CHAP. I. SHETLAND PONIES. 381 



and muscular, and he may all over be said to be a miniature Clydesdale 

 in shape (Fig. 83). He is to be found of all colours, but black and 

 brown are most common. For hardiness, endurance, and docility, the 

 Shetland ponies stand first in horse flesh. They live outside all the 

 year round in a very trying climate, which is as changeable and 

 variable in its temperature as in its winds. Their food is gathered off 

 bleak hillsides, in winter supplemented by sea-weed and a " rip " from 

 the owner's hand. 



Mr. R. Brydon tells us that "these ponies were first used in the 

 Durham coal pits in 1847, and for ' putting ' purposes the superiority of 

 Shetland ponies over other breeds soon asserted itself. They are more 

 docile and manageable in the pit, more easily trained, much stronger, 

 size for size, than the Welsh ; not nearly so nervous, and become 

 much sooner accustomed to the new circumstances in which they are 

 placed. Many of these ponies do thirty miles per day, the weight of 



Fig. 83. Shetland Ponies. 



The Property of Lords A. and L. Cecil. 



the load, tilt and coals, being generally from 12 to 14 cwt." A record 

 like this from so reliable a source makes it unnecessary to furnisn 

 further proof of endurance and capacity. 



It is, however, as children's ponies that the native Shetlanders are 

 par excellence. They are free from any vice, docile, sagacious, full of 

 courage, and adapt themselves to the inexperience and frailty of their 

 3 r outhful riders to a degree that is simply surprising, and they present 

 a very pleasing appearance in southern districts when harnessed to a 

 light garden chair, or carrying a baby rider. 



For sagacity and knowingness the " Sheltie " is unsurpassed. 

 Necessity is with him, as it is with ourselves, the mother of invention, 

 and he very soon learns to open the barn door or gate -latch, provided 

 it is not locked, and thus admits himself to the corn-bin in the winter, 

 or the grass in the summer. In riding, too, amidst mist or snow on 

 the open moors, on the homeward journey, the pony is the best guide 

 if the rider is sufficiently acquainted with him to give him his own way. 



