Florida Cracker Horse
by D Hackett
Title
Florida Cracker Horse
Artist
D Hackett
Medium
Photograph - Digital
Description
Florida Cracker Horse by D Hackett
The Florida Cracker Horse, like the cattle breed of the same name, traces its ancestry to Spanish stock brought to Florida in the 1500's when discovered by Spain. Preparing to return to Spain, the Spanish left some of their cattle, horses and hogs to make room for their collected treasures.
The free roaming Cracker Horses evolved over a long period of time by natural selection. They were molded and tempered by nature and a challenging environment into horses that ultimately were to have a large part in the emergence of Florida as a ranching and general agriculture state. The horses also played an important role in the life of the Seminole Indians.
Florida cowmen were nicknamed "Crackers" because of the sound made by their cow whip cracking the air. This name was also given to the small agile Spanish Horse essential for working Spanish cattle. Over the years, Cracker Horses have been known by a variety of names: Chicksaw Pony, Seminole Pony, Marsh Tackie, Prairie Pony, Florida Horse, Florida Cow Pony, Grass Gut and others.
Florida Cracker Horses are small saddle horses, standing from 13.2 hands to 15.2 at the withers and weighing 700 - 1000 pounds. The head is refined and intelligent in appearance. The profile is straight or slightly concave. The throat latch is prominent and the jaw is short and well defined. The eyes are keen with an alert expression and have reasonable width between them. The eye colors are dark, with a white sclera, gray or blue. The neck is well defined, fairly narrow, without excessive crest and is about the same length as the distance from the withers to the croup. The withers are pronounced but not prominent. The chest is medium to narrow in width with an inverted V formed between the two front legs. The shoulders are long and sloping with a 40 to 50 degree angle. A well laid back shoulder with smooth muscling is preferred. The back is short, narrow and strong with well sprung ribs. The point of the withers and the point of the croup are equal in height. The under line is longer than the top line. The croup is sloping and short and the tail is set medium low.
Uploaded
November 10th, 2014
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Viewed 1,099 Times - Last Visitor from Evans, CO on 04/14/2024 at 2:06 PM
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