In regard to the origin of the Hackney, like that of most breeds of large stock, it is lost in the mists of obscurity, but it is held that they are probably the oldest variety of light-legged English horses.

However, a good deal is known about the background of the Hackney and it is reported that they are the descendants of the famous trotting horses of the 18th and 19th century of which there were two regional types, the Yorkshire and the Norfolk Roadster. Although Yorkshire and Norfolk horses share a common ancestry, the two did to a certain extend develop recognizable characteristics.

Possibly during the transition from Roadster to Hackneys or even earlier, the Hackney mane was synonymous with the name Roadster. There is abundant documentary evidence to support the statement, such as this quotation from John Lawrence's book published in 1809 in Britain and entitled, " The Delineation of the Horse in all its Varieties."  Our present varieties of the horse, and their denominations are as follows: The Racer, Race Horse; the Hack, Hackney, Roadster, Road horse of Chapman's horse; a cloddy compact horse, or gelding of this description is now and the styled a cob; the lady's horse a Pad; the coach horse, chariot and Curricle Horse; Gig horse or Chase horse; the Machiner or Post hack; the cart and dray horse; Galloway and ponies.  "The old French word "Hacquenee" has existed in England since the Normans settled there in the 11th Century, and has been mentioned is scripts in 1350.

The name "Hacquenee" gradually changed into Hackney and has come to denote a general purpose horse, and the vehicles which he pulls. In England the word was specifically applied to a type of harness horse midway between the light and heavy types. It was applied as the breed name when the Hackney Studbook Society was formed, and spelled afterwards with a capital letter to distinguish it from the old usage.

However, after a lapse of many years, a small band of lovers of this old breed gathered to revive the association and again promote the interests of the Hackney. Among the group of men who attended the first informal gathering were several whose fathers and in some instances grandfathers, were fanciers of the Hackney Horse and who were responsible for the early import of hackney from England.

On February 6, 1962, the Society was incorporated in terms of Act no. 28 of 1957. A great number of pure bred Hackney Horses, who could have appeared in the Studbook but for failure on the part of their owners to have made the necessary application, were examined by the Society's inspectors, most were found eligible and registered as Hackney Foundation Stock.

Most Hackney owners and breeders have become members, and the few owners and breeders who have not yet joined the Society, are invited to do so now, to enable membership to be brought up to full strength.

The Society has members all over the Republic of South Africa, but there seem to be a concentration of breeders and owners in the Southern part of South Africa.

When the first edition of the Stud Book was published in 1906, nine stallions and eight mares were registered. The breeding of these horses were very successful as in edition 30 of 1958, there were 301 registered stallions and 430 mares.

From the early days the Hackney has been a trotting horse, and a very fast trotter at that with good endurance .It is recorded that Old Shales could trot 17 miles in the hour; a daughter of Driver covered 15 miles in the hour, carrying 15 stone. In the year 1800 the mare `Phenomena, at the age of 12 years, covered 17 miles in 53 minutes. The Hackney is now mostly seen in the show ring for driving purposes. Still it is wrong to look upon the Hackney simply as a pretty show animal. One notable English Lady Whip (driver) has demonstrated the performance ability of the Hackney by competing with a team in driving trails up to and including

World Championship standard. Now the Hackney can be seen in many of the marathons organized by the British Driving Society, and they compete with great success in the new FEI Combined Driving Competitions, which consists of a dressage test, a marathon of well over 32 km and an Obstacle driving test.

Although the Hackney Horse is known as a harness horse, it is also well suited for use as a riding horse.

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