Spanish Mustang

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Natural Spanish movement and Iberian profile are both evident in this beautiful Spanish Mustang. Jane K. Greenwood

Spanish Mustang Registry, Inc.

323 County Road 419

Chilton, Texas 76632

www.spanishmustang.org

Spanish Mustangs are a living part of American history, descending from horses brought to North America around five hundred years ago. They are direct descendants of the first horses brought by early Spanish conquistadors. These Spanish wonders were considered the finest horses in the known world at the time of the conquest of the New World. They left a legacy in their tough, beautiful, hardy descendants that endure to this day—the Spanish Mustang.

Spanish Mustangs have often been confused with the feral horses currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), but there is a vast difference in both appearance and ancestry. Spanish Mustangs carry in their veins the blood of warhorses ridden by men who explored and conquered a new land, forever changing the history of the Americas.

History

As ordered from the Spanish throne, Columbus brought the first Spanish horses to the New World on his second voyage. Thereafter, each succeeding ship carried choice Spanish stock, and breeding farms were set up in the Caribbean and then in Mexico. Breeding farms such as the one operated by Father Eusebio Kino, a Jesuit priest in Sonora, Mexico, placed their horses with each group of converted Christian Indians, as Kino and others expanded their efforts farther and farther north.

The Apaches ravaged and pillaged these little visitas, taking stock at will. They also plundered deep into Mexico, allegedly as far as Mexico City. Their goal was often to acquire well-bred and trained Spanish horses from the Mexican estancias. By trading these valuable horses northward to other tribes, the Apaches became the primary promoters of spreading Spanish horses throughout the West.

Over the years, horses escaped or were lost or stolen, and many became feral, roaming all over the West. Eventually, they numbered in the hundreds of thousands. They were closely related to—and indeed, basically the same breed as—the horses maintained by some of the Native American tribes. They spread across the plains, changing the lives of Native Americans and playing an important role as mounts for trappers, cowboys, pony express riders, homesteaders, and all those who settled the West.

Thousands of Spanish Mustangs were used as cow horses and for ranch work. When fighting Indians were riding Spanish Mustangs, the U.S. Cavalry opted to “fight fire with fire” and adopted hundreds of Spanish Mustangs. This was a necessary tactic, as the American-bred horses of the cavalry were no match for the Spanish-descended war ponies in the inhospitable and barren mountains and plains of the West.

Founding of a Breed

Spanish Mustangs lived on western plains until the early part of the twentieth century, when they came to the brink of extinction. Their salvation can be attributed primarily to Bob Brislawn of Oshoto, Wyoming. Born in the Palouse country in 1890, he made his own way at an early age, working on ranches, mining, or freighting. During his years in the West, his horses of choice were mustangs of Spanish descent. His respect for them was enormous, as they thrived on forage that could not support other breeds and never seemed to tire. He never hobbled or tied his Spanish Mustangs in camp because they stayed with him, much like pet dogs. He was impressed with their speed, agility, and, above all, their will to survive.

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This striking roan stallion has a medicine hat spotting pattern, which was highly valued to the American Indians. Many Ponies

As Brislawn roamed the West, he realized the authentic Spanish Mustang was being methodically exterminated. Thus, he commenced his search for horses of essentially pure Spanish blood, desiring to preserve those few remaining. Vast herds of mustangs still roamed the land, but in only a few of the most isolated herds could he find pure Spanish horses descended from the horses of the conquistadors. Brislawn dedicated his life to finding and preserving these last few remnants of the true Spanish Mustang.

He started his preservation project in 1925 and acquired two full brothers, Buckshot and Ute, which became his first foundation stallions. They were sired by a buckskin stallion named Monty, which was captured later in Utah in 1927, and out of a dam from the Ute Indian reservation. Brislawn’s founding stock was chosen originally by type as well as history, as it had no known infusion of other breeds. He kept this stock on his ranch, breeding and culling out those offspring that did not throw “true.” It took him from about 1925 until 1957 before he felt he had true Spanish Mustang representatives.

Brislawn bred his few mares for years with the assistance of his brother, Ferdinand, and was unaware that others shared his dream of preserving this unique, rare breed. The work spread, and in 1957 (long before the advent of the BLM Adopt-A-Horse program), a group headed up by Bob Brislawn incorporated the Spanish Mustang Registry (SMR), which became the first and oldest mustang registry in the country.

The first horses in the registry were from Native American tribes or ranches that could prove only pure Spanish horses had been bred there. Twenty animals were initially registered at that time.

As a registry, the SMR is now more than fifty years old, but the foundation stock started much longer ago than that. Today, with more than 3,700 registrations, Brislawn’s goal is closer to being realized.

