The grant received from Society of Antiquaries of Scotland allowed Dr Miriam A Bibby FSAScot, from the University of Glasgow School of Interdisciplinary Studies, to undertake further research into the Galloway Horse, or Nag, in its homeland.

In the mid-19th century, William Youatt, a prolific writer on matters of animal husbandry, wrote a somewhat romanticised and nostalgic description of the Galloway horse, or ‘nag’, commenting:

‘A horse between thirteen and fourteen hands in height is called a GALLOWAY, from a beautiful breed of little horses once found in the south of Scotland, on the shore of the Solway Firth, but now sadly degenerated, and almost lost, through the attempts of the farmer to obtain a larger kind, and better adapted for the purposes of agriculture.’ (Youatt 1843)

Little, tough, fast, and enduring: these were the qualities of the Galloway Horse, or Nag. Image from a collected edition of the work of Oliver Goldsmith

The Galloway Nag, or Horse, has been more than a topic of research interest for me – it has become rather a lifelong obsession. My research curiosity was sparked by the continuing use of the term Galloway, or rather ‘Gallowa’, as a general description for horses and ponies among some communities in the north of England, particularly miners, upland farmers, and travelling people. Growing up hearing the term on Tyneside, I wondered ‘why do we call them gallowas?’

It was clear that the Galloway Nag had once been a landrace of significance, and well-known beyond Galloway, yet its contribution appeared to have disappeared from general consciousness. Historically, the Galloway Nag, and the term Gallowa as applied to a horse, were used beyond Scotland, but scarcely known within modern Scotland or Galloway itself.

In 2016 formal research into the topic began when I was accepted as a PhD candidate by the University of Glasgow. A monograph on the Galloway Nag based on my PhD research was complete when I applied for, and received, a grant from the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for further studies. I had amassed sufficient evidence to show the importance of the landrace and its contribution to many modern breeds. However, I frequently encountered people who had never heard of it, and its connection to Galloway, the place and its people, seemed tenuous and misty. The aim of the grant was to begin to identify what remained of the Galloway Nag in the landscape of Galloway itself.

‘Racing’, from Richard Blome’s The Gentleman’s Recreation, 1686. Both Galloways from Scotland and Hobbies from Ireland contributed to the development of modern racehorses. Note the small size of the racers, known as running-horses, and the indication of a Scottish figure central to the image. Scotland’s major contribution to horse racing culture, genetics, and regulations is often overlooked in the prevailing mythology of the ‘English’ Thoroughbred.

As well as enabling me to explore new aspects of Galloway Nag research, the grant provided the opportunity to engage more deeply in previously researched areas. The resulting publications so far, which are the direct outcome of, or assisted by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland grant, focus on these areas, particularly two interesting phenomena (Bibby 2024; Bibby forthcoming). The first is attempting to identify the important role played by horse breeders and dealers within Galloway itself, and the fact that many were likely to be Gaelic speaking in the key phase from late medieval to early modern times when the Galloway Nag was first drawing interest as a noted landrace. This is indicated by the use of linguistic and landscape terms in Galloway such as gearran, meaning gelding, a term familiar in the Highlands through its application to Highland pones. Scotland was famous for the quality of its geldings, mainly used as riding horses, which formed a significant trade from the medieval period until the early 18th century. The second topic is the important role played by references to the Galloway Nag in mainly English-produced literature, particularly satirising the Covenanters of the region.

The first of two publications currently in press is titled ‘Divine Jockeying: Stuarts, Whigs, and Whips in the Galloway Nag Satire of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries’ and will be published in the peer-reviewed European journal Progressus. This paper began as a presentation at the International Conference on Human/non-human Animal Relationships in Literature and the Arts from Antiquity to the Modern Era, hosted by the University of Liverpool in April 2023. The grant enabled me to provide additional depth to the theme through greater knowledge of the importance of the Galloway Nag to both the Gaelic-speaking and subsequent Presbyterian and Covenanter cultures of the region.

The horses from Galloway were admired by the English and, by the early 18th century, still a valuable commodity though being overtaken by emerging breeds. They were also viewed as an equally valuable tool for satire by English writers. My PhD research had already revealed a long-running strain of humour and satire attached to the Galloway horses by English authors which I identify as ‘Galloway Nag Satire’. The identification of very diverse cultures within the region individually and collectively through the horse is, I argue, politically significant.

The second forthcoming publication focusses on the importance of the Galloway contribution to the modern Thoroughbred racehorse (Bibby, forthcoming). In this piece I explore how the satirising and othering of the contribution of Galloway, the place and its people, has contributed to loss of awareness of the Galloway Nag and its role in horse racing. The Galloway Nag, research suggests, provided key genes of stamina and speed to the Thoroughbred (Bower et al 2012), and yet that contribution remains little-known.

Fell Ponies are one of the breeds believed to be most closely related to the extinct Galloway. The author’s Grahamsley Danny Boy (left) and his dam (mother) Foalsyke Jenny (right). Photo author’s own.

With further work to come, the legacy of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland grant continues. Future publications will focus on Kelton Hill Fair, artwork and images of Galloways, the use of the term Galloway in the works of Walter Scott, and an in-depth examination of the term ‘nag’. There is also the potential for a photo essay examining landscape and legacy. Moreover, a proposal for Leeds IMC 2025 will be submitted, looking at the evidence for Galloway horses, or their ancestors, in early medieval Scotland.

Acknowledgements

Given its major contribution to Scottish history, commerce and industry, and to modern sport, the Galloway horse is a significant, while little-known, aspect of Scottish history. I am very grateful to the trustees and fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for making a grant available to me to raise awareness of this remarkable non-human animal and its influence.

References

Bibby, M A 2024 Invisible Ancestor: The Galloway Nag and its Legacy. Budapest: Trivent Publishing.

Bibby, M A forthcoming ‘Horses for courses: Galloways at the races’ in Clark, J and Ropa, A (eds) Medieval Horse Types and How to Use Them. Budapest: Trivent Publishing.

Bibby, M A forthcoming ‘Divine Jockeying: Stuarts, Whigs, and Whips in the Galloway Nag Satire of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries’, Progressus.

Bower, M A, McGivney, B A , Campana, M G , Gu, J, Andersson, L S, Barrett, E, Davis, C R, Mikko, S, Stock, F, Voronkova, V and Bradley, D G 2012 ‘The genetic origin and history of speed in the Thoroughbred racehorse’, Nature Communications 3.1: 643. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1644

Bower, M A, Campana, M G, Whitten, M, Edwards, C J, Jones, H, Barrett, E, Cassidy, R, Nisbet, R E R, Hill, E W, Howe, C J and Binns, M 2011 ‘The cosmopolitan maternal heritage of the Thoroughbred racehorse breed shows a significant contribution from British and Irish native mares’, Biology Letters 2011.

Goldsmith, O 1857 A History of the Earth and Animated Nature, Glasgow. Glasgow: Blackie and Son.

Youatt, W 1843 The Horse, with a Treatise of Draft. London: Chapman and Hall.

Main Image: Pack pony incised on Bridge of Dee, Rhonehouse in Galloway (latter half of 20th century). The original riding and racing Galloways were superseded by new breeds though the genetic legacy remained, and still remains. As horse breeds increased in size, small ponies became invaluable to the industrial revolution. Image courtesy of Keith Kirk Photography.