A colt pixie (also ''colepixie'', ''colepixy'', ''collepixie'', ''collpixie'', ''colt-pixie'', ''colt pixy'', and ''cold pixie'') is a creature from

English folklore English folklore consists of the myths and legends of England, including the English region's mythical creatures, traditional recipes, urban legends, proverbs, superstitions, and folktales. Its cultural history is rooted in Celtic, Chris ...

in the South and South West of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

(especially the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conquero ...

and

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

). According to local mythology, it is a type of

Pixie A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas ar ...

which takes the form of a scruffy, pale

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

pony A pony is a type of small horse (''Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared t ...

to lead travellers and other livestock astray (similar to a

Will-o'-the-wisp In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp or ''ignis fatuus'' (, plural ''ignes fatui''), is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. The phenomenon is known in English folk belief, ...

), and is often associated with Puck. The earliest surviving written reference dates to the early 16th century (''I shall be ready at thine elbow to plaie the parte of Hobgoblin or Collepixie''). The phrase "as ragged as a colt pixie" was common in the

at least as recently as the early 20th century.Wise, John. ''The New Forest: Its History and its Scenery'' (1863) In the dialect of Dorset "to colt-pixy" meant to beat down the remaining apples after a crop has been harvested, i.e. to take the colts' horde.

Colloquial survivals

*The fossil echini are called colt-pixies' heads *Cold Pixie's Cave is the name of a barrow in the

, near Lyndhurst

References

{{Reflist English folklore Hampshire folklore New Forest folklore Fairies Horses in mythology English legendary creatures Pixies