- What is a Brumby?
- Why should I register my Brumby?
- Why should a Brumby Organisation join the register?
- If I have registered my horse with another organisation, can I register with the ABHR?
- How do I register a Brumby?
- Why do I have to collect mane or tail hair?
- I don’t know my Brumby’s history, can I still register?
- What about foal born in captivity?
- Where are there Brumby class events?
- How can I organise a Brumby class event?
- What if I sell my Brumby?
- Can I still join the Register to support preservation of Brumbies, even though I don’t have a Brumby?
- I live overseas and would like to help
1. What is a Brumby
Brumbies are essentially wild Australian horses, much like the North American mustang. Although not indigenous to Australia, Brumbies and their forbearers have been instrumental in shaping Australia’s development and heritage.
Seven horses, believed to have been Cape or Barb horses from South Africa, were the first to arrive in Australia on the First Fleet in 1788. Subsequently a steady stream arrived in the colony.
The horses have strength, endurance and durability and were specifically bred as military horses (The Light Horse Brigade) during the First and Second World War, the Boer War in South Africa and as police horses. They were instrumental in a successful battle at Beersheba during the First World War.
The term Brumby most likely originated from an early settler, Sergeant James Brumby whose horses were left to run loose in the bush in Northeast Victoria/Southeast New South Wales when he was transferred to Tasmania in the 1830’s and the horses became knows as Brumby’s horses.
For more information, see our links to other Brumby organisations or Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brumby
For the purpose of the Register:
- A Brumby horse is described as a wild horse that has run without supervision in a substantially unfenced area for five (5) generations.
- A Brumby horse does not have an owner until it is captured from the wild.
- A Brumby horse can also be a foal from such authenticated or registered brumbies.
To register a Brumby, authentication must be provided. back to top
2. Why should I register my Brumby?
The aims of Australian Brumby Horse Register are directed at helping preserve the Heritage of Australian Brumbies and promoting the Brumby a recognized and very desirable breed. There are many reasons to register your Brumby:
- To generally support the aims of the Australian Brumby Horse Register
- To enter your horse in an ABHR event
- To hold and ABHR event
- To authenticate your Brumby’s heritage
- To authenticate breeding lines from your Brumby
Importantly, the register is also a way of collectively promoting all Australian Brumbies to governments and the general public by:
- Collecting and keeping records of Brumbies Australia wide. In future, this can be used for research, lobbying governments etc.
- Supporting a collective voice on Brumby issues
- Provided a forum and information exchange
- Marketing the Heritage of the Australian Brumby and its value as a sporting and recreation horse.
3. Why should a Brumby Organisation join the register?
Organisations and groups should join for all the same reasons as an individual.
Furthermore, organisational membership facilitates authentication. Your group may not, in itself be involved in competitions or breeding but the people who adopt your Brumbies may well want to register their Brumby. By being a member of the ABHR you are helping everyone who wants to promote Australian Brumby Horses.
As an Organisational Member you may elect a delegate to the Advisory Council for the Executive.
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4. If I have registered my horse with another organisation, can I register with the ABHR?
Yes, it is not uncommon to register any horse with more than one group, for example with the Paint Horse Association of Australia and the Australian Quarter Horse Association.
In fact, we would encourage you to do so as you will further promote the Brumby among the general public.
5. How do I register a Brumby?
See How to Register in About ABHR.
6. Why do I have to collect mane or tail hair?
Mane and tail samples are collected so that individual horses can be identified and cross referenced if necessary. For example, if a horse wins a class at a show and there is some suspicion that it is not the horse that has been registered as a Brumby.
Currently the Register does not routinely analyse DNA samples of every horse because this is expensive. However, samples are kept secure and, at a later date we may use this information to compare herds of horses from different areas.
7. I don’t know my Brumby’s history, can I still register?
We do require some form of proof that your horse is, in fact, a Brumby that has lived in the wild for 5 generations (see About, Rules, authentication). If you did not get your horse from a recognised Brumby organisation, you will need to obtain Statutory Declarations from two people (not in your family) that your horse is a an authentic Brumby.
A Statutory Declaration is a written statement declared to be true in the presence of an authorised witness. They are made under the laws governing them in the State or Territory in which they are made.
You can obtain the appropriate “Stat Dec” forms for your state from your local Post Office or court and many Newsagents also sell DIY Forms (like Will Forms). There are also Websites that have forms you can download.
All Stat Decs have a similar format so that it is clear who is making the declaration, what they are declaring and that they swear, to the best of their knowledge, the declaration is true.
Each State will have slightly different wording and rules for making declarations, in particular, who can witness them. Generally a witness can be a professional person, like a doctor; someone in the Postal Service; a bank manager; notary publics; etc. Often the form will have a list of acceptable witnesses.
You will need to have at least two Stat Decs for you horse or group of horses, made by people who are not members of your family. Ideally the others would include the person whom you obtained the horses from but if this is not possible, try to get a declaration from someone else who knows your horses’ history.
Requiring Stat Dec’s may seem like a nuisance but it helps ensure that the Register represents authentic Brumby bloodlines. In the long run, this is good for both you and your horse.
Suggested Wording for your Statutory Declaration
I declare that I owned/sold/captured/know the following horse(s):
and it is a/they are Brumby Horse(s) that :
did not have an owner until captured from the wild, and came from a herd that ran without supervision in a substantially unfenced area for five (5) generations, or approximately twenty (20) years.
8. What about foal born in captivity?
Your foal can be registered as a Brumby if both the stallion and mare are authentic or registered Brumbies. A foal from a cross between an authentic/registered mare or stallion and a domestic horse can be an Appendix Brumby. back to top
9. Where are there Brumby class events?
See News and Events page.
10. How can I organise an ABHR Brumby class event?
You will need to contact the show society and find out if they will run classes. Subject to funds available, the register will provide some amount of prize money for events in your area. You are, of course free to find additional sponsorship for prizes.
It is important that you have a reasonable number of Brumby owners willing to attend as we like the breed to be looking strong.
Don’t over do the program in the beginning. One open led Brumby class is OK for a start. If you are ready to take your horse into the ring ridden, then another open ridden Brumby class is also OK, but the horses need to be working reasonably well.
Once you have a group of people that are happy to be showing, you can add a maiden class for mares and fillies and a maiden class for colts and geldings as well.
Later on we hope to have age classes and also height classes and more variety in ridden events.
The process is:
- Ask the local show society if they will run classes. If the answer is yes then:
- Contact the register and explain what classes you have asked for and how many horses you expect to be in the classes. The ABHR will supply prize money for Brumby classes, the amount depends on funds available, the numbers of horses you expect to be there and the level of promotion we expect to get from the show.
11. What if I sell my Brumby?
If you sell your Brumby please fill out the Transfer of Registered Brumby form and send to the Register.
12. If I don’t have a Brumby can I still join the Register to support preservation of Australian Brumbies?
Absolutely - numbers do count! And you will be better kept informed of Brumby developments. There are several member categories for you to join.
13. I live overseas but would like to help
We are open to all people interested in preserving and promoting Brumbies and have an Overseas Membership.
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