THE PONY BREEDS OF HORSES 171 
200. Feeding and care of Shetland ponies. — In the 
winter time, it is usual to feed the ponies. In May, they 
are turned on common pasture lands to shift for themselves. 
In the autumn, the ponies come down from the hills and 
feed on the patches of fresh grass which have been pre- 
served around the cultivated areas. In severe winters, 
when feed is scarce, they eat the seaweed. Contrary to 
the popular impression prevailing in America, the ponies 
do not run wild. They are all definitely owned and cared 
for more or less. There are few large herds. Most of the 
ponies are held by the crofters or farmers in small numbers. 
201. Organizations and records. — The American Shet- 
land Pony Club was organized in 1888. The office of 
its secretary is at Lafayette, Indiana. Thirteen  vol- 
umes of the American Shetland Pony Stud-book have 
been issued, registering over sixteen thousand ponies. 
The Shetland Pony Stud-book Society, with the secretary 
at Aberdeen, Scotland, is the official organization of the 
breed in Scotland and Shetland. 
202. The Welsh pony. — The Welsh pony is more nu- 
merous than any other breed that comes from the British 
Isles. It is difficult to discover the exact number, as 
there appear to be no statistics on the subject. He 
wanders over the hills and waste-lands of all the twelve 
counties of Wales and also on the borders of Shropshire, 
Hereford and Monmouth. Inured from the earliest 
foalhood to the roughest and poorest pasturage, he is as 
sure-footed as the goat, has good shoulders, strong back, 
neat head and the best of legs and feet. Many of the 
best hunters in England trace their origin on the side of 
the dam to a Welsh mare. The breed has been improved 
from time to time by the introduction of superior alien 
blood, chiefly Thoroughbred, Arabian and Hackney. 
