Australian Stock Horse....really

****************

I am sorry this is coming to you a little late. I have no reasonable excuse other than that I have read three pretty hefty books in the past three days and have been lovin' every second of it. More on that later...for now....

***************

A Brief Summary of the Australian Stock Horse's History:

The origins of the Australian Stock Horse started when English settlers first started colonizing Australia in the late 1780's. They imported Thoroughbreds, Spanish stock, Welsh ponies, Arabians and Barbs. The interbreeding of these horses, and culling of the poor ones, eventually developed an all round saddle horse perfect for the ruff country of the outback and versatile enough to do all the jobs the settlers required. They named these horses, the Waler (After the colony of New South Wales).

These horses developed an international reputation around the world as excellent Calvary horses. Between 1850 and the end of WWI, 400,000 of them were exported to serve in wars around the globe.

Even though the Waler had developed a reputation for hardiness, endurance, and working ability in Australia and abroad, and though their numbers reached the millions, no official breeding registry was formed until 1971! They inspected all horses, mares, and geldings before including them in their "stud book" and by 1978 had come to register 40,000 horses. Today's registry includes over 170,000 horses.

At this time the Waler became known as the Australian Stock Horse to reflect the diverse ability of the breed as an all round stock horse. They were used to work livestock, as saddle horse, harness horses, as Calvary horses, to clear timber, and plow the land.... as such the slogan of the Australian Stock Horse Society became:

"THE BREED FOR EVERY NEED"

Strength. Stamina. Reliability. Versatility ....the cornerstones of the the Australian Stock Horse.

I think the Society sums up the definition of a ASH best so I will go ahead and quote them here:

- "With its versatility, the Australian Stock Horse has achieved outstanding success in a wide variety of sports including: campdrafting, showjumping, dressage, eventing, pony club events, harness, polo and polocrosse.

The Australian Stock Horse is intelligent, with courage, toughness and stamina, and has a good temperament. The Australian Stock Horse is considered possibly the world's most versatile horse, the horse evolved through selective breeding in response to the demands of the environment.

The basic pre-requisites of a high performance horse are a quiet temperament, intelligence and athletic ability. These qualities are essential for a brilliant performance whatever the event."

I think that the ASH Society also best defines their "standard of excellence" (what they look for in a good ASH):

• Head alert and intelligent with broad forehead, full, well-set eyes, wide nostrils. A fine, clean gullet, allowing plenty of breathing room.
  
• A good length of rein, well set into the shoulder.
  
• Sloping shoulder, not too heavily muscled, a well-defined wither slightly higher than the croup.
  
• Deep chest, not too wide in proportion, but showing plenty of heart room.
  
• Ribs well sprung and back strong and of medium length in proportion.
  
• In forelegs, forearms well developed, cannon bones slightly flat, pasterns short and slightly sloping.
  
• Hindquarters strong, rounded and well muscled, nicely sloping to give a full line from croup to hock. Hocks broad, flat and clean, the cannon relatively short with well-defined tendons. The hind legs well under when standing.
  
• The Hooves hard and in proportion to the size of the horse, with a wide heel and feet straight.
  
• The whole of these component parts to be in balance according to the size.
  
• Preferred heights between 14 and 16 hands.

Australian Stock Horses today:

In Dressage:

In Polo: Campdrafting:

4H: Eventing:
Show Jumping:
And most importantly....as a stock horse:

And then there is my favorite ASH of all.....

Denny! The Man From Snowy River's horse of course!

*sigh* A girl can dream.....

Shhhh! Dont tell DB!