Any thoughts on Eriskay's as a breed?

I have an Eriskay x Highland. A better pony you could not ask for. Had him since he was 5 (he's 17 this year!). He's done a bit of everything and now my kids ride him. He has his naughty moments, but he really is a wonderful chap. I've had many people try and buy and loan him from me in the past but I'd never let him go!
 
It is disgraceful, I know, to be up here in the Highlands breeding Highand ponies and not know the difference, but I always thought Eriskays were just diminutive Highlands!

About forty years ago I'd stop the car on the west side of North Uist and sit and watch a herd of ponies belonging (I think) to the MacAulays who were farmers on their own land out with the North Uist Estate. One of the family would catch one of the ponies (probably the same one) and ride it to round up the herd for regular attention.

Highlands can be bad too. The first Highland I ever owned was bought at the Aberdeen horse sale. The only way I could catch her was to rig up a noose suspended from a tree over one of the tracks in her field and drive her into it, then take hold of the trailing rope. I eventually sold her to a man who bought her as a birthday present for his wife. That was one marriage that was destined to end in divorce!:D My only problem with my own ponies is to stop them jumping on my lap to lick my face!
 
ive heard stories about highlands too haha! YO used to tell stories about a highland mare that used to be on the yard, stunning but apparently used to corner other horses, and kick people without any warning. but then again, she was apparently a very stroppy mare so that may not have been down to breed :rolleyes:
 
I've only known one Eriskay and he was devoted to his owner but could be very tricky for anyone else until you gained his trust. He came down with awful laminitis and had terrible separation anxiety. Not sure how much this was down to his breeding but he was a full Eriskay and seems to share some traits with others mentioned here.

A good pony is a good pony, regardless of breed. And same with the 'bad'. The one that's right for you might surprise you what package they arrive in.

But at 5ft 4 and 7 stone I don't think you'd look out of place on top.

Happy looking :)
 
Own of my first ponies was a beautiful little eriskay pony. She had the sweetest of natures and always looked after her little person on board! She didn't have amazing conformation but I have seen a lot worse and she always did well in native and eriskay showing classes. She would pop a small course and do a simple dressage test, she was not a rosette winning machine but she always did her job just as she was asked :) if I could get her nature and attitude in my horses to come I most certainly would! Although by the looks of this thread everyone has had some different experiences!
 
I don't come on here very often, so I'm sorry I missed this thread. This is all a bit after the Lord Mayor's Show but here are a few thought.

Conformation
Very few are being bred and the focus is on keeping the breed in existence. If and when numbers get to a higher level then the focus can move more to breeding high quality ponies.

Having said that conformation has slowly improved over the years, driven in part because a stallion will not normally be licensed unless they have good conformation.

Experienced M&M judges who have judged them over the years have commented on the fact that they are getting better, but there is still a long way to go. Certain breeders will reliably produce high quality ponies, some less so.

Eriskays were bred for a job. They were bred with distinct traits to be fit for purpose. To some people's eyes those traits are unattractive. There are a few breeds that are losing their distinct traits (in my opinion) by being bred towards a generic norm of what good conformation is rather than holding to the traits that made them distinct in the first place. .

Health
Some have sweet itch, some have laminitis, some have other ailments. They are no different from any breed and ailments are no more prevalent. But they are generally tough, no nonsense ponies who thrive on hard living.

Stubborn
Yes they can be stubborn, but no more so than certain other breeds I have come across. You get an Eriskay to do what you want by coming to an agreement with it rather than forcing it. But they do respond very well to the right approach, and seem to respond particularly well to natural horsemanship.

An Eriskay has won the Scottish Le Trec title, an Eriskay team the English tandem driving championship, and there are a number of nervous kids who have had their confidence rebuilt by a dependable Eriskay (including my own son). Eriskays have hunted, competed at decent levels in Pony Club, dressage and other activities. Given the small numbers they have been remarkably successful across the board, which is hardly the hallmark on an inveterately stubborn pony.

They are also very, very smart. We have, and have had, a variety of breeds and the Eriskays are consistently the cleverest.

Highlands & Eriskays.
There is startlingly little genetic link between Eriskays and Highlands. I've see DNA analysis done on small samples of both that indicate they are very different, and recent research indicates that they are closer to Connies and Welsh than to Highlands.

Highlands and Eriskays overlap in size, but put a 13.2 Eriskay beside a 13.2 Highland and it is plain that they are different breeds.

Carrying Ability.
Eriskays were primarily pack horses so carry a lot of weight. They will carry 10 or 11 stone comfortably. Clearly that will vary, and some will not carry that much, but some carry a lot more. My 5'8" son still rides a 13h Eriskay and does not look too big on her.

General
Eriskays are like any breed. They have certain characteristics and you either like those characteristics or not. There are good Eriskays and there are bad ones, but like most breeds it is likely the bad ones are a result of nurture rather than nature. I'll concede they are not the easiest of breeds, but they are worth the effort as they pay back the effort put into them in spades.

My personal opinion is that they have quite a poor reputation as a higher than normal proportion are owned by 'non-pony people' who like the idea of owning a rare breed, but do not really know how to handle them.
 
I've known 6 different ones, and broken in three myself. They are stubborn, but not more so than a Highland in my opinion. They are designed to live on nothing so do watch out for weight gain/ laminitis. Once you get these ponies on side they are FAB - I've known three out of the six I know do RDA, one of them still being a foal an the other only broken last year. Two of them have done pony club successfully, one played kids polo, and of the six only one had poor conformation and one had sweet itch. Once on side nothing stops these ponies, they are very brave and if they like you they'll do anything for you. You do have to earn their respect however.
 
JFTD said:
eta - for balance, I've never known a nice NF personally and have seen 2 shot after laminitis (there are some crackers on here, but in RL all useless. But owned by useless people too!). Doesn't mean they're a duff breed - it means the ones I've known have been owned by idiots who couldn't manage their weight school or be trusted to handle a living animal. I'd get a highland myself, but there's nothing inherently wrong with an eriskay (confo aside, not an issue for hacking!).

Only thing you can really do is go and try the one in question and see if you click! :)
Click to expand...

I think you need to come meet my new forest then, he's barely been schooled yet he has always been wonderfully well balanced, turns on a sixpence responds to your leg, light in front and is very nice! And I had him as a green 5 year old when I was an inexperienced novice 13 years ago, he should be ruined by now
 
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