Wild Horse of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida 2

by Felix Lai

Title

Wild Horse of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida 2

Artist

Felix Lai

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

This photo captures the head of a beautiful wild cracker horse in Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. Cracker horse had been roaming the prairie for nearly 500 years and they were re-introduced back into the State Park many years ago. They are wild because they are not hand fed or taken care of by vets.

The Florida Cracker Horse is a breed of horse from Florida in the United States. It is genetically and physically similar to many other Spanish-style horses, especially those from the Spanish Colonial Horse group. The Florida Cracker is a gaited breed known for its agility and speed. The Spanish first brought horses to Florida with their expeditions in the early 16th century; as colonial settlement progressed, they used the horses for herding cattle. These horses developed into the Florida Cracker type seen today, and continued to be used by Florida cowboys (known as "crackers") until the 1930s.

At this point they were superseded by American Quarter Horses needed to work larger cattle brought to Florida during the Dust Bowl, and population numbers declined precipitously. Through the efforts of several private families and the Florida government, the breed was saved from extinction, but there is still concern about its low numbers. Both The Livestock Conservancy and the Equus Survival Trust consider breed numbers to be at a critical point.

* Watermark will not appear on the final print of the photograph.

Uploaded

August 10th, 2017

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