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 much exposure has developed a long, thick coat, so that in Shetland they are left out all winter long and made to paw the snow away from their scant feed. This is so scarce on the moor that they usually come down to the seashore and paw in the snow for seaweed and mosses.

The little colts are foaled in the spring and allowed to run with the mares, often till they are a year old. So it is not a strange thing for a Shetland colt who is only six months old to be out in the bitter winter cold, shivering at the flank of his dam. The Shetland pony when foaled weighs only about thirty pounds, and is a very awkward little horse, all legs and head, but he shapes up rapidly.

The most common colors of Shetlands are black, gray, white, and brown, although the English breeders have produced some fine dapple bays and other fancy colors.

For his size and weight the Shetland pony is the most wonderful little animal