The Horses

The song was covered by Daryl Braithwaite on his 1990 album Rise. It was released as a single on 28 January 1991 and reached No. 1 on the Australian Singles Chart in May.^[1][2] "The Horses" has been certified ten-times platinum in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).^[3] Margaret Urlich provided the female vocals on the recording but chose not to appear in the music video due to other work commitments. A model, Gillian Mather, lip-synced Urlich's voice for the music video.

In May 2016, while celebrating the 25th anniversary of the song peaking at No. 1 in Australia, Braithwaite said: "I would never have thought that 25 years down the track, 'The Horses' – a song that I heard quite by accident and then recorded, would be liked by so many people for so many different reasons. And for this I am eternally grateful. I am sure that Rickie Lee Jones and Walter Becker could never imagine how endearing the song would and has become."^[4][5]

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the "most Australian" songs of all time, Daryl Braithwaite's version of "The Horses" was ranked number 14.^[6] In 2025, the song placed 30 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.^[7]

Australian 7-inch, CD, and cassette single^[8][9][10]

1. "The Horses" − 4:16
2. "I Can't Wait" − 4:12

European maxi-CD single^[11]

1. "The Horses" − 4:16
2. "Let Me Be" − 5:36
3. "You Could Be Wrong" − 3:23
4. "I Can't Wait" − 4:12

• Daryl Braithwaite – vocals
• John Watson – drums
• Scott Griffiths – keyboards, piano
• Jef Scott – acoustic and electric guitar
• Tommy Emmanuel – electric guitar
• Alex Pertout – shaker, sleigh bells, vibraslap, tambourine
• Jeremy Alsop – bass
• Simon Hussey – keyboards
• Margaret Urlich – backing vocals

"The Horses" made its ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart debut at No. 38 on 3 March 1991 before peaking at No. 1 on 19 May 1991. The song spent 23 weeks in the Australian top 50.^[2]

• List of best-selling singles in Australia