Brumby Hunting

[Aussie_Hunter]

Any other brumby hunters out there? I know shooting wild horses (Brumbies) can be a bit of a controversial topic at times even in hunting circles but at the end of the day a feral/wild horse is no different to a feral pig or buffalo in Australia. I believe Australia has the largest wild horse population in the world at around half a million. I have shot a lot of brumbies in my time, I have access to private land that is riddled with them but today I got a pure white stallion that was an absolute monster. This stallion would make a lot of Thoroughbred stallions look small, brumbies have bred up over the years from domestic horses that have either escaped or been let go and obviously there is some bloody good genetics around the area I hunt.

I often then also shoot boars a week or so later eating the dead brumbies, don't know what it is about a dead brumby but the pigs in Australia just can not resist it, well known as being the best pig bait in Australia.

The photo of this stallions hoof will give you a better idea of his size, I would put him at around 500kg (1100lbs)
Biggest Brumby Stallion to date for me, a broadside shot to the neck and then a finisher between the front legs into the chest with y 458 Lott did the trick.

 

[Sika98k]

‘Scuse my ignorance but is there any use for the end product ? Just curious.

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

‘Scuse my ignorance but is there any use for the end product ? Just curious.

A big old stallion is good for dog food, a young fat mare is not bad to eat yourself. I know plenty of old Europeans that grew up on horse meat.

 

[Newby]

Horses are a major problem in the Snowy Mountains on both sides of the NSW/Vic border. Also some clown seeded a population on the Bogong High Plains in Victoria and that is fast becoming a problem as numbers increase.

Those in the Snowies need, at the very least a heavy, say 75%, cull. Some would say elimination is desirable, but I'm not sure about that personally. The Bogong mobs should simply be wiped out while it's still possible.

Unfortunately, although the need is recognised by some, the powers that be are tangled up by political expediency and a lack of cohunas. There is vociferous objection to horse killing by a small group. Many simply seem to be clueless about the bush and what is going on, whilst at least one of the lead stirrers could be said to have the appearance of having an agenda which has little to do with wild horse welfare or their very obvious (to blind Freddy) damaging effect on the country they inhabit.

I like horses, but I would certainly put in some time to get rid of them if it was legal.

 

[Dr Ray]

Any other brumby hunters out there? I know shooting wild horses (Brumbies) can be a bit of a controversial topic at times even in hunting circles but at the end of the day a feral/wild horse is no different to a feral pig or buffalo in Australia. I believe Australia has the largest wild horse population in the world at around half a million. I have shot a lot of brumbies in my time, I have access to private land that is riddled with them but today I got a pure white stallion that was an absolute monster. This stallion would make a lot of Thoroughbred stallions look small, brumbies have bred up over the years from domestic horses that have either escaped or been let go and obviously there is some bloody good genetics around the area I hunt.

I often then also shoot boars a week or so later eating the dead brumbies, don't know what it is about a dead brumby but the pigs in Australia just can not resist it, well known as being the best pig bait in Australia.

The photo of this stallions hoof will give you a better idea of his size, I would put him at around 500kg (1100lbs)
Biggest Brumby Stallion to date for me, a broadside shot to the neck and then a finisher between the front legs into the chest with y 458 Lott did the trick.

View attachment 355556
View attachment 355557

Thorough breds - race horses weigh up Around 550 kgs - some full of fire a d so e pretty nervy!
I shot them with a 270, 25/06, 300 Winchester magnum and a 460.
They are destroying the fragile countryside an area breeding up to a large extent.

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

Thorough breds - race horses weigh up Around 550 kgs - some full of fire a d so e pretty nervy!
I shot them with a 270, 25/06, 300 Winchester magnum and a 460.
They are destroying the fragile countryside an area breeding up to a large extent.

Mate this big boy could even reach the 600kg mark hes a monster. I have owned some big thoroughbreds myself, you could throw this big bugger into a paddock with them and he would look pretty impressive alongside them.

 

[cperso]

Horses are a major problem in the Snowy Mountains on both sides of the NSW/Vic border. Also some clown seeded a population on the Bogong High Plains in Victoria and that is fast becoming a problem as numbers increase.

Those in the Snowies need, at the very least a heavy, say 75%, cull. Some would say elimination is desirable, but I'm not sure about that personally. The Bogong mobs should simply be wiped out while it's still possible.

Unfortunately, although the need is recognised by some, the powers that be are tangled up by political expediency and a lack of cohunas. There is vociferous objection to horse killing by a small group. Many simply seem to be clueless about the bush and what is going on, whilst at least one of the lead stirrers could be said to have the appearance of having an agenda which has little to do with wild horse welfare or their very obvious (to blind Freddy) damaging effect on the country they inhabit.

I like horses, but I would certainly put in some time to get rid of them if it was legal.

