What was a Waler horse?

A Waler was simply any Australian bred horse that was sent overseas from the Colony of NSW (this included what is now Vic and Qld). The term was abbreviated to “Walers” and referred to horses of a geographical origin, regardless of breed. Walers horses were most famously used by the Australian Light Horse in WW1 and were not a special breed of horse developed for war just good old Aussie horses, the hardy stock or working horses already in use in Australia. The horse used for mounted infantry was a light type Waler.  It was generally a smaller horse between 14.2 – 15.2hh as it had to be mounted and dismounted easily.  Bigger and heavier types were used for gun horses and support horses pulling supply wagons. The Waler era is generally referred to as the time between when the word Waler was first formed in the 1850's to the end of WW2 (1945) when mechanization had replaced working horses and the export trade in Walers became non-existent. While the term Waler was not used for horses who never left Australia, the small percentage of Australian Horses that were exported as Walers were of the same types and breeding of those horses who never left Australia, and it is from those horses that remained in Australia that all Heritage Stock Horses are descended.

What is the difference between a Heritage Stock Horse (HSH) and a horse registered with one of the Waler societies?
 
There are 2 main differences: history and type. 
Regarding history: Heritage Stock Horses have carefully kept breeding records with a minimum of 50 years of fully known pedigrees, with most horses having known lineage back to the 1800's. All HSH are proven to be descended from Australian horses of the Waler era as that is a requirement of eligibility. Full pedigrees back to the 1800's are available online to the general public, as are photos and stories of many of the horses of significance in the pedigree which are available on the ASHS website or from published books.
Horses registered by the Waler Societies on the other hand, are either horses rescued from the outback from very isolated areas or horses descended from these. While anecdotal evidence supports the claim that these modern Walers are descended from horses of the Waler era that have been running wild for 60 years or more, individual horses have no pedigrees and no documented links to horses of the Waler era. Very little historical information about the ancestors of these horses or details about the original station's remount history are available to the public or to owners of these horses.
Regarding Type: The HSH only represents the "light type" of Waler - the stockhorse type used as remounts in desert campaigns by our Light Horsemen and immortalised by the famous Man from Snowy River. Waler Societies register all types from pony to heavy types with many of their horses having a visible draught influence.

Do Heritage Stock Horses allow any Quarter Horse or other modern breeds not part of the Waler horses 100 years ago?
 
While most Heritage Stock Horses have no Quarter Horse breeding or other modern breeds, it is permissible to have up to 1/16 or 6.25% Modern Breeds or up to 1/8 unknown breeding (which may, but probably doesn't, contain some modern breeds). Most breed societies allow breeding back to pure bred status and the Heritage Stock horse is no exception in that it allows 4th cross horses to be accepted (a more stringent requirement than some breeds). We strongly believe in the strength of the genetics of the old Australian bloodlines and believe that a horse with such a small percent of modern blood is to all intents and purposes Australian - to think otherwise is to give too much credit to the modern breeds.
We also recognise that many breeders and horse owners want a horse with NO modern breeds, in which case, by examining the pedigree and listed information as to how much modern breeds or unknown breeding a horse has, they can choose a horse with 0% modern breeds and 0% unknowns, and know that they truly have a horse proven to be of 100% old bloodlines.
 
Is a horse that has less than 3 full generations of pedigrees ever eligible for Heritage status?

Yes in two situations: 1. Some Foundation mares are known to be of 100% Australian breeding (either because they were born prior to the introduction of modern breeds or from first hand knowledge of their breeding) but as their parent's names were not  recorded, these mares have been deemed to have 3 generations of Australian breeding so that their descendants if they otherwise qualify, can be eligible for heritage status. For further information, please refer to http://www.heritagehorse.net/ASHS_Heritage_Assessment_Hall_of_Fame.html to see which mares this applies too.
2. If the Research Officer is aware of, or presented with, additional information on a horse's breeding not available on the online studbook such that the horse then satisfies the HSH criteria, that horse will be considered eligible. Rule 13.5.1 allows for review if a member is not satisfied with the original classification. For more information, see http://www.heritagehorse.net/ASHS_Heritage_Stock_Horse_Criteria.html.
 
 
If I breed my Heritage Stock horse to a Thoroughbred will the progeny be eligible?
 
The answer here depends on whether the progeny will have Waler links through 2 grandparents. If it does, it will be eligible, if it doesn't then it will be not eligible. However to maintain the heritage bloodlines the resultant Heritage Stock Horse/Thoroughbred progeny must be crossed back to a HSH the next generation to maintain Heritage Stock Horse status. Note a 100% Thoroughbred is not eligible for Heritage Status.