The Shetland Pony.
This diminutive breed of horses, many of which are not larger than a Newfoundland dog, is common in Shetland, and all the islands on the north and west of Scotland; also in the mountainous districts of the mainland along the coast. They are beautifully formed, and possess prodigious strength in proportion to their size. The heads are small, with a flowing mane and long tail, reaching to the ground.
They are high-spirited and courageous little animals, but extremely tractable in their nature. Some of them run wild about the mountains, and there are various methods of catching them, according to the local situation of the district which they inhabit.
The shelties, as they are called, are generally so small, that a middling-sized man must ride with his knees raised to the animal’s shoulders, to prevent his toes from touching the ground. It is surprising to see with what speed they will carry a heavy man over broken and zigzag roads in their native mountains.
When grazing, they will clamber up steep ascents, and to the extreme edge of precipices which overhang the most frightful abysses, and there they will gaze round with as much complacency as if on a plain.
These horses, small as they may be, are not to be considered a degenerate breed, for they are possessed of much greater physical strength in proportion to their size than larger horses. They are called garrons in the highlands of Scotland.
Many years ago, when turnpikes were first established in Scotland, a countryman was employed by the laird of Coll to go to Glasgow and Edinburgh on certain business, and furnished with a small shelty to ride upon. Being stopped at the gate near Dunbarton, the messenger good-humoredly asked the keeper if he would be required to pay toll, should he pass through carrying a burthen; and upon the man answering “Certainly not,” he took up the horse in his arms, and carried him through the toll-bar, to the great amusement of the gate-keeper.
A gentleman, some time ago, was presented with one of these handsome little animals, which was no less docile than elegant, and measured only seven hands or twenty-eight inches in height. He was anxious to convey his present home as speedily as possible, but, being at a considerable distance, was at a loss how to do so most easily. The friend said, “Can you not carry him in your chaise?” He made the experiment, and the shelty was lifted into it, covered up with the apron, and some bits of bread given him to keep him quiet. He lay quite peaceable till he reached his destination; thus exhibiting the novel spectacle of a horse riding in a gig.
A little girl, the daughter of a gentleman in Warwickshire, England, playing on the banks of a canal which runs through his grounds, had the misfortune to fall in, and would in all probability have been drowned, had not a little pony, which had long been kept in the family, plunged into the stream and brought the child safely ashore, without the slightest injury. The engraving at the head of this article exhibits this interesting scene.
A gentleman had a white pony, which became extremely attached to a little dog that lived with him in the stable, and whenever the horse was rode out, the dog always ran by his side. One day, when the groom took out the pony for exercise, and accompanied as usual by his canine friend, they met a large dog, who attacked the diminutive cur, upon which the horse reared, and, to the astonishment of the bystanders, so effectually fought his friend’s battle with his fore feet, that the aggressor found it his interest to scamper off at full speed, and never again ventured to assail the small dog.
Shelties sometimes attain a great age. There was in the small village of Haddington, Eng., a very small black pony, not exceeding eleven hands high, of the Shetland breed, which in the year 1745, at only two years of age, was rode at the battle of Preston Pans, by a young gentleman, who afterwards sold it to a farmer near Dunbar. This pony, at forty-seven years of age, looked remarkably fresh; trotted eight miles an hour for several miles together; had a very good set of teeth; eat corn and hay well; was able to go a long journey; and had not, to appearance, undergone the least alteration, either in galloping, trotting, or walking, for twenty years preceding.
Curious.—In a book of accounts, belonging to a small dealer, who had become bankrupt, in the west of England, were found the following names of customers to whom credit had been given: “Woman on the Key; Jew Woman; Coal Woman; Old Coal Woman; Fat Coal Woman; Market Woman; Pale Woman; A Man; Old Woman; Little Milk Girl; Candle Man; Stable Man; Coachman; Big Woman; Lame Woman; Quiet Woman; Egg Man; Littel Black Girl; Old Watchman; Shoemaker; Littel Shoemaker; Short Shoemaker; Old Shoemaker; Littel Girl; Jew Man; Jew Woman; Mrs. in the Cart; Old Irish Woman; Woman in Cow street; A Lad; Man in the country; Long Sal; Woman with Long Sal; Mrs. Irish Woman; Mrs. Feather Bonnet; Blue Bonnet; Green Bonnet; Green Coat; Blue Britches; Big Britches; The woman that was married; The woman that told me of the man.”
“I hope I don’t intrude,” as the knife said to the oyster.
