Florida Cracker Horse

The Florida Cracker is a horse that was bred to be distinctive in animal husbandry. The name of the breed comes from the cowboys who lived in the northern parts of Florida. Instead of the typical lasso used by cowboys in other parts of the U.S., these cowboys used whips. Flicking the whip, referred to as “cracking the whip,” made a cracking noise; hence the name of this breed. The Florida Cracker horse is relatively uncommon.

History

The Florida Cracker is probably an incredible combination of a lot of different breeds such as Berber horse, Arabian horse, and a variety of Spanish and European horses. But Florida Cracker was mainly developed from the Spanish horses, which travelers from the so-called Old World brought with them after the discovery of America in the late 1400s. Some of these horses escaped or were released into the open where they were divided into different herds that were developed for different types of horses.

One of these herds of free horses lived in the area that later became Florida. A number of different types of horses ran around the field and mated naturally. Soon, ranch owners began to capture these horses, and the best horses were selected for breeding.

Around 1930, Florida was plagued by an extreme drought, and all were asked to move their cattle and horses. It was a long haul, as they rode every day, and some of the horses could not handle the hardship. Many of these horses died of different parasites and worms. The few horses that survived were immediately put to breeding for restoring the breed.

In 1990, a standard for the breed was decided determining what kind of horses had to be in the breeding program. In 1991, the Florida Cracker Horse Association was started, which was a totally non-profit association of breeders of the breed. Six families had retained the pure bloodline; they were named Ayers, Harvey, Bronson, Partin, Matchett and Whaley.

There were even more farmers, but these six families were rearing most specimens of this breed. To some extent they still are. There are now approximately 2,000 of these horses around the world. About 100 horses are newly registered each year, as race counts continue to rise.

Attributes

Florida Cracker looks pretty primitive, much like the wild horses that are likely to be their ancestors. But one can clearly see the Spanish blood, and some of these horses also bear clear signs of the Arab blood, which have been among the horses that came with the travelers.

Before the tractor came into use, this horse was used for driving, plowing and transportation. The Florida Cracker is still most commonly used as a cattle horse and in Western riding, but more recently this breed has been used for almost everything. There are also specimens that have shown talent in jumping.