to the " make-up " of a Shetland, as distin- 

 guished from an Iceland or Faroe, pony e. g., a certain unmis- 

 takable breadth of build, set of pasterns, and, more particularly, 

 an apathetic air which no other breed possesses. Your " Sheltie " 

 is not a quick animal, is inclined to be sleepy rather than other- 

 wise in his paces, and is, as a rule, disposed to do no more than he 



