The Shetland Pony

Chapter 2: PREFACE.

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About This Book

A concise study traces the breed's origins from archaeological and pictorial evidence and compares island types with related northern pony traditions. It describes local varieties and the practical roles these small horses have filled, including their use in farms, transport, and markets, and explains herd management, feeding, and breeding practices. A section examines the modern standard and how environment and selective breeding influenced size, conformation, and temperament. A scientific appendix discusses ancestry and morphology with skeletal plates and measurements, while illustrations and notes provide historical and practical context.

PREFACE.

This account of the Shetland Pony is intended to give, in brief outline, the chief facts of the history, and some idea of the present character, position, and use of the breed. The time seems opportune for placing on record some recent phases of its development which might otherwise be forgotten.

We are much indebted for information and help to the Ladies Estella and Dorothea Hope, to Mrs Wentworth Hope Johnstone, to Mr Robert Alexander, R.S.A., to Mr Robert Brydon, to Mr R. W. R. Mackenzie, and to Mr W. Mungall.

The illustration of Norwegian rock-drawings is reproduced from Du Chaillu’s ‘The Viking Age,’ by kind permission of Messrs John Murray & Son.

We are especially grateful that we are allowed to include, as an Appendix to the volume, Mr Cossar Ewart’s very interesting discussion of “The Making of the Shetland Pony.”

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