Lawmakers named the marsh tacky, another import, as the official Georgia heritage horse breed by passing HB 466. Descended from horses brought by the Spanish, they're adapted to moving through marsh. Only about 2,000 remain. While Cumberland Island's feral horses can be seen in the marsh, they are not marsh tackies, having descended from modern domestic breeds. Coastal state representatives Al Williams (D-Midway), Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) and Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) were among the bill's sponsors. "The marsh tacky horse has been used by every culture and class of people that encountered it, including Indigenous nations, like the Seminoles, the Creek, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, and the Cherokee; European settlers; and the Maroon and Gullah communities," the legislation reads. |
