Nancy Buffum. age 11. of Tuscon. Arizona
Is the Shetland pony a special breed?
A Shetland pony could trot right underneath a great shire horse ‑ if he kept his head low. But he too rates as a horse. For a pony is a breed of horse and not a different kind of animal. He is one of the twenty odd breed of horse which have been developed by man.
Find the map of Europe in your gift encyclopedias. Between the north of Scotland and Norway is a group of small islands pounded by the Atlantic Ocean. There are a hundred of the small Shetland Isles. rugged. sparse foggy and extremely beautiful. Life there is hard. for the ground is poor and every year brings a long. cold winter. This is the home and origin of the little Shetland pfy;
His small size is riot out of place on the pretty isles. The place and climate seem right for small breeds of animals. The islanders have bred diminutive cattle and midget sheep as well as the little horse.
Only 20 or so of the isles are inhabited. But the ponies live on many more. In early lifer they are allowed to run almost wild. They forage for themselves. feeding on the sparse grasses. Come winter. they grow long' shaggy coats. Tails are long enough to brush the ground as their little hooves trot over the rough country.
At the proper time. the youngsters are rounded up for emigration. A Shetland pony may be shipped almost anywhere in the world. For everywhere there are children waiting to welcome him. In spite of his rough childhood he is a gentle fellow. He loves to be petted and to trot along with a small rider on his back. He will eat from your hand and nuzzle affectionately. especially if you feed him a lump of sugar.
Not all Shetland ponies are lucky enough to be adopted by a human family. In days gone by. they were used for some hard and dreary work. Soiree were sent to mines and trained to pull cart's of coal deep underground far from the light of days Even nowadays. some of the sturdy fellows do a. day's work pulling days work pulling little carts and wagons above ground.
Small as he is. the Shetland pony is no dope. He is not scared by the big world and often gives a larger horse a bad time. Andy knew a Shetland pony named Brownie who shared a stall and pasture with a larger horse named Greg. Little Brownie was the smarter of the two. He used his brains to figure out ways to tease. Boss and torment Greg and even snitch his food.
He kept this side of his character hidden from the family to whom he belonged. At the proper time. he would trot out. gentle as a lamb. to give the children their fun and riding lessons. In time. of course, the young people went on to ride bigger horses and Brownies work was done. He settled down to long and peaceful old age in the pasture. But no other horse, however big. ever bossed Brownie around. even when he was very old.