In Competition

The modern Spanish Mustang has lost none of the traits found in the Great Plains horses of yesteryear. Today’s Spanish Mustangs retain their ancestors’ stamina and ability to travel long distances without undue stress. Although conditioning is necessary for the longer rides, practically any range-raised Spanish Mustang can complete in a sanctioned novice ride of twenty-five miles in less than five hours with no undue stress.

Emmett Brislawn, son of the founder of the SMR, entered his sixteen-year-old stallion Yellow Fox (SMR 3) in the Bitterroot ride in 1966. Coming out of retirement, in which he had spent his days on the Cayuse Ranch with his herd of mares, this Cheyenne-bred buckskin stallion won championships for Heavyweight, All-Around Horse, and Best Out-of-State Horse, carrying more than two hundred pounds. This is not at all unusual when considering that Yellow Fox had been trained in his younger years to run down wild horses. They say that when he ran for the finish line, the old horse would throw up his head, still looking for the wild horses.

In 1989, Kim Kingsley, riding Chief Yellow Fox, a grandson of Yellow Fox, was awarded the coveted Jim Jones Award in the sanctioned American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC). Kingsley rode Chief Yellow Fox for 1,550 miles in one season, all in 50- or 100-mile rides and carried approximately 250 pounds the entire season. Chief Half Moon, another stallion owned by Kingsley, was second nationally with 1,250 endurance miles.

Martha Gresham of Auburn, Alabama, riding Cholla Bay, accumulated one thousand miles a year in AERC-sanctioned endurance rides for three consecutive years.

Steve Huffman of Mississippi, riding his Brislawn-bred gelding, Dutch Pete, has done extremely well in endurance rides. In the one-hundred-mile 1990 Tallahala Marathon, the team of Huffman and Dutch Pete tied with two Arabians with a time of 13 hours, 45 minutes—7 hours faster than the next two competitors, which were Arabians.

Huffman and Dutch Pete also qualified and rode in the National Championship Endurance Race series in 1991, earning seventh place nationally. They won the first of the three required races and took the red ribbon in the second race by completing the one hundred miles in just over ten hours. Holding first place in the nation going into the third and final race, all was going well until a runaway horse crashed into Dutch Pete, injuring his shoulder and forcing him from the race. Regardless of the fact that only two of the three races were completed, Huffman and Dutch Pete still placed in the top ten horse-rider teams in the nation, winning over teams that had completed all three races!

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These Spanish Mustangs have straight head profiles and their muscle coupling is smooth. Many in the breed are gaited. Jane K. Greenwood

More recently, Don Funk on his Spanish Mustang stallion, Geronimo’s Warrior (SMR 2006), won first place in the National Mileage Championship in 2000 with 2,240 miles, and again in 2001 with 2,075 miles. They were top in the nation from 2000 through 2003 in mileage overall. Additionally, this team won the Jim Jones stallion award (stallion ridden with the most miles completed during the ride season) in 2000 through 2004. Winning first place in the Heavyweight division for the Midwest Region in both 2000 and 2001, they also took second place in the Heavyweight division for the Easyboot Award (completing fifty miles per day for a minimum of three consecutive days).

Characteristics

The Spanish Mustang is a medium-sized horse, ranging from 13.2 to 15 hands, with an average size of approximately 14.2 hands and with proportional weight. It is smooth muscled with a short back, rounded rump, and low-set tail. Its coupling is smooth and the overall appearance is of a well-balanced, smoothly built horse. The girth is deep, with well-laid-back shoulders and fairly pronounced withers.

The horse possesses the classic Spanish-type head with a straight or concave forehead and a convex nose, contrasting to the straight forehead and nose of most breeds. Ears are medium to short and usually notched or curved toward each other. The neck is well crested in mares and geldings, and heavily crested in mature stallions.

The chest is narrow but deep, with the front legs joining the chest in an “A” shape rather than straight across. Chestnuts are small or missing altogether, particularly on the rear legs. Feet are extremely sound with thick walls. Many Spanish Mustangs have what is typically known as a mule foot, which resists bruising due to the concave sole. Upper forelegs are long and cannons are short, with the cannon bones having a larger circumference than other breeds of comparable size and weight.

Characteristically having a long stride, many are gaited with a comfortable four-beat gait, such as the amble, running walk, or single foot. Some individuals are laterally gaited and do a credible paso gait, though without extreme knee action.

They are hardy animals and tend to be less prone to injury, particularly of the legs and feet, than other breeds. They have a different mentality than domesticated horses. They are not “push-button” horses and will not abide abuse. However, they bond well with their owners and, once bonded, become attached to that person.

