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| The Brumby |
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| Australia's first horses were brought in 1778 on the First Fleet. More horses arrived in irregular shipments from the Cape Colony. The Australian horse may have received the name brumby from James Brumby who was a soldier with the New South Wales Corps. Mr. Brumby arrived on the Britania in 1791. He was a farrier and he may have released some of the horses. Another origin of the brumby name may have come from the aboriginal word baroomby meaning wild. The first horses were brought to Australia and used for farm work and contributed to the opening up of Australia's pastoral land. They were used for transport and bred for the remount trade. When horse racing was gaining popularity, better quality thoroughbreds were imported from England to Australia. Without good fences and infrequent mustersm horses escaped. Other horses were abandoned and joined the preset feral horses when machinery replaced the work of horses and their price went down. Australia has the largest number of feral horses in the world. They are adaptable and hardy animals. They can survive in almost any climate as long as they have water. They can be found from the semi-desert areas to the human populated areas. The brumbies live in a group called a mob. This mob usually contains a stallion and a few mares. These groups can stay in one spot or they travel to different grounds a couple times a year. |
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| Brumbies are viewed as both a pest and a resource. They can cause serious environmental damge. They have hard hooves that tear up the land and cause gully erosion. They eat and destroy the vegetation which is needed to sustain native wildlife and commercial herds of livestock. The brumby can cause damage to fences, drink and pollute water supplies, and they make cattle mustering more difficult by scattering the cattle. They can also pass on diseases when they mate with domestic mares. Brumbies do have their uses. Their hair is used for musical instruments, brushes, and upholstery. Their meat is sold for pet meat or used for human consumption in Australia and exported. They can be made into replacement stock horses. They sometimes will paw at the sandy creek beds and provide water for themselves and the other wildlife. Brumbies need to be controlled. If they are not controlled they will die due to starvation, lack of water, and consumption of toxic plants, which are usually avoided. Feral horses can be controlled by mustering. This can be accomplished on horseback, motorbikes, or by helicopter. Captured horses will be relocated or humanely destroyed on the spot. Helicopter mustering is very expensive but efficient and humane and the method preferred. |
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