Miniature Shetland Pony

Miniature Shetland Pony

Description

The Miniature Shetland is the smallest form of the Shetland pony breed, usually standing under 86 cm at the withers. It has a stocky, muscular body, short strong legs, a broad head and a thick mane and tail. Despite its tiny stature it is remarkably powerful, and it tends to have a calm but famously stubborn temperament.

Habitat

The breed originates on the rugged, windswept Shetland Islands off the north coast of Scotland, where ponies grazed open pastures, peat moorland and stony ground with almost no shelter. This harsh climate shaped a hardy animal with a dense coat well suited to cold and wind.

Diet

A grazing herbivore that naturally feeds on grasses and other tough vegetation. In human care it is given mainly hay, sometimes with a mineral lick and a small amount of concentrate; it is very undemanding and must not be overfed, as it is prone to obesity and laminitis.

Reproduction

Gestation lasts about 11 months and normally a single foal is born. The foal is well developed and can stand and follow its mother within a few hours of birth.

Lifespan

Typically around 25 to 30 years, and Shetlands are known as an especially long-lived, robust breed.

Did you know?

For its size the Shetland pony is one of the strongest of all horse breeds, able to pull up to twice its own body weight. Because of this strength, the ponies were historically used underground in coal mines and for carrying loads in extreme conditions.