Willunga

[Corowa]

Name: Willunga
Species: Brumby
Gender: Mare
Age: 8 years old

Appearance: Willunga stands at 14.1HH, and is a heavily built mare. The mare is plain, but has the broad chest and powerful hindquarters of a good work horse. Willunga is sturdy and compact, with short legs of good bone and flat joints. Her neck is short, with a throatlatch that could be cleaner. Willunga’s head is coarse, with a convex profile and large expressive eyes. There is light feathering on her fetlocks, and both her mane and tail are quite thick. Willunga has a brand on her near shoulder, of an S over a bar.

Willunga is a light bay, with only a few white markings. The mare has two socks, and a large star. It is for Willunga’s plain colouring and scrubbiness her mother named her, but the stockmen only called her Brownie.

Personality: Willunga is a high-spirited and skittish mare. Therefore, because the High Country is so large and often so exciting, she can easily become startled and run several miles before stopping. The mare is quite stupid, and even though she tries to move quietly and leave no tracks, she is still very noisy and not very surefooted.

Having lived her life in the back paddock with many other horses, Willunga often longs for the companionship of a small mob. However, brumbies often think she is tame still, and drive her off with unpleasant kicks and nips. This hasn’t stopped Willunga of course, and the mare still excitedly approaches other horses whenever she can – whether tame or not.

Willunga is not afraid of stockmen, and will readily approach them. The mare spends most of her time grazing in the area around Dead Horse Hut. She talks often to the tame horses there and nibbles on their hay when they’re not looking. She is particularly fond of the working dogs and likes to play games of chase with them, whenever their masters aren’t nearby.

History: Willunga was a tame horse until a bushfire burned down the paddock fences. Somehow, the mare travelled the twenty or so miles of bush to make it to the Cascades, and she’s remained there ever since.

Genes: Ee/Aa
Extra Comments: Willunga means ‘scrubby place’ Willunga is a Clydesdale x Australian Stock Horse