25 LC 62 0080
House Bill 466
By: Representatives Cameron of the 1
st
, Williams of the 168
th
, Stephens of the 164
th
, Petrea
of the 166
th
, and Reeves of the 99
th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
1
relating to other state symbols, so as to designate the marsh tacky horse as the official2
Georgia heritage horse breed; to provide legislative findings and declarations; to provide for3
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5
SECTION 1.6
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:7
(1) The presence of the marsh tacky horse in Georgia can be traced back to the 1500s;8
(2) The marsh tacky horse has been used by every culture and class of people that9
encountered it, including Indigenous nations, like the Seminoles, the Creek, the10
Chickasaw, the Choctaw, and the Cherokee; European settlers; and the Maroon and11
Gullah communities;12
(3) General Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion utilized marsh tacky horses to navigate13
through rough, swampy terrain during guerilla campaigns against the British;14
(4) The marsh tacky horse was the predominant stock horse in the southeastern United15
States up to the 1930s;16
H. B. 466
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(5) During the Great Depression and Dust Bowl eras, larger cattle were brought in from
17
the West requiring larger horses causing the marsh tacky horse to fall out of use;18
(6) The marsh tacky horse is listed as "critical" under the endangered categories by the19
Livestock Conservancy;20
(7) There are less than 2,000 marsh tacky horses in existence;21
(8) Despite the number of marsh tacky horses remaining, they are still used in hunting22
wild game and herding cattle; and23
(9) Establishing the marsh tacky horse as the official Georgia heritage horse breed is24
necessary to fully recognize the importance of the breed and its contributions to Georgia25
history.26
SECTION 2.27
Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to other28
state symbols, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:29
"50-3-94.
30
The marsh tacky horse is designated as the official Georgia heritage horse breed."31
SECTION 3.32
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.33
H. B. 466
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