How demand for Shetland ponies went up during the pandemic

Anderson (right), chair of the Pony Breeders of Shetland Association at Papil, Burra near Lerwick. Photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP

For hundreds of years, the inhabitants of the northernmost part of Scotland and Britain have bred small horses – the Shetland pony.

The animals, named after the unforgiving northern archipelago in the North Sea, have long drawn attention for their distinctive shape, size and rough hair.