Colt Pixy
The horse has long been associated with old customs, magic, and witchcraft across the British Isles and Northern Europe, so it is not surprising that the same applies in the New Forest where the pony is such an important animal.
The Collepixie is a local trickster spirit that takes the shape of a New Forest Pony and entices walkers, horses, and their riders into the treacherous bogs of the New Forest. The spirit is usually described as a small ‘wild’ looking pony with a long and rough pale coat, or a sleek and handsome young pony which lures the traveller to their untimely demise. The Colt-Pixy is also associated with the ‘hag-riding’ of horses; ponies who were found in the morning sweated-up and/or with rough wind-plaits in their mane, believed to have been charmed by the Colt Pixy into a wild gallop in the night.
Many places in the New Forest are named after this spirit, in some instances indicating dangerous patches of ground or otherwise places known to be haunted by the spirit.
Overtime, ‘colt pixy’ has become ‘cold pixy’.
– Vikki Bramshaw, author of the book ‘New Forest Folklore, Traditions & Charms’
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