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MISSION & VISION

Mission

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Shetland Breeders (SB) brings breeders of Shetland pony`s together and focuses on preserving specific characteristics of the breed, unique and diverse bloodlines, in type and movement, colour and specific Heights.

 

 

Vision

 

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SB is an initiative of enthusiastic Dutch breeders who would like to make an active and positive contribution to improving the breed in the broadest sense. The initiators represent the whole spectrum of our breed in colour, size and ridden and driven.

 

Our purpose is to create a platform that supports Shetland Pony Breeders by sharing knowledge and information and bring depth to the subject of “breeding”. We want to enhance awareness among Shetland pony enthusiasts, that sensible breeding is crucial for the future of our breed.

 

This platform is accessible for everyone in our international community, who is interested in breeding Shetland Pony`s! Our motto is “Breeders for Breeders”. SB aims at a productive and positive cooperation with international breeders and studbook societies.

OBJECTIVES

Prime objective of our program in the long term is to improve the characteristics of the breed. In short these are defined as follows :

 

The Shetland pony is a harmoniously and well proportioned pony, with a pretty and expressive head. The mane and tail hair should be long, straight and profuse. The legs are set straight from the body, withsufficient length and substance, well developed joints and feet. Action is free, using every joint and tracking up well. Shetland pony`s may be any colour known in horses except spotted.

 

To enable us to achieve our objective we want to play an active role in breeding valuable Shetland Pony`s in the Netherlands. Specifically:

1.    To rear young and promising colts selected by us in the Netherlands and abroad   

2.    Set up cooperation with breeders abroad

3.    Build an international database with interesting mares and stallions and use this to match genetically interesting mares and stallions in the future

4.    Build a database with interesting and scientific breeding related information

5.    Give advice to breeders about choice of stallion or how to develop their stud         

6.    Work out a paper on the breeding of ridden and driven pony`s

 

We favour a breeding policy in which the existing genetic variation in population is maintained and where breeders have the freedom to breed a specific type of pony, in type, bloodline, colour, size and character. This way we are assured of variety and therefore studs with specific and recognisable pony`s.

 

Advertence for in and line-breeding is essential. Not only because of the positive effects on the breed but also for the proven hereditary shortcoming. Our breeding policy is geared towards appearance as well as the sport pony.

STRATEGY

The breeding philosophy of SB is twofold: 
 

1)     Appearance: SB focuses on maintaining the existing genetic variation in population, diversity in bloodlines, type and movement, colour and size.

 

2)     Sport: Characteristics like the setting of the shoulder, length and position of the quarters and development of legs and feet, give information about the sport ability of a pony. Basic action as judged at shows are important for a sport pony. Nowadays show pony`s are often transformed into sport pony`s for the wrong reasons, like too big, low show quality or not licensed as a stallion. Our aim is to motivate breeders to specialise with their stud in breeding sport pony`s.

 

Specifically this means attention for:

  • Genetic variation and in/line breeding, preservation of “old” bloodlines and import new bloodlines

  • Variety in type

  • Advertence for development of the legs, feet and especially the action

  • Advertence for variety in colour and especially the chestnuts in the standard size

  • The breeding of high quality minis and middle size pony`s

 

When have we reached our goals?

  •  When deliberate breeding is equally important as showing

  • When we successfully preserve black UK bloodlines

  • When we rear quality chestnut colts

  • When we improve the characteristics of the Dutch miniponies.

  • When studs have distinguished ponies

  • When we have added new bloodlines

  •  When breeding sport pony`s is no longer a coincidence

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