The love of horses and good horsemanship crosses worldwide boundaries of language, race, education and income and this admiration dates back thousands of years.
A good horse and a good rider are always a mesmerising sight to behold, it doesn’t matter where they are or what they are doing. My own riding skills are sufficient only to get the good mustering photographs that I want. But I can imagine what it takes to achieve the excellence that others have, and love to see it in action.
In Australia sheep are now usually mustered with motorbikes instead of horses in all but very hilly country, and they are no longer used for any other agricultural activity. So it is natural that anyone with an interest in horses should gravitate towards cattle stations.
The majority of photographs in the books ‘Life as an Australian Horseman’ & ‘Million Acre Masterpiece’ include horses. The largest chapters are about mustering so they concern horses as well, because they are still essential to the running of large cattle stations today (more on this below).
A Brief Summary of the History of Horses
Horses were first domesticated around 3000-4000 BC, give or take a few centuries. This was around the same time cattle were domesticated.
There is some disagreement amongst hippologists (scientists who study equine history) about exactly when and where domestication first occurred. Many believe today’s horses are descended from the Przewalski horses from the steppes of Central Asia (Mongolia), but some do not. There are many articles on the internet with differing opinions.
Horses have had more influence on the evolution of cultures than any other animal throughout history. First domesticated to provide milk, meat and hides they graduated to being an indispensable means of speedy transport and willing freight carriers, making possible journeys of hundreds or even thousands of kilometres.
Along with bullocks they then became an exceedingly valuable agricultural labour-saving device; ploughing, winnowing, carting and performing other farming-related tasks (hence the word ‘horsepower’). Horses, cattle and donkeys provided the power that enabled families to grow more food than they could eat – thus tiny villages of agricultural workers grew to city-sized proportions full of people engaged in activities other than food production, many centuries ago.
The use of horses in war has also earned them a unique place in history. An army of quality neddies with good horsemen on top meant the difference between expanding the mighty kingdom or relinquishing the lot to armies of bloodthirsty invaders. It is no wonder that horses have been revered for thousands of years, because they spent many centuries effectively defending nations.
It is only during the last 100 years that horses have slipped from being a vital part of most cultures, universally revered and respected, to being deposed by infinitely more powerful motorised transport and machinery requiring much less skill to do a good job. The essential occupations of the horse have all but disappeared in most societies, replaced by recreational roles only. Apparently it was only in 1948 that there were finally more motor vehicles than horses in Australia.
Today Australian horses are used for sport and working purposes. Most of the working horses are on farms and stations, but there are a small number of horses in the mounted police force. Several Australian states have information on their websites regarding the breeding, training and role of the horses used by the mounted police. For example NSW, Western Australia and South Australia. A handful of horses are employed by police stocksquads also, for example in Queensland where stock horses are essential for mustering suspect cattle.
Australian Station Horses — the Work
Australia is one of the few ‘western’ countries still employing large numbers of horses for genuine work purposes. Horses are still indispensable on the biggest cattle stations and in the roughest countryside. While helicopters and a motorbike or two may do most of the gathering, horsemen and women are still the ones who settle the mob and walk it to the yards. It’s also horsemen and horsewomen (not motorbike riders) who tail out weaners so they are easier to muster in years to come.
Due to the quantities required it is usual for the largest cattle stations to breed their own horses. Mustering on horses born and bred in the local area has a big safety advantage in that they are much more sure-footed in the country they grew up in.
When foals are learning to walk and skittering about in the paddock with their mates they learn to negotiate any of the local hazards such as crumbling black soil cracks, splintery timber, loose stones, gilgais, gullies and breakaways hidden in long grass.
Dealing with these potential disasters becomes instinctive, and when burdened with a rider in adulthood they’re far more likely to avoid these hazards or recover well enough so they don’t fall. They often stay in better health, also, because over several generations natural selection favours the most well suited animals.
On the largest stations the horses often start work before sunrise and finish late in the afternoon or even after sunset, frequently with only a few riderless hours during daylight. Horses are only shod in areas where stone bruising is a problem.
