Mustangs

Arabian horses

3 mustangs

Perhaps no horse personifies the American west quite the way mustangs do. From the earliest days of the North American continent, wild mustangs have graced the wild plains of the Western United States, and even today it is possible to catch sight of a wild mustang or two grazing among the cattle and sheep on the open range.

The horses we know as American mustangs are also often called Spanish mustangs, as a result of the Spanish blood coursing through their veins. It was the Spanish that first introduced the wild mustang to the Americas, as they brought their horses with them on their journey to the new world. Of course some of these Spanish horses escaped their owners, or were turned free when there was no hay or grain to feed them. These escaped horses were captured by Native Americans.

The original Spanish mustang crossbred with native species to create the wild mustangs we know and love today. Even though they are not nearly as common as they were a century ago, the wild mustang continues to be a living symbol of a time gone by. In 1900 there were around a million feral mustangs in the US, today around 50,000 (most of them live in Nevada).

For those who want to own a piece of this American history, it is possible to buy a mustang of your own. Anyone who has the facilities available to house a horse, and the experience to work with a breed as challenging as the wild mustang, is welcome to buy one at one of the many auctions held across the country. The Bureau of Land Management regularly rounds up excess mustangs and auctions them to those willing to train them and give them a good home.