Clockwise from top left : Two World War I soldiers on typical Australian Light Horses - strong , sure-footed and hardy ; A typical Waler with his Officer mount . Around 160,000 Australian horses served in World War I . They were often sired by Thoroughbred stallions and out of station bred mares . Of this number , only one horse returned to Australia - an Officer ’ s horse called ‘ Sandy ’; the Light Horse enter Jerusalem .
He described the stamina and spirit of the Australian Light Horse : ‘… Cavalry Division had covered nearly 170 miles … and their horses had been watered on an average of once in every 36 hours …. The heat , too , had been intense and the short rations , 9½ lb of grain per day without bulk food , had weakened them considerably . Indeed , the hardship endured by some horses was almost incredible . One of the batteries of the Australian Mounted Division had only been able to water its horses three times in the last nine days - the actual intervals being 68 , 72 and 76 hours respectively , yet this battery on its arrival had lost only eight horses from exhaustion …. The majority of horses in the Corps were Walers and there is no doubt that these hardy Australian horses make the finest cavalry mounts in the world ….’
Although many good breeding stock left Australia never to return , the huge shipments did not seem to affect the horse population at home . In 1906 Australia had 1,765,186 horses and in 1918 when the human census was 5,030,479 there were 2,527,149 horses .
While horses remained essential on many properties after World War I for mustering , hauling and transport , they were also used for sport . Unique horsesports were developing in Australia during this time , including campdrafting and polocrosse , which remain very popular to the present day . The first formal campdrafting competition was held in 1885 in Tenterfield , New South Wales , while polocrosse was developed in Australia just before the outbreak of World War II , and gained in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s . To compete and win in these fast-paced new sports , riders required mounts who were agile and fast , but also light and reponsive . The Australian horse was proving to be the ideal mount for both work and play .
Australian Stock Horse Society 1971 - 2011 5