Each ringer usually has a ‘string’ of horses and these three or four are rotated so they usually don’t have to put in a full day’s work two days in a row. Horses are very busy during the mustering season however they have a completely idle time in the months over the wet season and weeks off in-between the first and second mustering rounds.
The horses live on the native grass in large paddocks as the cattle do, but usually these days the horses are given a nosebag of grain after work each day to maintain their condition and energy.
Australian Station Horses — their Health
There’s nothing as efficient as the necessity to stand up to endless long hard days of physical work to ensure the honesty of a breed (some would argue this also applies to the human race).
As soon as a breed of horses (or dogs, for that matter) are no longer required to perform the work they were originally developed for, more emphasis is inevitably given to superficial traits such as coat colour, which will to some degree interfere negatively with sound breeding decisions. This then leads on to increased genetically inherited problems such conformation faults, diseases and health weaknesses, and often compromises the ability to reproduce and give birth without intervention.
Horses on large cattle stations possess a number of good qualities but soundness is one of the most noticeable ones. The nearest vets are hundreds of kilometres away and there is no money to pay for anything but routine treatments so it has always been a case of nature’s law of ‘survival of the fittest’.
Australian Station Horses & Their Origins (Breeding)
Draft horses, coach breeds, ponies, riding and race horses were brought to Australia after European settlement commenced in 1788. The Waler Horse Society of Australiahas a very interesting article that lists many of the horse breeds that were shipped to Australia in the first years of settlement. These horses are the earliest ancestors of stockhorses on northern cattle stations today. They are mostly breeds developed in the U.K.: Thoroughbreds, Clydesdales, Suffolk Punch, Cleveland Bay, Lincolnshire Trotter, Norfolk Roadster, Yorkshire Coacher, Shire horses and Hackney. Other breeds noted are from Spain and elsewhere: Percheron, Arab, Cape horses (Basuto, Java and Barb ancestors) and Timor ponies.
Percheron and other heavy horse stallions were put with station brood mares to produce the strong types required as bronco or ‘cow horses’ during the decades when bronco branding was usual. Thoroughbred stallions have been very common, partly because it has suited the many station owners and managers who have had an enthusiastic interest in bush racing. While most stations have always been naturally particular about having good quality horses (sound, good temperament and with the essential ability to do a good job of the work required), purebreds and fancy types are almost as scarce as chook’s teeth. Pedigree papers have never been important in remote Australia, and it’s not just horses that are judged on performance alone.
Waler horses (a particular type of farm and station horse named after the state of New South Wales) were used in the Boer war and World War I. The Australian Light Horse Associationhas a very interesting list of links relating to the military horse associations such as the Lancers and the Hussars. The Waler is now a registered breed as is the Australian Stockhorse.
Brunette Downs is probably the only large Australian station to ever produce purebred horses on a significant scale. Brunette became well known for the Quarter horses that were introduced by the American owners King Ranch in the 1950s. There are a number of Quarter horse associations in Australia now, for example the Australian Quarter Horse Associationbased in Tamworth.
Worldwide Horse Breeds or Types Primarily for Working Cattle
There are relatively few horse breeds that have been bred with an emphasis on good cattle handling ability. With few exceptions (eg the Camargue region of France), horses that have been specifically bred to be good at handling stock are only found in countries that muster large mobs of cattle. Most of the world’s horse breeds have been developed either for strength, for agricultural and industrial purposes (large, heavy horses such as Percherons and Friesians); for a combination of speed and strength for pulling carriages; for sheer speed (thoroughbred racehorses); or as good riding horses (good temperament, stamina, speed and smooth gaited – from hardy long-distance travelling Arabs, to ‘pretty’ horses such as Palominos, and those with an especially smooth gait such as those descended from the Spanish Jennet horses). A good stockhorse has all the good riding horse traits, plus an extra good mouth, turning ability, agility/surefootedness and must be hardy. And the best stockhorses are smart, interested in their work, and enjoy it. ‘Prettiness’ doesn’t enter into it; and horses that are bred with ‘pretty’ attributes at the forefront of the breeder’s attention, can often be a compromise of practical traits, such as hardiness. The same goes for pedigrees – often the most useful animals are those that are crossbreeds, not purebreds.
