Marks & Spencer has added a touch of equine to its Easter egg range in the form of a chocolate Shaggy the Shetland — and the grass he is standing on is edible too.
The plump little pony is wearing a head collar and certainly has the cute factor, although he is possibly carrying a little too much ‘condition’ around his middle to be a healthy representation of his breed.
The hollow milk and white chocolate Shetland weighs 155g and costs £7. On the side of the box are the words: “it’s time for the mane event”.
I see what they did there…
“Shaggy the Shetland will charm everyone this Easter,” says M&S in the description on its website. “Shaggy is an adorable pony lovingly crafted from creamy milk and white chocolate — almost too cute to eat! We’re committed to sourcing our cocoa responsibly.”
There are other cute animals in the range, including Dougal the Puppy — a white West Highland Terrier with its tongue sticking out — plus Flossy the Highland Cow, Nibbles the Bunny, Lucy the Lamb (who is dairy free), Chipper Chick, Daisy the Cow, Ralph the Cavapoo, Charlie the Bunny (dairy free) and Toby the T-Rex.
View Shaggy the Shetland and the rest of the animal friends Easter range on the M&S website here.
The Shetland pony
Shetland ponies are native to the UK. It is a Scottish breed that originated in the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland.
They measure up to around 10hh and it is their diminutive stature that often earns them the ‘cute’ name tag from members of the general public — although horse people know better.
Shetlands are small but very hardy, designed to survive Scottish winters in the wild, and used to carry heavy loads and plough fields in bygone years.
Nowadays they are still used for riding and driving, and are commonly referred to by a nickname with a different vowel (‘i’) replacing the ‘e’ in Shetland…
