The Australian Brumby Story

Horses first arrived in Australia with the first fleet in 1788. Thereafter, horses were imported and bred in Australia to serve the needs of our growing nation. As we became industrialized and mechanized, demand for working horses dropped in favor of tractors, cars and rail.

The term “Brumby” generally refers to the Australian wild horse, a mix of horse breeds that escaped or were let go by pioneers, settlers, troopers and later on by drovers and grazers. The indigenous population of our country developed a similar word which means “wild horse”. The other accepted view of the term Brumby is that which relates to Sergeant James Brumby, who abandoned his horses when he sailed to Tasmania in 1804.

Roaming free, they became known as Brumby’s horses or just Brumbies. These brumbies could survive in deserts, mountains, gorge country and generally untenable terrain and while they have become an integral part of our cultural history, they need our help to survive now.

Historically, the Brumby was valued for its endurance, strength, reliability and all round agility, and many (but not all) of the old bloodlines evolved into what we now know as the Waler or the Australian Stock horse. Under the National Parks Act 1975, exotic fauna such as feral horses, are to be exterminated or controlled to preserve and protect the park’s natural values. The ABA recognized the need to manage wild horse numbers responsibly; however a balance must be struck between striving to return our landscape to pre European settlement days and allowing the evolution of our country’s natural and cultural history.

Thousands of wild horses continue to be ground and aerial shot across Australia. Even Brumbies that are passively trapped may be sent to abattoirs as most people have no idea how valuable these horses can be following care and handling by wild horse experts. The plight of our heritage Brumbies is still growing.
The good news is that dedicated people across Australia have formed wild horse re-homing charities and set aside long hours of voluntary time to tame down and sell on these healthy, intelligent and multipurpose horses.

These charities (to date) receive no government funding and rely purely on donations to pay for trucking, agistment, fencing, gelding, and feeding horses until they are ready to be re-homed.

The ABA was formed to strengthen and unify the efforts of like-minded groups such as these with the aim of protecting and preserving a valuable part of our heritage and culture.

For the scientifically inclined, the following was found on the web:

Class:        Mammalia
Order:        Perrospdactyla
Family:       Equidae
Genus:       Equus
Species:     Caballus
Name:         Brumby