Page:Dapples of the Circus (1943).pdf/17

 fat. He is not a plaything, but a real little horse. His build is that of a dray-horse, being very blocky.

Some horse-fanciers, such as Colonel Balfour, have succeeded, by long breeding, in making a more slender Shetland. This is the type of pony usually seen in the ring, or horse show. Such a little beauty is Silver Tip, Second, who is valued at ten thousand dollars.

These little ponies are very clever and easily taught tricks, so from the early centuries old writings tell of the trick ponies which were shown at the country fairs in old England and on the Continent.

The life of the Shetland pony on his native heath is anything but the rosy path that he treads once he is imported and becomes a child's pet. Not only are these islands cold, but their vegetation is also scant. The islanders take much better care of their small sheep and cattle than of their ponies.

These little horses are very hardy, and