State Horse
In 2008, The Florida Cracker Horse, also called the Marshtackie, was designated as the official Florida state horse. The Florida Cracker Horse is also known as the Chickasaw Pony, Seminole Pony, Prairie Pony, Florida Horse, Florida Cow Pony and Grass Gut.
According to Horse Illustrated, Florida Crackers are small riding horses, standing 13.2-15 hands and weighing 800-900 pounds. They have wide foreheads and finely made faces, with straight or slightly roman noses. The Florida Cracker descends from Spanish horses such as the Barb and the Spanish Jennet that arrived in the southern United States in the 1500s. Although it is genetically similar to the Mustang, Paso Fino and other modern Spanish breeds, the Florida Cracker’s geological isolation meant that the horses evolved to have its own distinctive features. Today, the horses are used for endurance riding and traditional western ranching pursuits.
You can also find great resources from Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services about Florida’s Cracker Horse. The Florida Cracker cattle and Florida Cracker horses are recognized as important “heritage breeds”; they are prized as living, tangible links to our history and heritage.
Photos:
Stone, Robert L., 1944-. Justin Gopher with a cracker horse. 2000 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/254266>, accessed 15 April 2025.
Steinmetz, Joseph Janney, 1905-1985. Seminole cowboy Big Charlie Osceola on a cow pony at the Brighton Indian Reservation. 1949. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/245561>, accessed 15 April 2025.