a riding-pony: it must have riding action—not the round and hammering gait of the once fashionable hackney, but the darting, gliding shoulder action that covers the ground quickly and smoothly. That alone is the safe and comfortable action of a saddle-horse large or small. Further, the pony must be bred with a short back and high withers to carry a saddle. The round low wither that disfigures too many modern ponies is fatal to the excellence of a saddle-horse, both because it will not hold a saddle in place and because it goes with short straight shoulders more proper to the coal-pit than to the road or field. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that a saddle, in the strict sense, is not necessary or desirable for a child’s first riding. More ease and comfort—without any risk to the pony’s back—can be obtained by using the treeless “pilch,” which pads the back and yet gives closer and safer contact than the saddle. Trustworthy as the Shetland pony is, it must still be added that not only must he be educated, mouthed, and mannered as carefully as a larger horse, but also he should not be subjected to the temptations of power. Until a child can really manage and control him, the leading rein must be kept in regular use, so as to avoid those premature conflicts and accidents that are as fatal to future horsemanship as they are to equine manners. [Illustration: ON DUTY.] The Shetland pony now goes far afield. In the United States he has enthusiastic supporters, who allow more laxity in height than British breeders approve—admitting 44 inches as a legitimate stature. He goes to Australia, New Zealand, the Argentine Republic, and South Africa, as well as to many European countries. In Canada, at the moment, he is in great demand: there he is the school pony; for in the new wheat lands farms are far from the schools, and a pony is the child’s conveyance. For this purpose a mount is needed which is easily kept, docile, and hardy, and which can be hitched to a fence during school hours without being critical of the state of the thermometer. The Shetland pony supplies the demand, as if he had been created for that purpose; and Canadian buyers come to Britain year by year to take ponies in increasing numbers. The Sheltie has the great advantage of a singular longevity. Every one who really associates with them knows how disastrously short a time dogs and horses live: on no reasonable calculation can they grow old with their owners. Even the Shetland pony fails of this, but he makes the bravest of attempts. There are many accredited instances of ponies living to thirty-five years and upwards; while, among Stud-book ponies, the famous Jack died at the age of thirty, and his son Odin at twenty-four, while his grandson Thor still lives in health and vigour at the age of twenty-seven: with a little luck father and son may learn to ride on the same Sheltie.