The small Shetland pony, immortalized in cartoons by the likes of Thelwell, seemingly obstinate as it carries (or disposes of) its young, spoilt rider, was one of a breed of horse that formed a crucial part of northern society for centuries. In a country with few, if any, roads, horses were certain to be of immense importance, even after the invention of the car. If those roads, or lack of them, would not permit even carriages, then the beast itself was of even greater importance. But whilst one might expect a whole range of horses to be found in such a place, one would lookin vain for magnificent beasts like the Cleveland Bay or the English Thoroughbred. Quite simply, the terrain of the far north-west could not sustain anything other than the Highland Pony.

Charles Cordiner, travelling in the far north in 1776, explained the problem. Having travelled up the east coast, and "formed the resolution of going round to Ross-shire, through the most mountainous parts of Sutherland", he found that he was:

"under the necessity of returning the horses by the east coast....Large horses cannot take that route, not only on account of the exceeding roughness of the rocky heaths; the difficulty of the paths among hills, where climbing is often necessary, and the dangerous nature of the swamps and morassy grounds: but {also], as it is not practicable to carry corn and hay into the wilds, the finding of good grass being extremely precarious, and proveneder of any kind very difficult to be obtained. All they who wish to penetrate into the more remote and desert[ed] districts of Strathnaver, must be furnished with the hardy ponies of the country; a breed I believe, originally from the Orcades. These being accustomed to climb among rocks, to jump between hillocks among bogs, to feed on birch leaves, or any green stuff that grows among the hills, [these] are the only proper horses for the journey."

One of the most important books on the subject of Highland Ponies is by John M. Macdonald, titled Highland Ponies, with Reminiscences of Highland Men (Eneas Mackay, 1937). The detail of his account reveals that there are a number of different strains within the general term 'Highland Pony', a situation that  has been fostered by the islands on the west coast being so isolated, even from each other. On Skye, for example, the ponies remained pure for a much longer period than did those of the surrounding islands simply because the larger farmers there were more concerned with the improvement of their sheep rather than that of their horse stock. One influence on the development of the breed seems to have come from Spain: on Barra, it was decided that Arabian stallions would improve the strain of the ponies found there, and it is thought that such stallions were introduced on the island by the Macneils, who had 'lifted' (i.e. stolen) them from a Spanish ship. Sir Walter Gilbey suggested that the ponies on Rhum were descended from horses which were wrecked on the coast at the time of the Spanish Armada. In contrast the ponies on Mull were said to be "but of a low size, yet very sprightly" (Martin, 1695).

On the mainland, ponies were often required to do even tougher work than those on the islands, and efforts were made to breed a slightly larger beast. Gilbey again remarked that the ponies he found in Sutherlandshire "do wonders: they set out at break of day and never halt until the work of the day is finished, going forty-eight miles." This, then, is the essence of Highland Ponies, their "sturdy constitution, their keen intelligence, and their concentrated vitality, all of which are common to the entire breed" (Macdonald). 

The Shetland Pony is for most people the classic Highland Pony. Photographers delighted in publishing both islanders and their ponies in the late 19th/early 20th centuries:

These are two images on Lewis, the crofters proudly displaying their ponies in front of their cottages:

Ponies in art:

The scene depicted in the Landseer painting is frequently repeated in photographs well into the 20th century.

At the smithy:

On the ferry. Transport over the water was always tricky on the early ferries. I give an account of Dorothy Wordsworth's experiences in my book, The Immeasurable Wilds. Both the design of the ferries, and the treatment of the horses was in general found wanting.

The Horse Fair, where ponies were traded:

...and a more frivolous view of the Horse Fair:

More humour with horses:

Humble as the Highland pony is in the catalogue of Horse strains, it still found favour with the aristocracy: