A garron or garran, from Gaelic ''gearran'', is a type of a small sturdy
horse or
pony. The term occurs in
Scotland and in
Ireland, and generally refers to an undersized beast.
In Scotland, a garron is one of the types of
Highland pony. It is the larger, heavier type bred on the mainland.
The Isles' type of pony is generally smaller and slightly finer, but still within the breed standard. There is less difference today than there once was between these two types.
The word ''garron'' has also been used to describe a
Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
cross of a
Clydesdale horse
The Clydesdale is a Scottish breed of draught horse. It is named for its area of origin, the Clydesdale or valley of the River Clyde, much of which is within the county of Lanarkshire.
The origins of the breed lie in the eighteenth century, ...
with ponies. It was used in farming, especially in the
Highlands and Islands where a full-sized Clydesdale would not have been as economical. These horses were valued for their hardiness and ability to work on slopes. Highland deer-stalking estates kept garrons to bring the stags off the hill, as some still do, for tradition or where ATV access is not yet practicable.
Mentions in literature
Garrons are mentioned a number of times in
George R. R. Martin's fantasy series ''
A Song of Ice and Fire
''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...
''. There, garrons are used in cold mountainous areas, generally to the North near the Wall.
The word is used by
R. S. Surtees in the first chapter of ''Jorrocks′ Jaunts and Jollities''.
The author Nigel Tranter mentions garrons frequently in his novels about Scottish history, for example "Macbeth, the King".
See also
*
Garrano
The Garrano is an endangered breed of pony from northern Portugal, part of the Iberian horse family, mainly used as a pack horse, for riding, and for light farm work. An ancient breed, the Garrano has remained largely unchanged for thousands o ...
, an ancient
Portuguese variety of pony.
References
{{Reflist
Types of horse
Horse breeds
Horse breeds originating in Scotland
