Take this quote -

"This breed now bears the same relationship in size and general appearance to the Rough Collie as the Shetland Pony does to some of the larger breeds of horses."

This is part of the AKC Shetland Sheepdog standard. Kinda interesting really. This sentence really doesn't mean much these days, given that it is so general, and not only have Collies, Shelties changed over the years, but so have Shetland Ponies and "larger breeds" (used percheron)! Funnily enough - Collies and Shelties have gotten a lot more bone (thicker legs, generally thicker look) and way more hair over the years, while the horses have gotten way less bone and a much more refined and delicate look. Now, I pushed it - that's a "Modern" Shetland Pony, but still - geez! If we are still comparing to Shetland Ponies, methinks we need to clarify the dog standard, because I KNOW we don't mean we want them that fragile and delicate looking! An interesting thing to look at is the shape of the negative space under the animals - shape of the space, length to height ratio - gives you a good idea of what has changed if you aren't familiar with looking at different breeds. Just compare those ratios and shapes from the 30's till now - things sure have changed!

I mean, are we talking this? This is CH.Peabody Pan, from the 30's.

This? A Shetland pony from the 30's:

"Larger horse" from the 30's:



Rough Collie from the 30's:
So that comparison kinda works, right? You can see what they mean. However:

Modern day Sheltie:

Modern day Shetland Pony:

Modern day larger horse:

Modern day Rough Collie: