The brumbies live life in the wild state and they are hardy and unrefined. Rebellious and intractable in temperament. Their conformation is that they stand anywhere from 12 to over 15 hands high. Varied colored coat. Heavy head with short neck and back. Legs are sturdy. Australia's first horses arrived here in 1778. It is thought that the name Brumby for Australia feral horses came from a James Brumby ~ a soldier with the New South Wales Corps around 1791. He was also a farrier. When James moved to Tasmania in 1804 it is thought that he left some horses in New South Wales. Locals asked who owned the horses, "they are Brumby's" was the reply. This breed developed around the middle of the 19th century, when large numbers of horses were abandoned at the time of the gold rush in Australia. Once these animals became free, they formed herds reproducing prolifically and naturally. As with most breeds that have reverted to the wild, freedom hardened them to all types of physical adversity and sharpened their cunning. It also caused their outward appearance to regress into smaller horses. Their primitive coat colors reappeared as camouflage and gained greater speed when in flight from danger. Their enormous increase in numbers is creating a lot of problems in agriculture and organized culling(killing to reduce size of herd) became necessary and that in itself just heightened their remarkable cunning for their instinct for survival is making the culling a very difficult task. Brumbies are viewed as both a pest and a resource. They can cause damage to fences, to land by overgrazing and foul up water supplies. Their usefulness has been meat, hair (for musical instruments, "paint"brushes, and upholstery) and tourism/recreation. When dry weather abounds, brumbies may make water available by pawing at sandy creekbeds providing water for cattle, wildlife and themselves. OTHER HORSE BREEDS OF THE WORLD
Their enormous increase in numbers is creating a lot of problems in agriculture and organized culling(killing to reduce size of herd) became necessary and that in itself just heightened their remarkable cunning for their instinct for survival is making the culling a very difficult task. Brumbies are viewed as both a pest and a resource. They can cause damage to fences, to land by overgrazing and foul up water supplies. Their usefulness has been meat, hair (for musical instruments, "paint"brushes, and upholstery) and tourism/recreation. When dry weather abounds, brumbies may make water available by pawing at sandy creekbeds providing water for cattle, wildlife and themselves.