Equestrian Network Magazine

by M. Y. Mim

One mare births one small foal, and the world's population soars .25 percent.

Only about 420 endangered Eriskay Ponies exist today. Thanks to the Eriskay Pony Society, these sturdy horses survive. As recently as the 1970s, only around 20 existed.

Thousands of years ago, the charming little breed roamed the remote island of Eriskay in the "Western Isles," the Hebrides islands off the coast of Scotland.

Because of the difficulty accessing the island, other breeds were not introduced, leaving a stock of pure-bred ponies.

Newly born Eriskay Pony foal. Photo courtesy the Eriskay Pony Society.

A group of dedicated Scots, including crofters*, a local priest, doctor, vet, and scientist. decided to save the ponies. Some thirty years ago, they created the Eriskay Pony Society, and enabled the only surviving variety of Hebridean pony to breed, and, indeed, flourish.

The Eriskay originated from the Celtic type with no imported bloodlines. The

little Eriskay also connects to ancient Celtic and Norse breeds. Recent DNA testing by the University of Leicester, U.K., proved the Eriskay a distinct, primitive breed with ancient origins. Equine-science specialists and anthropologists, using measurement methods, showed that the Eriskays carry similar proportions to those found on ancient Pictish stones throughout the North and West of Scotland.

Eriskay Pony Society member with mare and youngster. Photo courtesy the Eriskay Pony Society.

On this remote, bitterly cold, windswept island, Eriskay Ponies evolved to survive on meager food supplies, with coats, ears and tails well adapted to coping with a harsh, wet and windy climate.

The Eriskay Pony stands 12.0-13.2 hands (124-138cm) high, and although foals are often born brown or black, they turn gray with maturity, with the occasional black or bay. Their dense, waterproof winter coat enables them to live in the harshest conditions.

Their legs are fine, with only a small tuft of hair at the fetlock.

Photo courtesy the Eriskay Pony Society.

On June 30 of this year, a filly, born at the Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm Park, gave hope to the Eriskay Pony Society with the promise of a broodmare to swell the overall population.

Allan Talley manages the farm, located on the Wiltshire and Hampshire border (Southern England, only four miles from Stonehenge, with views to Salisbury Cathedral), said

"This is the second foal we've had in two years. But this is a filly so it's more important because we can breed from her. We have five here now and this one is a very important foal because there are only about four pure-breed stallions and her father was one of them."

He added that the ponies were a hardy breed that were used on farms and have an easy nature as well as a small appetite which make them ideal workhorses for farmers.

Photo courtesy the Eriskay Pony Society.

"On Eriskay the men tended to go and fish and the women did the crofting

and farming. Over the years, they just bred from the quiet well-mannered ones and not from the bad tempered ones.

"That led to a breed that was tough, quiet and easy tempered. They can live on very meager rations and will live on mosses and lichen. They have an oily coat that keeps the weather out and they have a high tail that hangs down and protects their backs from the weather.

"They also have a long nose so the cold air they breathe in is warmed by the time it reaches their lungs. They are tough, endurable and very strong and make ideal ponies for children to use," Mr. Talley said.

Until the middle of the 19th century, crofters used these ponies of the "Western Isles type" for everyday tasks such as bringing home peat and seaweed in basketwork creels slung over their backs, pulling carts, harrowing and even taking the children to school.

Today, Eriskay Ponies can be seen competing in all spheres of equestrianism. Members of the Eriskay Pony Society regularly take part in activities such as dressage, jumping, cross country, pony club eventing, team games, western riding and driving.

Photo courtesy the Eriskay Pony Society.

Although these sweet ponies stand short, they are strong for their size, have terrific stamina and can carry a light adult with ease.

With ease and, indeed, with such joy, knowing that these sweet, affectionate equines, merely larger than a big dog, come from ancient lineage, barely surviving into the 21st century.

* For our U.S. readers, a crofter is a farmer, or specifically, a tenant family working the Scottish croft , or small agricultural landholding of a type which has been subject to special legislation in the United Kingdom since 1886. According to Wikipedia, "The legislation is largely a response to the complaints and demands of tenant families who were victims of the Highland Clearances. The modern crofters or tenants appear very little in evidence before the beginning of the 18th Century. They were tenants at will underneath the tacksman [lessee] and wadsetters [mortgagers], but, practically, their tenure was secure enough. The first evidence we can find of small tenants holding directly of the proprietor is in a rental of the estates of Sir D. MacDonald in Skye and North Uist in 1715."

To contact the Eriskay Pony Society, please visit www.eriskaypony.com, or call the Society chair Fiona Misselbrook in Scotland, 0131 663 3485.

About the Author: M. Y. Mim is a free-lance journalist based in Santa Barbara, Ca. She may be reached at mymim3@cox.net, or through her agent R. Almqvist, 805-705-5349.