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HERITAGE LIVESTOCK BREEDS AT THE FLORIDA AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM
Today, rapid genetic erosion is occurring in all
of the livestock species of North America to the extent that nearly 80
livestock breeds are in decline or in danger of extinction. An
important part of the Florida Agricultural Museum’s mission is the
preservation of heritage livestock breeds descended from animals
introduced to Florida by Spaniards during the early 1500s. These
include Florida Cracker Horses and Cattle. The Florida Cracker Horse like the cattle
breed of the same name traces its ancestry to Spanish stock brought to
Florida during the early 16th century. The genetic heritage
of the Cracker horse is derived from the Iberian horse of early 16th
century Spain, the North African Barb, Spanish Sorraia, and Spanish
Jennet (a gaited breed). Its genetic base is very similar to that of
the Spanish Mustang, Paso Fino, Peruvian Paso, Criollo, and other breeds
developed from the horses introduced to the Americas by the Spaniards.
The breed’s survival over the last fifty years resulted from the work of a few families who continued to breed Cracker Horses for their own use. It was these ranching families and individuals whose perseverance and preservation of distinct horse bloodlines that kept the Cracker horses becoming extinct. The family names include the Ayers, Harvey, Bronson, Matchett, Partin and Whaley names. The museum currently owns two Ayers line horses, the stallion “Stormy” and the filly “Isabel” as well as two Bronson line horses, the mare “Ana” and the filly “Supresa”. Florida Cracker Horses are small saddle
horses, standing from 13.5-15.2 hands at the withers and weighing
between 700 and 1000 pounds. The head is refined and intelligent
in appearance. The profile is straight or slightly concave.
The throat latch is prominent and the jaw is short and well defined.
The While this external type is distinctive, breed proponents insist that the best way to tell a Cracker Horse is to ride one. The ground covering gaits found in these horses include the flatfoot walk, running walk, trot and ambling gaits. Cracker Horses are willing workers whose actions show spirit, amazing stamina, and endurance. The Crackers have been used for trail, pleasure, reining, team roping, team penning, pulling wagons and always as working cow horses. Over the years, Cracker horses have been known
by a variety of names: Chicksaw Pony, Seminole Pony, Marsh Tackie,
Prairie Pony, Florida Horse, Florida Cow Pony, Grass Gut, and others.
Today, there are just over 900 registered Florida Cracker Horses.
We, at the Florida Agricultural Museum, are proud to be able to help in
the conservation of this unique Florida horse.
The Florida Agricultural Museum will soon be a
receiving a herd of Florida Cracker Cattle Florida Cracker
Bull As a breed, Florida Cracker Cattle, were
shaped primarily by natural selection in an environment that is
generally hostile to cattle. This has resulted in a breed that is
heat- The influx of new breeds very nearly caused the
extinction of the Florida Cracker breed. By the mid-1900s, the majority
of purebred cows had been crossbred, first to Brahmas and then to
British and European breeds. The cracker cow provided the maternal
ability and hardiness necessary for crossbreeding programs to succeed,
and the genetic distance between Florida Cracker Cattle and other
breeds created exceptional hybrid vigor in the offspring. The credit
for success, however, was always given to the improved breeds, and the
Florida Cracker was largely abandoned. As with Florida Cracker
Horses, Cracker cattle survived in a pure form through the efforts
of a few Florida families, stubbornly resistant to “progress”. As one would expect of cattle adapted to the heat, Florida Cracker cattle are small, with cows weighing 600-800 pounds and bulls weighing 800-1,200 pounds. They exhibit the angular conformation typical of Spanish cattle adapted to harsh conditions. Horn style and shape vary, including very long and twisted horns as well as smaller, more crumpled shapes. Polled cattle are found occasionally. Dwarf types of Florida Crackers, called “guineas”, occurred historically and were well regarded as milk producers. The breed shares many of the same bloodlines as the Texas Longhorns and the Pineywoods cattle of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. Colors in the breed vary widely, including almost all of the colors known in cattle. This is a legacy from the breed’s ancestors in the south of Spain, where even today ranchers prefer multi-colored herds. Generally, solid red, dun, black, and brindle colors predominate. The state of Florida has been a leader in the conservation and promotion of the Florida Cracker breed during the past two decades. Florida Cracker Cattle are considered a living part of Florida history, and herds have been maintained at several state parks and forests. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has supported the establishment of the Florida Cracker Cattle Association and a breed registry which is operated by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. The Florida Cracker Cattle breed is still quite rare, with fewer than 1,000 animals alive today. The Florida Agricultural Museum is pleased to assist with the conservation of this unusual heritage livestock breed.
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There were thousands of these horses running
freely over Florida by the 18th century. William Bartram, a
famous naturalist of the time, described them as “the most beautiful and
sprightly species of that noble creature” that he had ever seen. By the
1930s the breed experienced a reversal of fortune that almost led to its
extinction. The Great Depression lead to the creation of a number of
relief programs, one of which encouraged the movement of cattle from the
Dust Bowl into Florida. With the cattle came the screwworm parasite
causing major changes in the practice of cattle raising. Before the
screwworm, cowboys used horses to herd and drive free roaming Scrub and
Cracker cattle. With the arrival of the screwworm came the need to rope
cattle and hold them for veterinary treatment and dipping. As a result,
ranchers turned to the larger stronger Quarter Horse and the Florida
Cracker Horse declined.
eyes are keen
with an alert expression and have reasonable width between them.
The eye colors are dark, with a white sclera, gray or blue. The
neck is well defined, fairly narrow, wit excessive crest and is about
the same length as the distance from the withers to the croup. The
withers are pronounced but not prominent. The chest is medium to
narrow in width with an inverted “V” formed between the two front legs.
The shoulders are long and sloping with a 40 to 50 degree angle. A
well laid back shoulder with smooth muscling is preferred. The
back is short, narrow and strong with well sprung ribs. The point
of the withers and the point of the croup are equal in height. The
under line is longer than the top line. The croup is sloping and
short and the tail is set medium low. Colors are any of those
known to the horse, however, solid colors and grays are most common. 
in the
United States, descending from Spanish cattle brought to the New World
beginning in the
early 1500s. As the Spaniards colonized Florida and other parts of
the Americas, they established low-input extensive cattle ranging
systems typical of Spanish ranching. The Florida Cracker
and other breeds which developed under these conditions are called
criollo cattle, which means of “Spanish origin but born in the New
World”. 
tolerant, long-lived, resistant to parasites and diseases, and
productive on low quality forage found on the grasslands and swamps of
the deep South. It was not until the importation of Zebus from India
and the development of the American Brahman breed this century that the
Florida Cracker had competition from other heat tolerant cattle. Not
long afterwards, the development of parasiticides and other medications
allowed British and European breeds to survive in the deep South, and
thus the Florida cattle industry was further diversified.
