Shetland Pony

On a trip to Dobbies to buy a Dwarf Rhoddy (as seen on Sunday's Blip) when we saw our favourite little Shetlands. This one had a lovely sweep of hair, blown about by the wind. We are fortunate to live surrounded by such lovely countryside and to see something different every day.

The Shetland pony is a breed of pony originating in the Shetland Isles (funnily enough). They range in size from a minimum height of approximately 28 inches (71 cm) to an official maximum height of 11 hands high (107 cm) at the withers. Shetland ponies have heavy coats, short legs and are considered quite intelligent. They are a very strong breed of pony, used for riding, driving, and pack purposes.

Shetland ponies were first used for pulling carts, carrying peat, coal and other items, and plowing farm land. Then, as the Industrial Revolution increased the need for coal in the mid-19th century, thousands of Shetland ponies travelled to mainland Britain to be pit ponies, working underground hauling coal, often for their entire (often short) lives. Coal mines in the eastern United States also imported some of these animals. The last pony mine in the United States closed in 1971.