THE FLORIDA CRACKER HORSE IS A TRUE NATIVE

THE FLORIDA CRACKER HORSE IS A TRUE NATIVE

BREED PROMOTED AS VITAL AND VALUABLE PART OF STATE’S HERITAGE

Written by: Kym Rouse Holzwart

A true native Floridian for more than 500 years, the Florida Cracker Horse is living history. This breed descends from horses that Spanish explorers brought to Florida in the 1500s, beginning with Ponce de León in 1521.

Similar to other breeds developed and introduced by the Spanish to the New World, its ancestry can be traced to horses of early 16th-century Spain. The horses and cattle that the explorers left to survive in Florida’s harsh environment adapted and evolved into the hardy Florida Cracker Horse and Florida Cracker Cow, respectively.

At left, Lisa Keep Harmon of Live Oak, Florida, enjoys trailing riding with her Cracker Horse mare. In 1991, the Florida Cracker Horse Association established a registry of 75 purebred, foundation horses.

LEFT PHOTO COURTESY OF LISA KEEP HARMON; RIGHT PHOTO COURTESY OF FLORIDA CRACKER HORSE ASSOCIATION

Florida has been cattle country since the late 1500s; early American cowboys were nicknamed “Florida Crackers” because of the distinctive cracking of their long whips in the air when driving cattle. This name was transferred to the horses they rode and the cattle they drove. It took an extraordinary horse to deal with the sly, lean, tough Cracker Cattle, which were adept at living in swampy, scrubby Florida. These cow-smart horses were known for their agility, speed, endurance and toughness. They were also comfortable to ride, which was important when spending long days in the saddle working cattle in wild Florida.

When ranches were established in the early 1800s by Florida’s pioneering families, the value of these horses for use in the thriving cattle business was recognized. These horses were the predominant type in the Southeast from the mid-1500s through the 1930s.

As a result of the Great Depression during the 1930s, a government relief program shipped cattle from the Dust Bowl into Florida. This program had an unintended consequence and changed how cattle were managed: The large western cattle brought the parasitic screwworm with them.

Before the screwworm, small horses were used to herd and drive free-roaming, small cattle. After the screwworm introduction, cattle management included fencing, dipping vats, and roping and holding cattle for treatment.

The Florida Cracker Horses, bred for working small cattle, were not able to hold the large western cattle. A larger, stronger horse was needed—the American Quarter Horse. With the arrival of Quarter Horses to Florida, Cracker Horses lost their demand and became very rare.

Thanks to some of Florida’s ranching families, who continued to breed and use Cracker Horses, the state’s tough little work horse survived. John Law Ayers donated his herd of Florida Cracker Horses to the state in 1984. From this herd, three small herds of Cracker Horses were established in Withlacoochee State Forest, Paynes Prairie State Preserve and Tallahassee.

These herds and about 100 other privately owned horses were all that remained of the breed by 1989. The Florida Cracker Horse Association, or FCHA, was formed in 1989 with the purpose of searching for remnant herds of Cracker Horses and to preserve it as a distinct and unique Colonial Spanish horse breed.

In 1991, the FCHA established a registry; 75 of the remaining horses, mainly from four lines of Cracker bloodstock, were designated as purebred, founda-

The Florida Cracker Horse was designated the official state horse in 2008.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLORIDA CRACKER HORSE ASSOCIATION

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tion horses, and 14 of their colts were registered. Further information is available at floridacrackerhorseassociation.com.

The versatile, tough, fast and agile Florida Cracker Horse is a gaited horse breed. They have two ground-covering, comfortable gaits: the running walk and single-foot ambling gait. Cracker Horses are typically gray, black or bay, although chestnut, dun and grullo are common.

They are small horses, standing 13.2 to 15.2 hands tall and weighing 700 to 1,000 pounds. The head is refined and the neck is fairly narrow, not cresty like other breeds of Spanish descent. The withers are pronounced but not prominent, the shoulders are long and sloping, and the back is short, narrow and strong.

In addition to being outstanding working cow horses, Florida Cracker Horses excel in trail and distance riding, team penning and roping, barrel racing, polo and obstacles. In 2008, the breed was designated as the official state heritage horse of Florida.

There are now more than 1,000 registered Cracker Horses and the breed is promoted as a vital and valuable part of Florida’s heritage. The state continues to maintain groups of Ayers-line horses in Withlacoochee State Forest, Paynes Prairie State Preserve and Tallahassee. A sale is held every fall to sell horses from the three herds, as well as horses that are privately bred.

In addition to the walk, trot and canter, the Cracker Horse has a running walk and a single-foot ambling gait.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLORIDA CRACKER HORSE ASSOCIATION

In addition to the walk, trot and canter, the Cracker Horse has a running walk and a single-foot ambling gait.

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