Spanish Mustang Breed Type

Before going further lets just get our terms straight.In the 1870’s there was estimated to be around
The following are from the Webster’s Collegiatetwo million Spanish Mustangs in the West. As America
Dictionary:moved into the late 1800’s and the cattleman and
Conformation: The proportional shape or contour of anthe farmer began fencing the West the Spanish
animal.Mustangs began being slaughtered, like the buffalo, to
Breed: A group of animals related by descent fromstop their competition for grass. J. Frank Dobie in his
common ancestors and visibly similar in mostbook “The Mustangs”, written in 1934 says
characteristics.“Well, the wild ones - the coyote duns, the blues,
To often both PHD’s and horse lovers do not usethe blue roans, the snip-nosed pintos, the flea-bitten
the above words correctly when describing a group ofgreys and the black-skinned whites, the shining blacks
horses. This is especially true of the Spanish Mustangand the rusty browns, the red roans, the tossed sorrels
of North America. Most breeders talk of theand the stockinged bays, the splotched appaloosas
conformation of the horse as showing breed but it isand the cream colored palaminos, and all the others in
the breed traits of the horse that defines it breed; thatshadings and colors as various as the hues that show
is the unusual characteristics which clearly show theand fade on the clouds at sunset - they are all gone
similarity of a group of horses falling into that breed.now, gone as completely as the grass they
Conformation outlines the contour or shape of thevivified.”
horses that shows wether a horse is sound or not andDobie did not know about Gilbert Jones, Bob Brislawn,
can be used to judge many different breeds of horsesMonty Holbrook who also lived in the late 1800’s.
for the same conformation traits.These men saw the Spanish Mustangs and realized
As a Spanish Mustang owner I know every time I tellthat they were a dying breed. They started to save
someone about my horses they say”..I love thosethem and breed them. It is from this group of horses
mustangs I saw on the Discovery Channel” , theythat the Spanish Mustangs of today have survived.
think those are my horses because I used the wordThe wild Mustangs of today are not the survivors
mustang. But, Mustang is not a breed type it is afrom the Spanish Mustang herds but mostly mixed
corruption of the Spanish word mesteno which meansbreeds of horses that have been lost by ranchers
lost or unowned. So what is a Spanish Mustang?through the 1900’s and horses abandon by horse
The Spanish horse was brought to America byowners who no longer could care for their horses.
Columbus, to the Carribean Islands, and by theSince the West is the land of the horse they have
Conquistadors to Mexico, Southern North America andprospered and make up the herds of feral horses that
South America. These were the first horses broughtpopulate the BLM lands and exist at other sanctuaries.
to America. As they populated the Southwest andYou will not see all the colors that were described
Mexico some were lost or stolen by the Indians andabove in the quote from J. Frank Dobie and you will
became unowned. The Americas, especially the opennot find all the breed characteristics mentioned above
plains of the west were the perfect breeding groundthat define a Spanish Mustang breed type. There are
for the horse and they prospered. Their characteristicsonly a little more than 1,800 Spanish Mustangs in the
were small stature (not more than 13.2-14.2 hands high),United States presently, it is this breed of horses that
smooth muscling, low set tail, convex face (from poll ofneeds to be saved and preserved as part of our
the head to the tip of their nose), deep base of theAmerican Western History.
neck, sparse hair on the fetlocks, Chestnuts are smallI know there are many people who want to disagree
and flat and smooth and sometimes on the hindlegswith this but I have found that they do not use facts or
they are not present. When standing the front legs arehistorical records to back up their claim. The Spanish
slightly under the horse as if they are leaning forward,Conquistadors keep excellent records during their
and the hindlegs will be up under the horse a little; thatperiod of conquest. Their is no disputing which horses
way the horse is ready to move and go at an instant.were in Western North America during the 1500’s
Higher at the withers than at the hindquarters. Spanishto the 1800’s. There are many documented
Mustangs are agile and surefooted and smooth gaited.accounts of the Mustangers and the Spanish Horses
Their action is fairly high. These characteristics definedthey destroyed. The drawing of Will James and the
their breed as Spanish and were recognizable by anypaintings of Remington to name a few show accurate
knowledgeable horse man of the period. For the entirevisual documentation of the breed type. I myself have
time they ruled the west the were not tainted by anyfound photos of the Northern Plains Indian (now some
other breed of horses. They were the horse of the200 years ago) with horses that look identical to my
Indian, cowboy, conquistador and traveler of the west.own.