Horse breed types used specifically for handling cattle:
- The Stockhorse, registered or not – Australia (there are thousands of good stockhorses that aren’t officially registered as an ‘Australian Stockhorse’.)
- Quarter horse, Appaloosa, Paint horses – North America
- Florida Cracker horses – Florida region of the U.S. (Descendants of the Spanish horses that were brought to the region more than 400 years ago. Primarily descended from horses from the Iberian Peninsula [what is now Spain, Portugal, Andorra and a tiny bit of southern France], plus North African barb.)
- Boerperd – Botswana, South Africa
- Camargue horses – Camargue region of France (traditionally used for working the bull fighting bulls)
- The ‘Latin American’ horse – South America. This hardy, useful breed does not have a consistent name between countries but is commonly referred to as ‘criollo’ in Argentina and Uruguay (Spanish), ‘crioulo’ in Brazil (Portuguese), ‘costeño’ and ‘morochuco’ in Peru, ‘corralero’ in Chile (often referred to as ‘The Chilean horse’) and ‘llanero’ in Venezuela.
There are a myriad of other types, particularly in the Americas, that haven’t been officially recognised as breeds and that have dwindled in numbers in recent decades as cattle handling techniques shifted away from using horses.
Spain and Spanish Horse Breeds
Spain receives a special mention because Spanish horse riding has had a hugely important indirect influence on the cattle stations in Australia and a direct influence in the Americas.
For example many horse breeds common in America and Australia are descended from Spanish breeds. Spain has also had a substantial influence on the skills, traditions and language on cattle stations (see the ‘Rural words in other languages’ pages).
This influence is of course fundamental in South America as so much of it was settled by the Spanish in the 16th century. The unique breed described as ‘the Latin American horse’ evolved over several centuries into an ideal type for cattle work. Large numbers are still used to muster cattle on the estancias (Argentina), fazendas (Brazil), haciendas (Peru), fundos (Chile), hatos (Venezuela) and cattle operations in other South American countries.
Interesting information regarding the ‘criollo’ can be found on the International Museum of the horse, Wikipedia and Just a Criollo.
Other Countries and Sources of Information on Breeding
Wikipedia has a lot of very good horse information, such as the history of horses, details of horse gaits and names of horse anatomy.
Anyone interested in understanding why horses do what they do should visit Dr Paul McGreevy’s excellent website, Animal Behaviour. It covers a wide range of topics eg. information on the senses, for example what colours horses can see, discusses the basic differences between ‘warmblood’ and ‘coldblood’ horses and basic horse behaviour. He has also produced a book called Equine Behaviour.
The U.S. state of Kentucky is known for horse breeding and is home to the famous horse race the Kentucky Derby (similar to The Derby at Epsom in England). With about 50 different breeds of horses on show, regular exhibitions of horse-themed art and the International Museum of the Horse, the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington looks like heaven for horse lovers. The website has a very long list of links to horse-related organisations and businesses in the U.S. and other parts of the world and information on more than 100 different horse breeds.
Particularly historic and popular horse breeds such as Lipizzaners have an especially large number of websites dedicated to information and photographs. The famous Spanish Riding School in Austria also has a website. As is the case for many horse breeds today, there are a large number of Lipizzaner organisations outside the country of origin.
There are many very interesting country-specific horse websites such as Troika, which is dedicated to horses in Russia. The Vikings carted horses over to Iceland in their ships around mid-800AD and now these Icelandic horses are a unique breed, numbering in the thousands.
For information on the words for horse in other languages, and horse-related words in other languages, refer to Translations, and for hundreds of photos of Australian stockhorses at work, refer to A Million Acre Masterpiece and Life as an Australian Horseman.
Tags: Horses