Community / Roaming free and wild – Shetland ponies return to Mousa after 45 years
“THEY stood on the boat quite well and walked up the pier no bother.”
That is how crofter Brendan Smith described the successful transfer of two of his Shetland mares to Mousa, marking a 45-year first for the island.
They and their owners were the only passengers on board the Mousa Boat making the 30-minute trip across the sound on Thursday afternoon.
“There used to be a Mousa stud until the late 70s/early 80s, and it was a substantial number of ponies that lived on the island then,” Smith said.
With his two mares in foal, he is now hoping to re-establish a herd on the small island once again.
“They will come out of the island in March to have their foals,” he said, and added that after that he would hopefully be in a position to put four back to the island.
Roaming free and wild on the island, the ever-popular Shetland ponies are set to add to the popularity of the island which is home to the best preserved broch in Scotland.
“It’s fine to put it back the way it was and keep it like that, Smith added.”
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