I've worked on the Bogong High Plains for 38ys and the numbers are small there ... leave them be IMHO
I've seen much more damage to tracks and environment caused by trampers and authorities that attempt to capture them over the years

 

[bruce moulds]

i used to shoot them for pet meat.
we used to gut them, cut off the lower legs and heads and cut them up.
the parts were the neck, the hind quarters, the fore quarters, and a midriff section.
we would separate the rear end from the spine, sit it on its bum, and split it down the spine with an axe.
then cut off the midriff which stayed whole and the neck likewise.
we then cut the spine between the shoulders with the axe to create 2 forequarters.
we saved the tails which in those days were used to make brooms.
the heaviest sections were the forequarters which tapered the wrong way to grip easily when picked up.
if we had to stack them in the tray of the vehicle or trailer, the sections would sweat, creating white foam.
even next day.
when we got back to the chiller, we had to put the frozen parts already in there off the hooks into a stack up one end, then put the new ones on the hooks.
with ice on the floor, and the weight and shape of the pieces this task was not easy.
we often cut handgrips between rib bones to aid in handling.
we were often out for days before finding any and if they were standing still under trees were hard to see.
i used a 25/06 for this, not by choice, but because it was what i had.
even with 120 gn bullets it was undergunned, usually scratching them down .
it had a good trajectory in the sandhill country, but insufficient power.
my friend used a 30/06 which was barely better, and i rate them both as insufficient for the job.
a pretty big normal horse goes about 1000 lb in good condition, so 600 kilos is massive.
a lot of our brumbies carry moth thoroubred and graft blood.
the op horse here seems to have no feathers, and its feet are not spread out, suggesting little or no draft blood.
i am a great lover of horses, having bred them for some years, and broken and trained mine and others, but accept that australia is no place for feral ones.
they really come under the same heading as goats, cats, foxes buffalo, pigs, camels, donkeys, and such as needing to be eliminated from the wild for the sake of our fragile environment, and delicate ecosystems.
bruce.

 

[Guy.G]

Nice work with the lott, good size stallion.

 

[Newboomer]

We have a wild horse problem here in northern Nevada and per usual we've got the weenies who don't recognize the problem. They say they adopt the mustangs but it's not long before they turn them loose and perpetuate the problem.

 

[Newby]

I've worked on the Bogong High Plains for 38ys and the numbers are small there ... leave them be IMHO
I've seen much more damage to tracks and environment caused by trampers and authorities that attempt to capture them over the years

cperso, walk around all over the plains and have a look. Numbers have increased to over 100 now, and although damage is not great at this stage, it will only increase as number continue too grow.

The time to get rid of them is now, before it deteriorates to the stage it has in the Snowies. To not learn from the experiences else where would be the death of BHP.

Picturesque they may be, and I really enjoyed seeing them in the Snowies at the population levels of 50 years ago, but not now. The problem must be dealt with.

 

[flatwater bill]

Far too many wild horses in the Western USA. All protected. Draining the budgets of wildlife managers, and eating and trampling the valuable winter range for ungulates. Keep culling, A.H....................FWB

 

[CBH Australia]

They are a pest. They damage the environment but it is political. I’ve seen them in places and worked with people who manage them. I also work in an environment full of red tape.
The doo Gooders and Brumby lovers get passionate about having people in control programs those that wear that uniform are just branded for it.
I haven’t had the opportunity to shoot one myself but I would.
I have prepared them as bait for dingoes and foxes in another role. They break fences on rural property.
People are free to like them but we need to take adequate control to manage pest Numbers.

We won’t wipe them out. No feral animal has ever been eradicated on the Australian mainland.

They should be controlled for ecological reasons and the government should stop pleasing the minority as letting these populations increase just make other works counterproductive.

 

[sestoppelman]

Brings to mind that movie "The Man from Snowy River". I thought it was a great movie, well done and exciting. When I saw "brumby" I actually knew what it meant.

 

[Standard Velocity]

Commercial horse meat in Europe is delicious. A French friend of mine gets horse tartare as soon as she gets off the plane. The horse I’ve eaten has been lean and mineraly and not off putting in comparison to beef.

Through careful processing my wild venison tastes as clean as farm raised. I wonder if there were efficient killing and processing these horses could be sold commercially? Get a couple of Australian chefs to put it on menus and it might take off like Lionfish in Florida. Maybe Attica?

 

[flatwater bill]

On a tangent here, but, in "The Man From Snowy River" the brumbys (brumbies?) had been loose and wild for 20+ years, but as they ran by the camera, I noticed they were all still shod. Why can't my ferrier do that?...........FWB

 

[sestoppelman]

LOL. Afraid I never looked closely at their hooves. Still a good movie although Kirk Douglas was badly miscast in an otherwise all Aussie group. Had a great music score too.

 

[Dr Ray]

Brings to mind that movie "The Man from Snowy River". I thought it was a great movie, well done and exciting. When I saw "brumby" I actually knew what it meant.

And full of fire and brimstone

 

[Dr Ray]

Brumby - came from horses that escaped from a place owned by a mr brumby

Whose are those?
Answer they’re brumby’s — got to brumbies

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

They are a pest. They damage the environment but it is political. I’ve seen them in places and worked with people who manage them. I also work in an environment full of red tape.
The doo Gooders and Brumby lovers get passionate about having people in control programs those that wear that uniform are just branded for it.
I haven’t had the opportunity to shoot one myself but I would.
I have prepared them as bait for dingoes and foxes in another role. They break fences on rural property.
People are free to like them but we need to take adequate control to manage pest Numbers.

We won’t wipe them out. No feral animal has ever been eradicated on the Australian mainland.

They should be controlled for ecological reasons and the government should stop pleasing the minority as letting these populations increase just make other works counterproductive.

Mate one thing you have mentioned here is the biggest problem I have seen where I am, and not just with brumbies but scrub bulls as well and that's breaking fences. Brumbies and scrub bulls cause a huge amount of damage to fences and then obviously the property owners cattle get out. It costs land owners a fortune. I have actually shot a brumby that had wire wrapped around its legs in 2 different places and the skin had nearly grown back over the wire, had obviously gone through a fence months earlier.