What is an Australian Stock Horse?

Termed ‘The Breed for Every Need', the Australian Stock Horse evolved through selective breeding in response to the harsh demands of the Australian environment. English Thoroughbreds and Spanish breeds were imported into Australia by the First Fleet in 1788 and over the next century Arabs and Welsh ponies were introduced to produce a strain of horse known as 'Walers' (Later to become 'Australian Stock Horses').

Not only were they were favoured by the British Cavalry in India , in South Africa during the Boer War and during 1st World War but they were crucial to the development of Australia 's farming industry. Typically standing between 15 – 15.3hh, they were bred to display the following traits; endurance to work all day, agility and pace to work the cattle and the temperament to be easily trained, patient and quiet.

The Australian Stock Horse Society (ASHS) was formed in 1971 and today's Stock Horses are successful against other breeds in polo, polocrosse, dressage, showjumping, eventing, showing, endurance, campdrafting and cutting (working cattle). In 2000, the ASHS demonstrated their breed's abilities at the Sydney Olympics when they put on a series on demonstrations in front of thousands and famous Stock Horses currently in the news include RINGWOULD JAGUAR, Olympic Eventing Team Silver Medallist for Australia (Rider, Sonja Johnson).

Standard of Excellence

The following Standard of Excellence is based on the original ASHS description of 'The Australian Stock Horse' from 1971.

•  Head alert and intelligent with broad forehead, full, well-set eyes, wide nostrils. A fine, clean gullet, allowing plenty of breathing room.

•  A good length of rein, well set into the shoulder.

•  Sloping shoulder, not too heavily muscled, a well-defined wither slightly higher than the croup.

•  Deep chest, not too wide in proportion, but showing plenty of heart room.

•  Ribs well sprung and back strong and of medium length in proportion.

•  In forelegs, forearms well developed, cannon bones slightly flat, pasterns short and slightly sloping.

•  Hindquarters strong, rounded and well muscled, nicely sloping to give a full line from croup to hock. Hocks broad, flat and clean, the cannon relatively short with well-defined tendons. The hind legs well under when standing.

•  The Hooves hard and in proportion to the size of the horse, with a wide heel and feet straight.

•  The whole of these component parts to be in balance according to the size.

Preferred heights between 14 and 16 hands.

An artist's impression of the Australian Stock Horse Standard of Excellence is pictured below. (Artist: Deidre Hunt)

Why Choose an Australian Stock Horse?

For Olympic Competition …

"The Australian Stock Horse has the versatility to excel in a wide range of equestrian disciplines. My 1979 Burghley winner and Olympic horse, Davey, was an Australian Stock Horse who proved himself to be one of the horses in the world at the time He took me to 2 World Championships, 2 Olympic Games and travelled the world 3 times. He was the most honest and brave horse I've ever ridden who always gave 110%. The longer I'm in the sport the more I admire him for what he did for me."
Andrew Hoy, Eventer, Olympic Gold Medallist

For Sports…

“Australian stock horses make the perfect polocrosse horses with speed, soundness, agility and trainability as their major attributes”
Gerald O'Brien, professional horse trainer & Equestrian Federation of Australia Coach

“Stock Horses are the choice of horse for the majority of Australian polocrosse players, either pure-bred or crossed with a Thoroughbred. They are bred to have all you need for the game and seem to take to polocrosse better than other breeds”
Jamie Grimmond, Australian International, Polocrosse World Cup winner, NSW and QLD Men's representative.

The world famous Ellerston Polo Establishment , owned by the Packer family, use an Australian Stock Horse / Thoroughbred stallion for their extensive embryo transfer breeding programme to produce some of the best high goal polo ponies in the world.

For Fun…

“I truly believe that the Australian Stock Horse's temperament, conformation and trainability would suit the majority of horse owners in this country who want a safe, reliable, fun and fuss-free horse to look after and ride”
Jason Webb