Australia got its first horses in 1788 when Governor Arthur Phillip imported them from the South African Cape. From then on and increasing number of horses, mainly Thoroughbreds and Arabians, were imported. They were selectively bred in the New South Wales area for working on the huge sheep stations, with tough ranching work. The horse that came from these breedings was tough and enduring and called a Waler, after the region, but was never registered as a breed. The early Walers were highly regarded both as working ranch horses and as cavalry mounts. They were used extensively by the Indian cavalry and later, during the first World War, the Allied forces used them in huge numbers. 

In fact, because of their use during the war, their numbers were severely depleted and by the Second World War they had all but disappeared. The Australian Stock Horse was developed from the Waler and was based largely on an Anglo-Arab type, having come about through crosses between Arabians and Thoroughbreds. Large infusions of Quarter Horse blood was introduced to the breed in 1954, and four Quarter Horse stallions- Vaquero, Jackaroo, Risbon, And Gold Standard- had an important effect of the breed. Their substance may also be accounted for by the presence of a little Percheron blood in their veins. In 1971, the Australian Stock Horse Society was formed and today keeps on promoting and regulating the breed.

Stock Horses are excellent horses, versatile, with good temperaments and possessed of good stamina. They are also willing, quick, and lively. The Stock Horse is a quality animal quite similar to the Thoroughbred, but with more bone and substance. They have fine, attractive heads with broad foreheads and large eyes. Their necks are in proportion to their bodies, and well-set onto good, sloping shoulders. They have deep, though not excessively wide, chests, and a strong back and rounded ribcage. Their quarters are muscular and very powerful, and the legs strong and tough with well-formed, hard hooves. These horses can be any solid color, although their dominant color is bay. Australian Stock Horses stand between 14.2 and 16.2 hands high. 

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