Highly intelligent with an innate sense of self-preservation, they are not prone to putting themselves into any situation that may be dangerous. Compared to other domesticated breeds, they retain a great many of the instincts that helped them survive in the feral state.

Colors are extremely varied. Coat inheritance from early Spanish horses transmitted many colors and patterns, including dun, grullo, buckskin, appaloosa, overo, and sabino paint, as well as the more common colors of bay, chestnut, black, and white.

Some Spanish Mustangs have the rare and unique medicine hat spotting pattern, which is mostly white with color down the dorsal area, on the ears, and on top of the head that resembles a bonnet, and markings on the chest resembling a shield. Horses with the medicine hat pattern were prized in Native American culture, as the chest shield was believed to protect the “sacred” horses with that pattern. Medicine hat horses were used as ceremonial animals, buffalo runners, and warhorses. The spotted war bonnet is another similar pattern on a horse, as it is one step further in the removal of pigment than the medicine hat pattern. Horses with the spotted war bonnet pattern have only the “bonnet” and very little color, if any, on other areas of their body. All spots in both the medicine hat and war bonnet are roan—white hairs mixed with the predominant color.

Strengths: Environmental conditions must have certainly had a role in the development of these horses over the many generations in a feral state. Wild Spanish Mustangs developed in response to their environment, with nature culling out those less suited to the locale. Although the Spanish horse was not a feral animal when it arrived on American soil, once turned loose it managed not only to survive, but also to thrive in the New World, which attests to the versatility and strength of the breed. Genetic imperfections, if any, were culled by the most critical judge of all—Nature.

The end result is an extremely hardy and sturdy Spanish-type horse exhibiting the aptitude to perform—and perform well—in almost any equine field. The staying power and endurance of these Spanish Mustang descendants is legendary. They are demonstrating to the world the attributes they have inherited from their Spanish progenitors, as well as traits developed through centuries of the cruelest and most selective of breeding programs—that only the strongest survive in the wild.

Frank Hopkins, the renowned endurance rider in the latter part of the last century and a rider of Spanish Mustangs, is quoted as saying “You can’t beat mustang intelligence in the entire equine race. These animals have had to shift for themselves for generations. They had to work out their own destiny or be destroyed. Those that survived were animals of superior intelligence.” The legend of Frank Hopkins’ historic three-thousand-mile ride on his Spanish Mustang stallion across the Arabian Desert in 1890 was the basis for the Disney movie Hidalgo.

Temperament: Spanish Mustangs are exceptionally different than other breeds in more than just physical appearance. They are intelligent and bold, even when strangers to new circumstances. Some, when ridden for the first time on the trail, have been known to lead others and then be used for work on trails the next day.

They are one of the strongest and most intelligent breeds, not “hot” like other high-strung horses can be. They can come up to whatever action level they need to be amazingly fast, yet as fast as they come up to a higher level, their energy can go down. They are horses that do not waste energy: when they need it, it is there; when they do not, it is conserved. Perhaps this is one reason why they can go and go and go. Their endurance has astounded riders of other breeds. They can work six days a week in a stockyard herding cattle, or ride day after day in steep mountain terrain carrying a two-hundred-pound rider, and not lose condition or attitude.

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Spanish Mustangs have well-crested necks and come in various colors. This one has some Appaloosa characteristics. Free Spirit Spanish Mustangs

That attitude is another reason why they stand apart from other breeds. Once they bond with someone, they will do just about anything asked of them and do everything they can to keep that person safe. There are instances of Spanish Mustangs standing their ground and attacking dogs, and even a bear, to keep their owners from harm. These horses do not always choose flight in the typical equine “fight or flight” response. More than one professional trainer has learned this after being chased from a round pen for putting too much pressure on a Spanish Mustang, or not adjusting the training methods to the horse’s superior intelligence level. These horses cannot be bullied with training. Creating a bond with them works the best and makes them a partner for life, proving them to be “All the horse you’ll ever need—and then some!”

The Spanish Mustang is a “using horse” and is versatile and well equipped to compete in various fields. Though eager to acquaint the public with this fine breed, the primary aim of SMR is to ensure the retention of the qualities that allowed this distinctive horse to survive under adverse conditions over the centuries. It is with a great deal of pride that the breeders and owners of Spanish Mustangs can honestly state that the preservation of their horse has been accomplished without compromising the historical value or uniqueness of the breed.

Spanish Mustangs are now as they have always been, and the principal registry tenet is that there will be no attempt to crossbreed or otherwise change these magnificent animals. With the trend toward conforming breeds to satisfy various show standards, this rare breed is among the few that has not lost many of its characteristics due to more popular whims.

Now that its preservation has been ensured, the current focus is on the promotion of this special breed—one that changed the face of a continent.

Credit: Spanish Mustang Registry

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