Shetland Pony

Shetland Ponies orginally came from the Shetland Isles in Scotland where they have existed for over 2000 years making the Shetland Pony the oldest of the British Native Breeds. Archaeologists  found bones of small ponies when they excavted Bronze Age sites so it is believed that the Shetland Pony has been domesticated since the Bronze age. There were'nt any roads on the Shetland Isles until the 19th Century so the ponies were orginally used as pack animals and to carry their owners.

Winters in the Shetland Isles can be very harsh and the smallness of the Shetland Pony enabled it to survive sometimes by eating seaweed on the beach. Shetland ponies are very hardy, very strong and long lived.

A true Shetland Pony shouldn't be any heigher than 42 inches (107cms), measured at the withers, they should have small heads with long manes and tails and they come in all horse colours except spotted.