Owning a Mustang is truly a Link to History!

History & Horses That Have Shaped The American Mustang:

• IBERIAN: "OLD SPANISH" BREEDS & RELATED HORSES BROUGHT BY THE SPANISH CONQUISTADORES

• Native American Horse GROUPS

• PIONEERS & MOUNTAIN MEN

• CAVALRY REMOUNT PROGRAM (For US Cavalry and European armies)

• RANCH STOCK FROM THE 1800's & 1900's

• DRAFT HORSES

• CARRIAGE/BUGGY HORSES

• FARM & RANCH SADDLE HORSES

• PONIES

See Also "America's Heritage - Wild Horses"

Native American Ponies Library of Congress, photo by William J. Carpenter Native American Horsemen & Horses by Edward Curtis. Library of Congress photo

US Cavalry Remounts, WWI-era Library of Congress Photos

1. Breeds brought to America during the SPANISH Conquest:

pictures from the Spanish Conquest period, from www.imh.org/ imh/bw/sbarb.html
and http://www.spanishjennet.org

"Old Spanish" horses from Spain at the time of the Conquest

The Spanish Conquerors brought over the best horses they could find. These included every conceivable color and many breed types. Eventually the demand for horses outgrew their ability to import from Spain. So they set up breeding colonies on islands in the Caribbean and Atlantic coastal areas, and from there, horses were distributed throughout North, Central and South America, eventually contributing to the development of many new breeds on both continents: The Peruvian Paso, Puerto Rican Paso Fino, Criollo, Missouri Foxtrotter, Rocky Mountain Horse, Kentucky Mountain Horse, even the American Quarter Horse. These as well as modern Andalusian & Lusitano horses - also descended from "Old Spanish" type horses - share many characteristics both physically and genetically with modern day mustangs.

The Barb and the Spanish Jennet were two of the horse types brought over by the Spanish. The Jennet came in two color patterns: pinto and appaloosa.

"Wild Horses" painting by George Catlin [American Painter, 1796-1872]

"Lady Conaway's Spanish Jennet" by John Wooton, 18th century painter

Great Pueblo Revolt of 1680

Although there were no doubt earlier instances in which horses escaped or were abandoned and became feral, it was the Great Pueblo Revolt of 1680, in which thousands of horses were released from the mission ranches, that gave birth to the vast wild horse herds of the Great Plains, Great Basin, and western Mountain regions. Horses also spread out to the East, where they are nearly all gone now, and up into the Great Basin, where they thrived and continue to live today.

Horses came into California from Baja and Mexico, being brought along "El Camino Real" to the Spanish missions and upward into Northern California. Records indicate that Spanish Barb horses continued to be imported into California, Oregon, & Nevada in the mid and late 1880's, to be used as range breeding stock.

In the 1700's and 1800's, Horses also entered North America (and were absorbed into Native American breeding programs particularly in the Northwest) from the Northeast with the French-Canadian Mountain Men. These were of Northern European origin and were larger, heavier horses related to today's Canadien and Percheron breeds.

Click here to read FurTrapper.com's INDIAN HORSE HISTORY to read about the contribution of the Mountain Men and Native Americans to the North American Horse.

"Old" and Modern Spanish Horses:

"We will never know just exactly what horses were brought to the New World, but early records are of a wide variety of colors and markings. Some of the color names used to describe Cortez's horses are almost assuredly describing spotted horses as well as routine white marks. This is evidence that white marks and at least some body spotting patterns appear early in the Colonial Spanish era. These patterns, and white marks in general, therefore strike me as very consistent with an Iberian origin." D. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, PhD Since there was no photography in the 1500's and 1600's, we have to rely on artwork and written records to determine what horses looked like that the Spanish brought to America.

Today's Spanish breeds are descendants of the same "Old Spanish" stock that our mustangs are. However, they have changed over the years, just as modern mustangs have, through both natural and human selection and the introduction of new genes from outside stock.

