Most of the estimated 400 000 feral horses occur in the extensive cattle production areas of the Northern Territory, Queensland and some parts of Western Australia and South Australia. Scattered populations are also found in New South Wales and Victoria, mainly in alpine and sub-alpine areas.
There are an estimated 400,000 feral horses roaming Australia, an incredible number when you consider that they were introduced to the continent just over 200 years ago by European colonisers.
There were no hoofed animals or horses in Australia before the European settlement in 1788. This was later followed by irregular shipments of horses to this region, but due to the harsh living conditions, only the fittest managed to stay alive.
Horses were introduced to Australia from Europe by the First Fleet in 1788, and more horses were imported later for a range of uses. Escaped horses went on to form feral populations, which eventually spread across a wide area.
Feral horse numbers are expanding across the Australian Alps, in Kosciuszko National Park, parts of Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Australia has up to 400,000 feral horses, the world's largest wild population.
Brumbies are descended from horses brought to Australia with the first fleet. The brumby name is thought to come from James Brumby, who was a soldier in the New South Wales Corps and a farrier. Brumbies come from a variety of different horse breeds and do not have a set colour or size.
Brumby shooting or brumbies shooting is the practice of eradicating feral horses, or "brumbies", in Australia. It has been conducted since the 1800s, and continues into the present day. The term "brumby" was first recorded in the 1870s.
Many Brumbies have successfully adapted to domesticated lives as ridden horses, working horses and even pets, however, one avenue in particular where Brumbies have excelled is as trustworthy Pony Club mounts!
Collectively, wild horses are also referred to as feral horses and brumbies.
Australian Brumbies make the most honest and safe riding horses (and carriage horses). They really bond with their handlers and form strong relationships. They give all that they have, and I recommend them to everyone! I often say once you go brumby you will never go back to domestics.
Unlike Plains Indians in North America, Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land did not adopt horses to aid in the hunting of animals, as part of exchange networks, to increase status, or as a form of commodity, even though there were horses roaming freely on their country.
Horses first arrived in Australia in 1788 with the First Fleet. They were imported for farm and utility work; recreational riding and racing were not major activities.
The St. Leger Stakes, which had been run at Homebush from 1841, was continued at the new Randwick course and continues to the present, making it the oldest classic race in Australia (although it skipped a year in 1860).
Today they can only be found in reintroduction sites in Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan. Przewalski's horses are the only wild horses left in the world.
It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.
Donkeys were introduced to Australia from Africa in 1866 to work as pack animals. Feral donkeys are common in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory (NT). It is estimated there are tens of thousands of feral donkeys in the arid zones of Central Australia, Western Australia and the Top End.
Australian Brumbies are wild horses that initially were domesticated before they escaped from their European captors in the 1800s. Moreover, these horses resemble ordinary horses, and being wild is pretty much the only difference; hence, why they are known as Feral Horses.
Whilst adult brumbies don't have any natural predators, populations are threatened by drought, food scarcity and parasites with very few wild horses reaching their maximum life span of 20 years. The number of brumbies in Australia is disputed.
The horses were versatile types and later they were specifically used as war-horses for the First and Second World Wars and the Boer War in South Africa as well as for mounts used in the gold rush days and as police horses.
Distinguishing features: Brumbies are sure-footed, intelligent, hardy, alert, trainable and versatile. They have a good temperament, hard hooves, strong bones and generally sound conformation.
The Przewalski Horse is the only species of horse that has never been domesticated, and the history behind them is fascinating. Deep in the Khustain Nuruu National Park, also known as Hustai National Park, in the centre of Mongolia, lives one of the rarest horse species.
It is a method that results in extreme cruelty to an animal (remember Guy Fawke's National Park) who is an integral part of our history, heritage, and poetry. Our Brumby has been in the Snowy Mountains region for well over a century and should be admired rather than vilified as vermin to be destroyed.
Horse meat is consumed in some North American and Latin American countries, but is illegal in some others. The Food Standards Code of Australia and New Zealand definition of 'meat' does not include horse.
Approximately 2,000 tonnes of horse meat is exported from Australia for human consumption in Japan and Europe annually (ABS figures). Over 25,000 horses per year are killed in this way in Australia.
Drive with care around horses
Horse riders can ride on any road, unless a sign says they must not. They can ride 2 abreast (side by side) as long as they're within 1.5m of each other. More than 2 horse riders can ride side by side, but only if 1 is overtaking the others or they are droving stock.