America's Heritage: THE WILD MUSTANG

They have evolved here. They belong here. The mustang is a link to our history.

The mustang is a wild free-roaming horse that descended from horses brought to America by the Spanish. The wild horses were released from the mission ranchers during The Great Pueblo Revolt of 1680 (Kerson). Through reproduction the wild horse herds expanded from the Great Plains, Great Basins, western mountains and out to the East. During the 1880's they were used as range breeding stock.

Some horses escaped and were seized by Native Americans, who used them for transportation, battles, trades, and were a crucial tool in hunts, especially bison.

Ranchers took part in mustang use too. It was also common for ranchers to crossbreed their horses by releasing them into the wild during winter and recapturing during the Spring (Kerson). This was an attempt to improve the pedigree. Ranchers would use mustangs to roundup and capture herds of cattle. Prior to the roundup these “wild” horses would be tamed by a process called “horse breaking”. Once tamed the horses would be reliable and useful for a wide variety of jobs (Kerson).

These fast, athletic, strong, horses were highly regarded by the military because of their accessibility on the open range. Hundreds were used as U.S. Army Calvary mounts while fighting the Indians (Kerson).

There were once over 2 million wild mustangs that roamed the North American land but due to a variety of factors including death at the hands of ranchers, processing plants (for chicken feed and pet food), pollution and poisoning of their water holes to the industrial development that took over a lot of the grazing land and led to their diminishing (Wild Hearts). There are less than 27,000 that remain (Wild Hearts).

The wild mustang admired by young an old for their intelligence, attractiveness and resilience. They have survived for centuries and have been an essential part of our history and culture. We ought to acknowledge their contribution to the formation of America. We need to preserve and protect those that remain. Let's not leave a legacy of vacancy where mustangs once roamed like bison.

“In my dreams thundering across the plains, race immense herds of mustangs, running like the wind-free in every sense of the word in all their glory. “In riding a horse, we borrow freedom.”

–Helen Thompson.

Below are some links to more information on preserving wild mustangs. Donate, Adopt, Take part!

http://wildhorses.com/

http://www.savingamericasmustangs.org/

http://www.wildheartshorsefund.org/home.html

                                                                     Works cited

     Kerson, Nancy. "History & Horses That Have Shaped The American Mustang." Mustangs 4 Us. Nancy Kerson, 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. <http://www.mustangs4us.com/HISTORY1.htm>.

     Library of Congress. Native%20horsman, History-Range, History-Cowboy&Horse. N.d. Mustangs 4 Us. America's Mustang Foundation, 2011. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.  <http://www.mustangs4us.com/HISTORY1.htm>.    
     Thompson, Helen. "Saving America's Mustangs." Saving America's Mustangs. Saving
America's Mustangs Foundation, 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. <http://www.savingamericasmustangs.org/news_and_events/article/ awaken_your_spirit/>.

      Mustang's Running, Wild Mustangs. N.d. Google. Google, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.
<https://www.google.com/search?q=wild+mustang>.   
     "Wild Hearts Horse Fund." Wild Hearts Horse Fund. Wild Hearts Horse Fund, 2006.
Web. 21 Nov. 2011. http://www.wildheartshorsefund.org/home.html.