Cracker Horses
Two horsemen are completing a 10-day ride to Tallahassee to bring recognition to their mounts: Cracker horses, a breed that traces its lineage to the horses brought to Florida in the 1500s by Spanish explorers Juan Ponce de Leon and Hernando de Soto.
Cracker horses were the primary breed used by Florida cowboys — known as “crackers” for the whips they snapped — to herd cattle from the 1800s into the early 20th century.
Sen. Cary Baker, R-Eustis, has introduced a bill in the Florida Legislature to make the Cracker horse the Florida Heritage Horse, making it one of more than two dozen state symbols.
“We’re hoping by making it the official state horse, it will increase interest in owning cracker horses and preserve them for the future,” said James Levy, executive director of the Florida Cracker Horse Association. “We’ve never had a horse (among the state symbols). This is the one with the longest history, so it seems appropriate.”
Levy said his association has 260 members and estimated the number of Florida Cracker horses at between 800 and 900. Cracker horses are as much as a foot shorter than thoroughbred and quarter horses and renowned for their “single-footed” gait, which is a fast walk rather than a trot or gallop.
Two Cracker horse owners from the Gainesville area, retired firefighter Carlton Dudley and retired police officer Billy Ray Hunter, embarked from Ruskin on Feb. 25. They have ridden 20 to 40 miles a day along U.S. Highway 27.
“I think (state symbols) are important,” Baker said. “It’s good that school kids learn the history of the Cracker horse because it really reflects the history of Florida.”
Source: Tallahassee