Editing Garron

{{short description|Type of horse}}
{{wikt | garron | garran}}
A '''garron''' or '''garran''' (from {{langx | gd | gearran}}) is a type of small sturdy [[horse]] or [[pony]]. The term occurs in [[Scotland]] and in [[Ireland]],<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/garron Garron, Dictionary,com]</ref> and generally refers to an undersized beast.

In Scotland, a garron is one of the types of [[Highland pony]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ewart |first=J Cossar |title=The Multiple Origin of Horses and Ponies |journal= Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland |year= 1904 |volume= XVI |issue= 1799 |pages=266–267 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CZ4QAQAAMAAJ&q=garron&pg=PA266| bibcode=  1904Natur..69..590. |doi= 10.1038/069590a0 |s2cid= 4005141|url-access=subscription }}</ref>  It is the larger, heavier type, bred on the mainland. [[Hebrides|The Isles]]' type of pony is generally smaller and slightly finer, but still within the standard of the Highland pony breed.  There is less difference today than there once was between these two types.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

The word ''garron'' may also characterise a [[Scottish Highlands |Highland]] [[Crossbreed |cross]] of a [[Clydesdale horse]] with ponies. Farmers used such garrons, 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.<ref>Topham, John. [http://www1.topfoto.co.uk/gallery/johntopham/ppages/ppage54.html A Highland Garron horse ploughing at Coubal, Shetland] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110908042620/http://www.topfoto.co.uk/gallery/johntopham/ppages/ppage54.html |date= 2011-09-08 }} (accessed 2014-10-15)</ref>
Highland deer-stalking estates kept garrons to bring the stags off the hill, as some still do, for tradition or where [[all-terrain vehicle | ATV]] access is not practicable.<ref>{{Cite web |title =Highland Tradition {{!}} Sports Afield |url =https://sportsafield.com/2019/highland-tradition/ |access-date =2023-11-29 |language =en-US}}</ref>

==Mentions in literature==
Garrons are mentioned a number of times in [[George R.&nbsp;R. Martin]]'s fantasy series ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]''. There, Garrons are used in cold mountainous areas, generally to the North near the Wall.<ref>{{cite book|last=Martin|first=George R. R.|title=A Storm of Swords|year=2000|publisher=Bantam Spectra|isbn=0-553-57342-X|pages=[https://archive.org/details/stormofswords00mart/page/202 202]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/stormofswords00mart/page/202}}</ref>

The word is used by [[Robert Smith Surtees|R.&nbsp;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".

In the Irish folktale "The Tailor and the Three Beasts", the tailor meets a garron along the way who asks the tailor: "Would you make me a hole ... where I could go a' hiding whenever the people are for bringing me to the mill or the kiln".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Tailor and the Three Beasts {{!}} An Cartlann |url=https://cartlann.org/authors/douglas-hyde/a-collection-of-irish-gaelic-folk-stories/the-tailor-and-the-three-beasts/ |access-date=2024-10-04 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Garrano]], an ancient [[Portugal|Portuguese]] variety of pony.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Horse breeds of the British Isles}}

[[Category:Types of horse]]
[[Category:Horse breeds]]
[[Category:Horse breeds originating in Scotland]]