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The American Shetland stands up to 11.2 hands high and can
be any solid color. Its origin is from the United States. The first Scottish
Shetland ponies arrived in America in 1885, when Eli Elliot imported 75 of
them. The ponies were the basis for the development of the American
Shetland, which now bears very little resemblance to the original Shetland
Pony. Indiana is the breeding center for these ponies, although they can now
be widely found in the United States because of their growing popularity.
Through crossbreeding the Shetland Pony with Hackney ponies and later small
Arabians and small Thoroughbreds, an new and distinct image began to emerge.
In 1888, the American Shetland Pony Club was formed and now keeps two
studbooks- Division A and Division B. Division A is maintained to register
the original pure Shetland ponies, while Division B is open to ponies with
one parent from Division A and the other parent being a Hackney Pony, Welsh
Pony, or a Harness show pony.
Typically these ponies are full of both
quality and character, resembling the Hackney pony in build and stance while
maintaining the Shetland pony's endurance and toughness as well as their
luxurious mane and tail. They are extremely versatile ponies and although
they are ideally suited to harness work, they make wonderful children's
riding ponies. They can be seen competing in almost any field, including
English and Western saddle,
jumping,
dressage, gymkhana, harness racing and
other various
driving competitions. The breed is now very popular in the
United States and top class ponies will sell for phenomenal amounts of
money.
The American Shetland has an intelligent and finely shaped head,
which is often long and not typical of pony character. They sport muscular
arched necks that are set and have to be carried in a similar way to the
Hackney pony. American Shetlands tend to have long, narrow backs, with
broad, muscular hindquarters and unusually high withers. The shoulders have
a good slope, which allows for their showy action quite similar to that of
the Hackney pony. Usually they have long, fine legs with long cannon bones,
and copy the Hackney stance with the hind legs stretched out behind the
body.
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