If you’ve ever seen old photos of Hebridean crofters carrying peat, seaweed and goods round their islands you’ll have seen a rare breed of ponies called the Eriskay. As breed it exists only on these few islands and has only recently been saved from extinction by a stallion called Eric and a few enthusiasts bent on saving their unique pony.

One of Scotland’s Four Remaining Breeds

 The Eriskay pony  is small and hardy well suited to the Hebridean islands it is one of Scotland’s four remaining horse breeds. The others are alongside it are the Highland, the Shetland and the Clydesdale. There used to be a fifth, the Galloway, but it disappeared some three centuries ago.

A Pony Called Eric

Even with the work that has been done the Eriskays are still under threat and are listed as Europe’s most threatened horses. It is  listed it as critically endangered by The Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Today there are 420 of them, but that is a world away from the picture some fifty years ago when there was a single stallion and 20 mares. All the ponies are now Eric’s descendents. Rescue attempts concentrated on the islands themselves, but enthusiasts around the world have helped to breed ponies too; and societies were set up to monitor progress. However, the remoteness of the islands has been helpful in keeping the breed pure.

Important to Scottish Heritage

These breeds, special to Scotland,  and are such an important part of Scots heritage, so it is to be applauded that these enthusiasts have saved such an iconic breed. The rescue attempt was launched in the islands in the 1970s and through locals and the establishment of breeding groups throughout the UK, numbers have steadily been rising.

Now if you want to see these lovely, tough little creatures in real life then go to Eriskay where they are domesticated and a definite tourist attraction, or the Holy Isle where the ponies live in the wild.

Celebrate our Equine friends

If you are a horse and pony lover then why not take a look at the lovely artworks we have celebrating our equine friends with:

The courage and beauty of War Horse, which is new this year.

https://www.jamespirie.com/derby-war-horse-l-e-500-new.html

The horse celebrating Chinese New Year in this year of the Horse, it’s on special offer too.

https://www.jamespirie.com/chinese-new-year-horse.html

Or get the young started early on their love of horses and ponies with this baby Charlotte rocking horse.

https://www.jamespirie.com/royal-baby-rocking-horse-l-e-500.html