170 THE BREEDS OF LIVE-STOCK 



The coat of the Shetland pony is a revelation to those 

 who are not familiar with him. The young ponies under 

 two years of age, in particular, have very long, shaggy 

 coats. Towards spring the hair loses its luster and has a 

 very rusty, shabby appearance. Owing to the hair being 

 very fine and matted, it is shed in patches, often hanging 

 in taglocks, which makes the pony the very roughest and 

 shaggiest little creature imaginable. Once he has shed, 

 his coat is fine and glossy and he is much more active 

 in his movements. The mane is generally heavy and 

 long, and adds much to the attractiveness of a well-kept 

 pony. 



The Shetland pony combines with the highest order of 

 equine intelligence a disposition wonderfully free from 

 vice and trickiness. 



199. Uses of Shetland ponies. In the Shetland 

 islands, the ponies are used little. They are sometimes 

 employed in carrying peat from the hills to the crofts, 

 and are the most wonderful weight-carriers in the world, 

 a nine-hand pony being able to carry a full-grown man 

 over rough ground for some distance. They are wonder- 

 fully hardy and will cover surprising distances. In the 

 coal mines many of the ponies travel upwards of thirty 

 miles a day, drawing a load of 1200 to 1400 pounds (on 

 rails). In America, as has been said, the chief use of 

 the Shetland is as a child's pony and for light driving. 

 Shetland ponies are very salable, the demand being usually 

 in excess of the supply. The smaller sizes are most popu- 

 lar in England, but not in America. They bring good 

 prices, about as much at maturity as the average large 

 horse, and are easy and inexpensive to raise. They break 

 easily and are a constant source of usefulness and pleas- 

 ure, as well as an ornament to any farm. 



