THE PONY BREEDS OF HORSES 167 



them. The ponies of the west of England are said to 

 have been brought there by the Phoenicians when they 

 came to trade for tin. The ponies of the northern part 

 of the British Isles, including the Shetlands, have many 

 characteristics in common with the Scandinavian pony, 

 and were probably introduced by the Scandinavian in- 

 vaders some time prior to the fifteenth century. 



The principal ponies of the British Isles are the Hackney, 

 Welsh, Exmoor and Dartmoor, Westmorland (Fig. 27), 

 New Forest, the Scotch ponies, the Connemara or pony 

 of Ireland and the Shetland pony. The last is discussed 

 first because of its relative importance in America. 



196. The Shetland pony. The Shetland, the smallest 

 of all ponies, is in many ways the most important 

 in America. While in England and other countries he 

 has been used extensively in the coal mines, in America 

 his use is practically restricted to that of children, and 

 as a child's pony he has no equal. Children and Shet- 

 land ponies seem to have for each other a natural affinity. 

 Every child desires a pony, and as a considerable propor- 

 tion of Americans have the means to gratify their chil- 

 dren in such a desire, the Shetland pony is in great demand. 

 It is imported in considerable numbers, and many are 

 bred here. There are also many in America that are 

 cross-bred. 



The Shetland islands are situated to the north of Scot- 

 land, from which they are separated by about 150 to 200 

 miles of very rough and dangerous sea. There are some 

 120 islands, many of which are uninhabited, merely 

 affording pasturage for a few sheep or ponies. The exist- 

 ence of two or three distinct types of ponies on private 

 estates has given rise to the untrue statement that a more 

 or less distinct type of the Shetland exists on each of 



