Cracker

[canesisters]

Does anyone know if this is just a Florida thing or if it happens other places?

On another thread, someone mentioned a breed of sheep called Cracker. I've known of Cracker horses & Cracker cattle. Are there Cracker pigs? Goats?
Where does that name come from anyway? A region?

 

[Mini Horses]

I've never heard of cracker horse/cattle. So

 

[canesisters]

Been down a rabbit hole after this.
Eventually, with just the right combination of search words, this article came up.
Cracker Country, the 'wild west' of Florida - hence the name - is apparently credited with many of the 'native' breeds from the area.

The Animals — Cracker Country

There were a few animals that the Florida Crackers depended on for living and working in the untamed Florida landscape.

www.crackercountry.org

 

[canesisters]

“What Is A Florida Cracker?
The term “cracker” dates at least as far back as Shakespeare, who coined it in the play King John. From the early 19th century it was used to describe the hardy, self-reliant and often poor pioneers who migrated from the north in search of a better life in the harsh Florida wilderness. Later, the term became associated with Florida’s rugged cattlemen.

Cattle, descended from stock left behind by the Spanish, roamed freely in the Florida woodlands. Cow hunters used whips to flush the cattle from the underbrush and drive them to ports for shipment north or to Cuba. Whips were not used to strike the cattle. They were popped in the air to make a “crack” sound to get the cattle moving. The sound traveled great distances, making the whip an essential communication tool between cowmen. A commonly used 120 mile cattle drive route across the south central part of the state is known today as the Florida Cracker Trail."

 

[Baymule]

Cracker is also used as a derision term. But history does its thing and tells us where it came from and why, thus making it a term to be proud of. Cracker applies to the people who carved out a life in Florida and to the livestock that was hardy enough to survive alongside them. So Cracker became the area they came from.

There are also Gulf Coast sheep, hardy animals that survived the tough conditions along the Gulf Coast.

 

[rachels.haven]

I've heard of FL cracker cattle and horse but that's it. Cool.

 

[farmerjan]

Fl Cracker cattle have developed into a "breed" and are listed in the Livestock Conservancy as threatened I think. Somewhat like the "Piney Woods" cattle that developed a little further north... They are basically more of a "regional breed".....
Gulf Coast Native sheep and Ossabaugh Island hogs are 2 other breeds that come to mind...