The Highland pony is one of the oldest and largest of the native British pony breeds, with an ancestry in the Scottish Highlands and Hebridean Islands extending — by some accounts — to the period before the last Ice Age, though the modern breed type reflects selective breeding over many centuries. The Highland is one of three Scottish native pony breeds, alongside the Eriskay and the Shetland, and is the heaviest of the three.
The breed stands 13 to 14.2 hands and is notable for its substance and depth of body relative to height. Coat colors are dun in its various shades — mouse dun, yellow dun, cream dun — along with grey, brown, black, and bay; a dorsal stripe (eel stripe) and zebra bar markings on the legs are characteristic of the primitive dun coloring. The breed’s double coat — a waterproof outer layer and a dense inner layer — provides insulation sufficient for year-round outdoor living on exposed Scottish hillsides without rugging. The mane and tail are full and thick, and the forelock falls heavily over the face.
Historically, the Highland was used for pack duty on stalking estates (carrying deer carcasses off the hill), light draft on crofts, and military service. The breed’s sure-footedness and tractability made it useful in terrain where wheeled vehicles could not operate. Today Highland ponies are used for trekking, driving, dressage, show classes, and as foundation stock in crossbreeding programs seeking hardiness. The breed is registered with the Highland Pony Society, founded in 1923, which maintains the studbook and administers breed shows. controlling rich-grass exposure in easy keepers for Highlands must account for their easy-keeping nature; the breed is prone to weight gain and associated metabolic issues if access to rich grazing is unrestricted.