SPANISH MARKERS

Interestingly, there are only a handful of genetic markers that unequivocally indicate ancient Iberian origins, and yet, these same markers are lacking in today's modern Iberian horses. Markers are just that - markers - of no known functional importance. The modern Iberian horses have lost these over the years as an accidental consequence of selective breeding for other traits.

Yet, again by chance, these markers survive in many American Mustangs. The Kiger, Sulphur Springs, Pryor Mountain, Lost Creek & Carter Reservoir herds are celebrated for this fact, but many other herds - such as California's Twin Peaks herd, also carry these Old Spanish markers. As more herds and horses are tested, we will no doubt find that more mustangs than previously believed descend from Old Spanish lineage.

2. Horses Developed by Native American horsemen:

These Ute horses look much like many mustangs of today: Ute horsemen riding horses acquired from the Spanish; Photo from Library of Congress	Benny the Mustang herding cows
Nez Perce Scout, photographed by Edward Curtis 1910	Horses on the range on a Crow Reservation, circa 1910
Native Horsemen at the Spokane River, c. 1910. Photograph by Edward Curtis	Edward Curtis, "Cayuse Woman with Horse" wearing holiday finest, 1910

The Native American "Indian Pony" breeds were developed by highly skilled Native American people. Those in the North used horses of both Spanish and French horse ancestry (including the Percheron and Canadien) to develop their animals, including the best-known Native breed, the Appaloosa. Native Horsemen in the more Southern regions had more access to pure Spanish horses, so their horses were smaller, quicker, and very athletic.

Plains Indians hunting buffalo on horses draped in buffalo skins Photo by William J. Carpenter

MEDICINE HAT PINTOS Plains Indian people considered the Medicine Hat pinto to have special powers. Indian horses were of every color and color pattern, but many groups did have a special preference for pintos. This fact probably figured in European-origin horsemen's prejudice AGAINST the pinto patterns (racism) - a prejudice that is now thankfully subsiding. The American Paint Horse Association has grown by leaps and bounds, and even the American Quarter Horse Association now accepts pinto patterns. Pinto-colored horses can even do dressage these days! Pinto patterned mustangs are much in demand, although they comprise only a small percentage of the overall mustang population.

THE Appaloosa

Lori McWhorter and her Warm Springs HMA Appaloosa Mustang, Justy	Northern California Appaloosa Mustang at an adoption
	Warm Springs, Oregon HMA mustangs for adoption (photo: Andi Harmon)

The Appaloosa, developed by the Nez Perce people, is the most well-known Native American-derived breed, but there were others. Click here to read about the Cayuse Indian Pony

From The Appaloosa Horse Club's breed history: Famous explorer Meriwether Lewis was very favorably impressed with the breeding accomplishments of the Nez Perce, as noted in his diary entry from February 15, 1806: "Their horses appear to be of an excellent race; they are lofty, eligantly [sic] formed, active and durable…some of these horses are pied with large spots of white irregularly scattered and intermixed with black, brown, bey [sic] or some other dark color. "

It is unknown how many of the Nez Perce’s horses were spotted, but a possible estimate is ten percent. Settlers coming into the area began to refer to these spotted horses as “A Palouse Horse”, as a reference to the Palouse River, which runs through Northern Idaho. Over time, the name evolved into “Palousey,” “Appalousey,” and finally “Appaloosa.”

In the mid-1800s, settlers flooded onto the Nez Perce reservation, and conflicts soon ensued. The Nez Perce War of 1877 resulted in their herds being dispersed. 

To READ MORE ABOUT THE APPALOOSA HISTORY from the Appaloosa Horse Club, and the Appaloosa Museum breed history, click the underlined links.

