Written by Jeannette Beranger
Research & Technical Programs Manager, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
he name “Tacky” is derived from the English word for “cheap” or “common”. For most of their history, Marsh Tackies were the most common horse in the swampy and marshy Lowcountry region of coastal South Carolina and Georgia and were used for riding, pulling, and anything else horsepower was needed for. They were found from as far north as Myrtle Beach and as far south as St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, until the advent of the automobile. As the car replaced the horse, the Marsh Tacky began to disappear. Until recently the breed was thought to have become extinct during the 1980’s and 1990’s. This ancient breed has managed to hold on in the hands of the people committed to their long held family traditions of keeping Marsh Tackies.
Although the exact origin of the Marsh Tacky horse is unclear, it can be attributed to Spanish stock that arrived on the coast and islands of South Carolina as “drop offs” by Spanish explorers and stock brought over by Spanish settlers in the 1500’s. A number of Spanish horse populations along the Southeast coast ultimately thrived and became feral herds. (Some of the more famous herds comprise the Banker ponies of North Carolina.) A further influx of Spanish horses made their way to South Carolina in the Charleston area through the deerskin trade. Spanish horses were acquired at the St. Augustine Spanish settlement and were used as pack animals for the native American trade routes of the Chickasaw, Creek, and Southeaster Choctaw tribes. The horses were sold once they arrived to Charleston and bolstered the population of Spanish horses that would become the Marsh Tacky.
Tackies were largely managed on islands in the lowland or “lowcountry” region and on coastal islands including Hilton Head. These herds were occasionally rounded up by local inhabitants whenever there was a need for horses. Until recently Marsh Tackies were still managed in this fashion. Today the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) estimates through extensive field investigation that there are fewer than 150 pure Marsh Tackies left.
ALBC began an investigation into the Marsh Tacky horse breed through a lead given to ALBC’s technical advisor, Dr. Phillip Sponenberg of Virginia Tech’s Veterinary College, by members of the Florida Cracker Horse Association. Members of that association had heard of horses in South Carolina that were very similar to their Florida Cracker horse (a strain of Colonial Spanish horse). Initial inspection showed that the breed of horse in South Carolina, the Marsh Tacky, did in fact resemble Florida Cracker horses. During the spring of 2006, Dr. Sponenberg, along with two other ALBC staff members, Marjorie Bender and myself, made a trip to South Carolina to begin an ALBC field investigation and determine if the Marsh Tacky could be a surviving descendant of the Spanish horses that arrived in the Americas as early as the 1500’s.
According to Dr. Sponenberg, “Colonial Spanish Horses are of great historic importance in the New World. They descend from horses introduced from Spain during the age of the conquest of the New World. They are a direct remnant of the horses of the Golden Age of Spain and that type is mostly or wholly extinct now in Spain. Our Colonial Spanish horses are therefore a treasure chest of genetic wealth from a time long gone.”
The Marsh Tacky is a sturdy, well-balanced, and easy keeping horse with a sharp mind. Owners will attest to the ease of training that is characteristic of these horses. The Tacky’s thoughtful approach to novel items and experiences reduces the likelihood of panic and flight, as found in high-strung breeds. Their gentle nature and easily managed size (13.5 to 15 hands) historically made the Marsh Tacky the preferred mount for ladies and children, but their strength, prowess and fearlessness in the field made them popular as working animals utilized for hunting and herding cattle. Often newly broke horses are in the field and used as hunting mounts within weeks of having the first saddle on their back. For modern times the breed continues in its traditional roles but also shows great promise as an endurance or competitive trail horse.
Marsh Tackies have played a significant role in South Carolina’s history. During the American Revolution Marsh Tackies were used by many of the troops of the famous “Swamp Fox”, Francis Marion. Marion’s troops of “irregulars” used their own mounts, the common horses of the area, during their campaigns against the British. The most common horse in the region at that time would have been the Marsh Tacky.
Known as the “Father of American Guerrilla Warfare”, Marion not only was a great tactician but his troops inadvertently had the additional technical advantage of being mounted on horses superbly adapted to the rough and swampy terrain of the region. British troops mounted on larger European breeds may have been at a disadvantage in trying to maneuver in the dense and wild swamps of the lowlands.
Then after the Civil War, the Marsh Tacky became an integral part agricultural life and in particular within the Gullah community and culture as they were the common using horse of every farmer on the islands of South Carolina and Georgia. The horses were used for everything from delivering the mail, to bringing folks to church, to plowing the fields. Every Gullah family seemingly had a Marsh Tacky in their field or garden.
During WWII, some Tackies were used as Beach Patrol horses on the coast of South Carolina that protected the shores from the threat of Nazi u-boats or potential landings of enemy troops or spies.
A popular local event held on Hilton Head up until the 1960’s were racing derbies. Marsh Tackies would run on a stretch of beach, round an obstacle, and return to the finish. Winners were presented roses, as any distinguished Thoroughbred would have received in a grand race. This tradition was revisited for the first time since the 1960’s during the annual Gullah Cultural Festival on Hilton Head in February in 2009 to the delight of over 3000 spectators on historic Mitchellville Beach. The huge success of the event has slated the races to become an annual tradition with the festival on the island.
The Marsh Tacky remains a living piece of history in its native region. The Marsh Tacky has endured for over 400 years and has the potential to survive far beyond that, as long as enthusiasts and conservationist work together to preserve what remains of this historic treasure.
For more information contact:
Jackie McFadden
Carolina Marsh Tacky Association
marshtacky@gmail.com
803-327-7230
Marsh Tacky Island - A Lowcountry Adventure
Written by: A.L Newman
My eyes were as big as chinaware saucers as my daddy told us stories of marsh tacky horses running wild on Hilton Head Island. My daddy was a River man, (not by trade but by passion) with reddish skin weathered by years of salt water sting. His history lessons usually came while the “young’ uns” were bent over a picnic table heading shrimp or picking blue crab caught earlier that day.
See, during those times, folks had no malls, no cable, video games or even fast food on the island. However the river and the ocean had all the adventure we could handle. Hilton Head Island was a beautiful, tropical wilderness with no crime, no red lights, and no stop signs. The island was like being in a world separate from the rest, where everyday was paradise!
You could almost hear my heart beating with anticipation as the school bus approached my stop. Mr.Marston’s place was just a block from my house and he was so kind to allow our gang to ride his horses after school. We would saddle up the beautiful majestic beast and head out to Marshland Rd, down Hwy 278 then over to Folly Field Beach, racing to the waters edge.
The weekends were full of excitement as the family tradition was to spend the day on the bank of the river with family and friends. Daddy would spend the day casting his net and fishing while us young’ uns would crab with our homemade chicken neck bait lines. The marshland was brimming with wildlife. You could sit for hours and watch the fiddler crabs dance across the pluff mud, appear and disappear, just like magic. It was always a challenge and not for the faint at heart, to try and catch a handful to use later for fishing bait. Sharing the catch of the day was a weekend tradition, bringing folks together that had never met.
Hot, humid mornings with air as thick as cotton candy started each long summer day and ended at sunset being covered with the familiar smell of Pluff Mud. It was time for supper and time to settle down and dream of tomorrows adventures.
Most every morning the gang would meet up down on the bank of the river, climbing the huge moss covered water oak trees that lined the river bank, watching for pirates and throwing together any makeshift raft we could muster up. Hence the name forced upon us by my daddy - “river rats”.
Now, I don’t know about any wild horses but there was plenty of wild life and a whole lot to learn in the adventure of the “river rats” on Marsh Tacky Island.
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