Mustang

The Mustang is a feral horse that comes from the North American west. A descendent of horses that came to the Americas with Spanish people, it is considered a historic symbol in the US. Some Mustangs today contain more genetic traces to Iberian horses, which have Arabian, Andalusian, and Barb ancestry, than others do. Those that are very similar to Iberian stock are the ones that live in very remote and isolated areas. When they arrived to the new land by way of Mexico and Florida, Native Americans quickly domesticated these horses and used them for transportation purposes. The Native American tribes were very particular about the horses they bred. Some tribes practiced selective breeding, in order to produce the most able animals. At some point in the past, Mustangs were captured and sold for military use or killed for their meat. Thus, the Bureau of Land Management protects the Mustang today. In some horses today, there is proof that other domesticated breeds have intermixed with the feral ones. Some show signs of Thoroughbred and other light sport horse influences. Others show signs of heavy draft horses. There is a lot of controversy around the Mustang population today. Some people think that they should be removed from the area, because they compete for food against other livestock.