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Not so long ago the horse was the only means of transport and it is not an exaggeration to say
that Australia was built from the back of a horse.
The animals originally imported to fulfil the growing need were of the best calibre...they had
to be tough to survive the journey initially, and adapt to the conditions here and be able to cope
with the work load expected of them. Consequently there was a degree of natural selection at work
and the horsemen of the day were only going to breed from the best.
The proof of the pudding was the high regard shown to the famous Australian horse, the Waler, which
surpassed itself in world wars 1 and 2 and about whom many heart wrenching stories have been written.
The Age of mechanisation arrived and the role of the horse changed...many stations opted to turn
their old friends out to run wild however a lot of animals ' excess to requirements' were shot.
Horses are excellent survivors...they can flourish where cattle perish and so their numbers built
up...the new generations of station owners came to regard them as a nuisance...they compete with
cattle, damage water troughs and can damage sensitive environments.
The most commonly used methods of population control are,
- Professional ground shooters...the meat is often used for dog meat but not favoured by the processing
companies which prefer kangaroo...easier carcases to handle. The horses are either shot out on
the station or rounded up and shot in yards. If the meat is not to be used it is called the "drop
and rot ' technique. Horse, donkey and camel meat is often used to make up the quota which is determined
by the size of the chillier.
- Aerial shooting....organised by the Ag Dept and APB...usually done from helicopters...a massive
number of animals can be destroyed quickly...the technique is only as good as the shooter and often
there is no ground back up to destroy wounded animals.
There has been a lot of controversy about the technique...particularly in the Eastern States
where successful RSPCA prosecutions have been made. In WA it is still going on but is 'out
of sight ...out of mind' We hope to keep an eye on the situation here and any information
received will be attended to.
- Slaughter for human consumption...the main market is Japan and Europe, and the demand is high.
There are only two registered Abattoirs in Australia suitable for processing horses for human consumption...consequently
long transport trips are involved with terrified horses crammed on to cattle trucks, travelling
at night, as a lot of the practises used are illegal under the current Animal Welfare Act. This
is probably the worst fate a wild horse could meet...injury rates are high and they suffer long
term stress.
We accept that population control is essential...when numbers get too high for the environment
to sustain them then starvation and water deprivation occur and death by those means is slow and
distressing.
Our aim is to re-introduce the station bred horse back in to the domestic arena...there are a huge
variety of horses out there.....of those already brought in we range from 16.3hh Percheron Warmblood
types to 13hh pony types...The range of colours is also amazing, buckskin, palominos. paints, silver
dapples, cremellos, all the solids, there are always surprises!
We hope to introduce them to all the disciplines...certain individuals or types being better suited
to certain jobs...but one thing they have in common is that they are an easy care horse...tough,
smart, good feet and bond well with their human counterparts.
Another aspect is the conservation of old bloodlines. Some of the genetics in these horses goes
back a long way and our habit of line breeding the common domestic types can often see certain traits
disappear...albeit it not intentionally. Our habit of using favoured stallions can allow a fault
to spread widely in the gene pool whereas a wild stallion has limited mares to pass on his genes
to the next generation....an exceptional stallion may have up to 20 mares whereas the average is
more like 5.Consequently any faults, if they are life threatening, are eliminated, and lesser ones
will only affect low numbers. Work recently done in the USA has determined that the minimum population
number in horses to prevent inbreeding is 120.....very few stations glorify in such low numbers!
We have set up a charitable body...the Outback Heritage Horse Association of WA with the preservation
of old bloodlines as the objective. Establishing which horses are eligible is hard as many stations
haven't kept records and we have to rely on anecdotal evidence...the generation that knows these
horses are their background is rapidly diminishing and valuable information is easily lost. We have
decided that the definition of 'Heritage" horse is one whose background has not included the introduction
of 'new blood' since 1940s.
There are only small pockets of these horses left and we are keen to get as many as possible in
to a domestic environment where we can campaign them and use them in our breeding programmes. Anyone
with any information please contact us!
The website will introduce you to horses from a number of stations...some eligible for Heritage
status and others not. However we respect all horses that can survive in out outback and see value
in them all...so you will see that some projects are endorsed by the OHHAWA and others not...but
we are here to help them all in which ever way we can. Enjoy having a browse and please contact us
with any queries.
Sheila Greenwell - find our contact details here 
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