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The Australian Stock Horse is the descendant of some of the most famous lineages in the world: the Australian Station Horse, the Australian Waler and the Thoroughbred and Arab horses , ponies and several other breeds, a distinctive type emerged. By the early twentieth century, the Waler was one of the finest breeds for light cavalry as well as for working on Australia’s remote stations where cattle and sheep were reared. Walers were also used as polo ponies and many of them were sent to India during the late nineteenth century. WWI brought disaster for Walers; 120,000 of them died or were abandoned during WWI in Palestine, North Africa, Europe and India. By the 1970s, it was clear that there was a need to try to preserve Australia’s working horse and its traditions, and the Australian Stock Horse Society was formed to do this. Since the 1950s, American Quarter Horses have been influential on the Australian Stock Horse, particularly those bred by the King Ranch in Texas, which imported four stallions into Australia in 1953.
The term Australian Stock Horse encompasses many different sizes and types of horse. This means it is possible to find examples of the breed that look like elegant riding horses for equitation classes, as well as compact, powerful horses that can cut cows with ease. Australian Stock Horses show their skills in the popular sport of Campdrafting, where a steer is cut from a “camp” and driven through a course. It demands a very skilful horse with “cow sense”, an ability inherited from both the Australian and American lineages of the Australian Stock Horse.