mustangs

mustangs

The mustangs (English Mustang) are feral horses in America. The appointment "Mustang" is derived from an old Spanish word meaning "ownerless; wild." The mustangs are direct descendants of horses brought to America by Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century. That is why other European settlers, later the Spanish settlers found tribes riding horses because there were no horses in America at the time it was discovered by the Spanish.

The appointment Mustangs derives from an old Spanish word meaning "ownerless; wild."

The vast plains of the United States and the absence of natural predators contributed to its rapid expansion. Indeed, a herd of mustangs can double in size every five years.

They were highly appreciated by the natives and pioneers for being endowed with great endurance and strength, product of a huge muscle development.

In the early twentieth century, mustangs reached 2 million head. It has become a problem for farmers because it competed with their cattle for grazing. Thus began his hunt, and their number was reduced gradually until it reached only about 320,000 animals in the late 1960. Given the rapid decline in the number of animals, in 1971 the US Congress, a law was passed which declared the mustang as a protected species.

The Mustangs today

Today, the wild horses are protected under US law, but disappeared from many states where there were people. The few hundred wild horses survive in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. The BLM considers 27,000 animals a possible number, but the wild mustangs now exceed 33,000. Another 30,000 horses are in holding on not wild.

genetics

Historically, many of the Indian tribes bred their horses carefully to improve them for their purposes. Among the most able people horse breeders in North America were the Comanche, the shoshonis and Nez Perce. The latter in particular became master in horse breeding, and developed one of the first truly American breeds: the appaloosa. Most other tribes did not practice selective breeding on a large scale, but seek to obtain desirable horses through the capture, trade and theft, and quickly exchanged or eliminated horses without these desirable characteristics. In some herds of mustangs modern there is clear evidence of the mixture of other breeds of domesticated horses with feral herds. Some herds show signs of introduction of thoroughbred or other light racehorse types in herds, a process which led also, in part, to the creation of the American Quarter Horse. Other herds have crossing signals with pack horses as heavy horses loose draft in an attempt to create work horse races. Other, more isolated herds, maintain a strong influence of the original Spanish race. Some domestic horse breeders consider the Mustang of western herds as inbred and of inferior quality. However, supporters of the Mustang argue that animals are only small due to their harsh living conditions and that natural selection has destroyed many features that lead to weakness or inferiority.

note : I'll post some breeds of horses that I like.