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 usvally 
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. 