Other Origins of Appaloosa Mustangs:
 

The Granite Range in Northwestern Nevada has many Appaloosa-colored Mustangs. These are believed to have descended from a stalled circus train in the 1800's

Jerry Tindell with a client's Appaloosa Mustang from Nevada's Granite Range

3. PIONEER & MOUNTAIN MEN

Historical Re-Enactment of "Mountain Men" at 2006 Tournament of Roses "EquestFest"

It is unlikely that the pioneers had a great influence on mustang herds, but there may have been instances in which a rider succumbed to injury or the elements, and the horse ran off and joined the wild herds.

The "Mountain Men" were fur trappers - often French emigrants, who preferred the larger, "cooler-blooded" French-Norman horses such as the Percheron and Canadien. Northwest Coast native groups obtained these horses from Canadian traders, which they used to develop their Appaloosa horses and Cayuse Indian Ponies.

Library of Congress photo

4. Military Cavalry Re-Mount Programs: (American CAVALRY and for the European Market)

Click to see this wonderful old photo of a Cavalry Remount post in Southern California in its entirety, taken about 1917. Photo from the Library of Congress.

Click to read about The US Military - Cavalry Re-Mount Program

The quick, athletic, hardy mustangs were appreciated by military units in both the US and Europe. Their ready availability on the open range was also attractive. Local ranchers in Northern California, Nevada, and Oregon were sometimes able to contract with the US military or other buyers for European armies, and were able to make tidy profits selling these "remounts." (from STEENS MOUNTAIN by E.R. Jackman & John Scharff)

Often, Thoroughbred, Morgan, Draft, or Quarter Horse-type stallions were introduced into the wild herds to improve size, while maintaining (hopefully) the desirable characteristics. Of course, not all were rounded up, and those remaining are the ancestors of many of today's wild herds.

                                      
The Boer War used many imported American Mustangs,
who were rounded up and sold profitably by Great Basin ranchers.
Photo from Library of Congress

I have read that over 1 million American Mustangs were sent to European and African wars between the last years of the 19th Century and the end of the First World War, and none returned. This is a "contribution" that mustangs have made to the formation of the modern world, which ought to be acknowledged.

5. Ranch and Work Horses:

from a postcard sold at the Gene Autry Museum in Pasadena, photograph from The Library of Congress

Ranch Horses: Ranchers living on the open range allowed their breeding to stock to roam freely. They managed the selection of stallions and mares, and rounded up the offspring as needed for ranch work. Over time, many of these herds became truly feral.

  
Ranch in Elko, Nevada, photographed in 1915 by Rothstein

Many herd areas still produce horses who bear strong resemblance to their Thoroughbred, Standardbred, Hackney, Quarter Horse, or whatever other breed that was once bred by ranchers in the area.

 
Another photo from the Library of Congress, showing a typical cowboy
(approximately 1/4 of which were Black - did you know that?)
and a typical cow pony.

It was a two-way street: The traditional "Cow pony" with his "cowy" instincts is from mustang stock with strong Spanish lineage. The original Spanish imports were very "cowy" from generations of selective breeding in Spain, and they passed their instincts on to the horses who eventually populated the plains and Great Basin, and were the seed stock for ranching operations. Ranchers mixed their larger Thoroughbred or horses that would now be called Quarter Horses into the wild herds to reap the good instincts, quickness, and hardiness of the wild stock, while gaining improved size from the introduced stock. Some of these horses, in their turn, became wild. See http://www.oneskyranch.com/ponies.htm for more cow pony history.
 
Joseph Swasey horse herd at Reid Nielsen Pond
in the Sinbad area of Utah in the early 1900's

DRAFT HORSES joined wild horses for a variety of reasons:

• Sometimes they were abandoned due to economic failure or because they were replaced with a tractor

• Other times they were deliberately introduced to "dilute" or "improve" the wild herds, by adding size and cooling the natural temperament of the "hot" Spanish horses.

• During & after the subjugation of the American Indian, draft horses were deliberately released with the carefully developed Native herds, in order to further humiliate and destroy them.)

