Spanish Mustangs are among the few horses which were part of history. They are often called the colonial Spanish horse and descended from the horses that had been introduced from Spain during the initial conquest of North and South America. They are almost extinct in Spain today. The Spanish Mustangs have been thoroughly domesticated today and are often confused with the American Mustang.

The American Mustang descended from Spanish and feral horses. Feral horses are the horses that escaped from certain protected habitats in western United States and began living in the wild. During the late nineteenth century, the introduction of thoroughbreds and Arabians took place by Morgans.

The horses that gave rise to the Spanish Mustang were the horses introduced into the Caribbean from the Iberian Peninsula in the initial three decades of the new world conquest. For that reason, these horses are the direct descendants of the Spanish horses that comes from Hispaniola, Cuba and other neighboring islands. This happened during the Spanish colonization of New Spain, which we call Mexico today.

They should not be confused with the horses widespread in Spain during its Golden Age because that breed is nearing extinction in Spain and is not bred or preserved. From the 16th century onwards Mexico was conquered and the horses moved north by crossing the Rio Grande. The following century saw these horses being stolen and sold by the Native Indians tribes from this region to the tribes living in the Rocky Mountains and also the Great Plains.

Since people considered the horse as being too small for farming, they sought means of replacing it with heavier and lager horses. They introduced several breeds to act as crossbreeds that produced horses which were stronger and heavier.

They did this by introducing the Morgans and thoroughbreds into the wild horses. Two brothers founded the Spanish Mustang Registry Inc. in 1959 for the reason of preserving the population of the Spanish Mustang that remained.

Using two full brothers as the foundation stallions and genuine mares they started crossbreeding. However one of the horses actually escaped with its mares in 1944 and was never captured again. The Spanish Mustang can be used in various fields. It is a very versatile breed and can be used for Polo, showing, driving, jumping or possibly dressage.

You can find specific kinds of Spanish Mustangs that people utilize in ranches or in performances as stock horses. A number of these horses were cavalry mounts for the U.S. Army while they fought against the Apache Indians. The horses proved their effectiveness in battle for they served well in terrain that was barren.

You will find Spanish Mustangs in a solid range of colors including brown, bay, black and chestnut along with the unique colors of grullo, buckskin and cremello. They are beautiful horses that have these colors at the base and have white hair or patches on top. All these create different colors like pure white, gray, paint, along with the dark spots which are similar to those of the Appaloosa breed.

Spanish greyhound dogs are known as galgos in Spanish. To read more about the rich variety of Spanish animals follow the hyperlink.

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