2011 Streak 83/365: Pony and Trap

2011 Streak 83/365: Cycle - 18.3 miles miles, Time - 1hr 18min, Weather - a beautiful sunny day (again)

You never know what you will find when you get out doors. You might be following a route you have ftravelled many times but there can always be something new. Today I passed this trotting Shetland pony - amazingly cute. I slowed down and rode alongside for a little time to chat and it was very pleasant, idling along, pushing the pedal half a revolution at a time. 

I think the lady was very used to interest in her pony but she was happy enough to talk. I learnt that of all the breeds of horse the Shetland is, pound for pound, the strongest; being able to pull two times its body weight. Seeing it trotting along I could well believe it and understood, probably for the first time, that they are not a toy. If I had thought about them before, I had thought they were merely kept for children, as a first pony. I was unaware of their history as a working animal and how they were used down the mines. 

The other thing I learnt was that they are valuable. When I asked the driver where she kept the horse she was very cagey and said she preferred not to answer because she was worried about theft. I was a little shocked because I had not thought of horse theft and rural crime. I knew all about rustling from cowboy films but I must admit that is the limit of my knowledge of animal theft.

It is another example of how we live in our own little silos. If you asked me about bicycle theft I would be very clued up but horses? I suppose that anything valuable is vulnerable and the isolation of the countryside would give the thieves cover.

I wonder if, per head of population, rural crime is more prevalent than it is in the city. I don't know but but in some small way today's ride opened my eyes a little.