•  An often forgotten Draft type ancestor is the Canadien

SADDLE HORSES:

Saddle horses were the basic transportation unit up until the coming of the automobile. Smooth-riding gaited American saddle horses like the Tennessee Walker and Missouri Fox Trotter were the Corvettes and BMW's of the day. Just like the working ranch stock, "extras" roamed freely on the range, and many stayed there, becoming ancestors to today's wild horses.

It is no surprise that many American mustangs test genetically to bear a close resemblance to today's gaited North American saddle horses. And, it is not unusual to find a gaited mustang.
 

Tennessee Walkers ridden by The New Buffalo Soldiers, a Historical Re-Enactment & Preservation Group	American Saddlebred (one of the gaited North American saddle breeds, closely related to Tennessee Walkers) horses owned by Scripps Miramar	Missouri FoxTrotter
The Cleveland Bay: The Cleveland Bay horse is rare today, but in its time it was known for its solid build, sure-footedness, and for being an all around strong horse. There are many theories as to the origin of this breed, ranging from the Roman invasion of England to the Andalusian Stallions crossing with native mares of the North Yorkshire region. The first Cleveland Bay stallions were  imported to Maryland, Virginia and  Massachusetts in the early 1800's. Later  William Cody, America's Buffalo Bill, chose the Cleveland Bay for his Wild  West show. Western States utilized the stallions in their breeding of range horses, to help and improve the size and substance of Western range horses. - From Fairview Farm, Horses on Higher Ground and The Cleveland Bay Society of North America

CARRIAGE/BUGGY HORSES

Hambletonian
Many of today's wild herd areas have a history of "Hambletonian" carriage horses being raised in the area. "Hambletonian" is an old-time term for any gaited carriage horse; The name comes from a famous stud named Hambletonian, who was the father of today's Standardbred breed; The famed stallion Hambletonian was foaled May 5, 1849 on Jonas Seely's farm in Sugar Loaf, NY. Raised by William Rysdyk in Chester, NY to become the progenitor of the modern trotting horse. Died, 1876.
photo from Chester County History

The term "Hambletonian" was commonly used in earlier times to denote a pacing or trotting horse, for either saddle or harness use, such as the Standardbred.

 The "Hambletonian" was the "Cadillac" of carriage horses, prized by ranchers for the speed, endurance, and agility. Many wild horse herds descend in part from these.

Years before baseball, harness racing was America’s original national pastime. Harness racing officially began in 1806 when farmers would challenge each other to a "brush" on the road – a race for a short distance at top speed. After the race, these same horses would also then pull a plow or take the family to church on Sunday morning.
 - from Carnegie Center's Currier & Ives Exhibit

Harness racing became wildly popular in the 1800's, continuing into the 1900's, and many people in wild horse country raised and bred trotters and pacers. Many American mustang herds test genetically to bear a close resemblance to today's gaited pacers and trotters

For more about Standardbreds: www.imh.org/imh/ bw/standard.html
 

6. Ponies (only in a few areas):

Then as now, ponies served as children's mounts. They were also used in mining operations. Due to their small size, they could fit into smaller tunnels to bring back the ore. Only a few Herd Management Areas have known pony ancestors.

A son of pioneer settler Joseph Swasey riding his pony in the Sinbad, Utah area - early 1900's.

Central Asian pony-sized horse

Shetland pony used in mines

The Sheepshead HMA in Oregon has the Silver Dapples color gene, which is rare except in the pony breeds and Rocky Mountain Horses

The Pine Nut HMA in West-Central Nevada is thought by many to have Pony ancestors, some say Shetland. Regardless of whether or not they have Shetland in them, they are definitely a small, pony-sized herd of wild horses. They tend to be stouter than the Fox & Lake herd, resembling bay, black, brown and red Haflingers. Their color variations include Silver Dapples, which is most common in certain pony and gaited horse breeds.

since February 3, 2006