Habitat and characteristics of the brumby horse

In the meadows of Australia runs free the breed of chestnuts called brumby horse, which came to this country with the colonization of the eighteenth century. Learn more about it here.

When one thinks of large herds of horses running free, the first mental image travels directly to the prairies of the United States and Mustang horses, but the truth is that Australia leads North America with the brumby horse. This breed of chestnuts lives free in the meadows of the north and southeast of this country.

In this article, you can learn more about the origin of this breed (since there were no horses in Australia before its colonization) and the characteristics that allowed it to adapt to life in the wild. Don't miss it.

Brumby horse the origin of the species

The entry of horses into Australia came from the hand of the first European settlers, in the eighteenth century, more precisely in 1788. There they served as saddles and working animals until the next century, because, at the end of the gold rush, many horses were abandoned.

The name of this breed comes from the word baroomby, which means "wild" in the language of the indigenous peoples of present-day Queensland.

The multitude of abandoned breeds in the Australian prairies has meant that the brumby horse has gathered a number of optimal characteristics to survive in the wild through natural crossing. Over the years their number has gradually increased.

Later, during the Boer War and the First World War, these equines were tamed again to incorporate them into the cavalry of the armies, being abandoned again later. Currently, some groups consider them a pest, so the Australian government has authorized their hunting.

Physical characteristics of the brumby horse

The Brumby horse has a height of 1.40-1.50 meters at the garêt, so it is not too large a breed. This is due to the mixture of blood shared with British ponies, which also arrived with colonization.

These horses have a short cost and their legs are thin and strong, with hard hooves. Its constitution is compact and robust, sometimes a little disproportionate to its size. As for the color of the layer, it moves in different brown and white tones, but there is a wide variety.

Brumby horse nutrition

Like all horses, the brumby horse is herbivorous. It feeds mainly on the pastures it frequents and to this it adds different grasses and hay, as well as vegetables that it can find and rub the leaves.

The habitat of the brumby horse

Brumby horses live in the wild throughout Australia. The largest population inhabits the Australian Alps region in the southeast. Another very important vital nucleus is located to the north, in the outskirts of Queensland. Similarly, it can also be seen in some national parks that have their own population of this extensive breed.

Brumby horse and its reproduction

It is a viviparous mammal that reaches sexual maturity at 14-15 months for females and at 14-18 months in males. Reproduction includes the stages of courtship, mating, gestation and childbirth.

The gestation of the brumby horse lasts from 11 to 12 months, and the mare usually has only one offspring, sometimes twins. Breastfeeding of the foal lasts until the age of 6 months.

The adaptation of the brumby horse

It is a breed adapted to life in the wild and to survive in dry environments and with few resources. It is not a particularly fast horse. Its skin is delicate and its fourth legs are not very powerful. It is not considered good for horseback riding.

When Australia began to be colonized, there were no older herbivores that could compete with the brumby horse. On the other hand, they also had no predators, so they could feed and reproduce without problems.

At first, the vegetation was rich and abundant, but with the rapid proliferation of this horse came the scarcity of resources for other smaller species, putting them at risk. As a result of this problem, population control strategies have been launched.

Brumby horse population control

There are different ways and strategies to control horse populations in Australia. The environmental impact of its proliferation on an ecosystem already severely punished is something that pits the Australian population against each other.

Some government agencies move these horses into national parks, but others beat to kill them. Some groups are against murder, others consider them vermin and others want to spread them to reduce their impact. Public opinion has a great deal of weight in the measures taken and the changes depending on the region.

The traditional method of relocating herds is to use the loop to catch them and drive them to a new location.

The economic costs of controlling the population are high, and at the moment none of them free horses from suffering. The treatment considered the most humane at the moment is fertility control by injections. Although it has been implemented in some places, it remains to be seen whether it is effective in the long run.

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