The direct ancestors of the Spanish Mustang, which became the ancestor of the wild horses of both, North, Central, and South America, were the horses that came with the Spaniards and Portuguese when they came to claim the land and conquer indigenous peoples. Horses were lost, escaped, or were stolen, and reverted to a wild status.

Once Indians began to actually ride horses, and then to breed them, the life style of nomadic tribes and their necessity of herding horses over vast tracts of land insured that many more horses found their way to freedom. When ownership of horses by a tribe numbered into the hundreds and white man’s diseases caused epidemics, many, many herds of the Spanish mustang were constantly on the rise.

From Mexico to Canada, wild herds formed and flourished. Once the rule of the Spaniards came to an end and they stopped bringing in more horses, and after the annexation of the Plains region by the United States in 1803, the Indian pony, as well as the mustangs, gradually became crossed with other breeds, and by the end of the century bore little resemblance to the horses of the Conquest.

"Mustang" derives from the Spanish "mesteños and is synonymous for "stray", or "wild"; mustangs are wild-living horses that stem from domestic horses which reverted to a wild state.

The type of mustang known as the Spanish mustang survived in some remote areas of the West, the two best herds being those of the Kiger mustangs in southeastern Oregon and the Sulphur Springs mustangs in western Utah.

Then there are mustang breed associations/registries that strive to preserve the Spanish-type mustang, the oldest of which is the Spanish Mustang Registry (SMR), and another is the Southwest Spanish Mustang Association (SSMA), which was founded a little later by the late Gilbert Jones. The Brislawns and Gilbert Jones at first worked together then disagreed over the tobiano issue, forcing Jones to found his own registry, which allows for tobiano-colored horses. Some breed registries that were formed for mustangs from certain BLM herds, like the Kiger Mesteño Association, the Sulphur Horse Registry, or the Pryor Mountain Mustang Breeders Associaton, originally also meant to preserve the Spanish mustang, but some of their breeders now pursue more the idea of a "designer-type" mustang, irrespective of Spanish/Iberian characteristics.

In 1920, Robert Brislawn of Wyoming, and his brother Ferdinand of Utah, began the long effort that would lead to the SMR in 1957. They strove hard to search and capture animals from wild bands that appeared to carry untainted characteristics of the lost Spanish breed, and also selected some from Indian tribes. Foundation stock was obtained by the two brothers from wild horse bands ranging in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Montana, Utah, and from ponies found on a few Indian reservations. The Brislawn brothers were trying to establish the purest line they could. The goal was to find horses that corresponded in disposition, conformation and size to the characteristics of the horses first found in the West by American frontiersmen in the 19th century. Since both brothers were born when the West was still fairly young, they relied on their personal knowledge of the mustang they had known, rather than personal experience with true Spanish horses.

The Brislawns were assessing the assumed status of their horses by checking the number of lumbar vertebrae of dead animals, as they believed the Spanish horse had to have only five, not six as in most horses, a misconception that some breeders still cling to. This misconception may have originated by another myth, namely, that the Spanish mustang had Arabian origins.

The Brislawns were not trying to create a breed, but to restore one. To prevent inbreeding, they had to return as needed to the inclusion of new animals from wild herds. The difference in the effort being made by the American Mustang Association compared to that of the SMR, or the SSMA, is that the American Mustang Association tries to improve on the captured feral horses through a breeding program, whereas the efforts of the Spanish Mustang Registry is solely toward restoration and preservation.

In order to preserve the true Spanish mustang, one has to have knowledge of the true Spanish horse, something that few of today's breeders of mustangs seem to have a clear idea of. What constitutes the Spanish or Iberian type?

A misconception that stubbornly prevails especially in mustang circles is that of a so-called "Spanish Barb". The term "Spanish Barb" implies that there were a breed by that name, and there never was. The term is most likely an Anglo-American invention, as the result of another myth, namely, that the Moors had brought into Iberia their Barb horses. Yet another myth has it even that Arabians had been brought into Iberia.

A Spanish mustang stands about 14 hands to 14,3 hands, with a balanced weight per height. One might consider its chest narrow, as when seen from the front, the front legs may join the chest in the shape of an “A”, but the chest is very deep. The mustangs feet are thick-walled and thick-soled, and many don't need shoes for ordinary riding. Their soundness and vitality is marvelous, and they hardly ever need veterinary care. They are tough and have great stamina, and are certainly less apt to break down than other breeds.

These versatile horses are different than many other horse breeds. They bond to their owners, like all horses, and very often become very attached to that person, but they will not tolerate abuse and are never what is called a “push button” horse. Spanish Mustangs retained their instincts that allowed them to survive in the wild and are not apt to place themselves in a situation that may be dangerous. They are highly intelligent with a built-in instinct for safety and independence, if needed.

Mustangs are part of the American heritage, but the fact that the original Spanish mustangs were altered by released Remount stallions, and by stray horses of all kinds, and horses left by ranchers and farmers that got broke and gave up to fend for themselves, is part of that history as well... It is fascinating that in spite of all that, Spanish-type mustangs survived in some remote parts of the West. At the same time, it is frustrating that so few people recognize them for what they are and try to preserve them. There are some great Iberian-type horses out there!

 

(Excerpts taken from HorseShowCentral.com)