Mustang

The Mustang roams free across the western United States. Its name traces back to the Spanish word mesteno, meaning a stray or feral animal. These horses descend from stock brought to the Americas by Spanish colonists, and over the centuries they spread across the open range, toughening up to cope with dry, unforgiving country.

The Mustang is not a breed in the closed-studbook sense familiar to owners of, say, a Boerperd or a Nooitgedacht pony. It is a population moulded by its environment, its bloodlines a mix of Spanish stock, ranch horses and old cavalry remounts. Generations on the range have produced a compact, tough animal that costs little to keep. Federal agencies in the US manage most of the surviving feral herds today, and adopted Mustangs go on to work as trail, ranch and endurance horses, a discipline well known to South African riders through events run under SAEF endurance rules.

A typical Mustang stands between 14 and 15 hands, with hard, dense hooves that often need little in the way of shoeing. Its temperament runs toward independence and caution, the legacy of generations that had to read the veld, or its American equivalent, to survive.

Who the Mustang suits

A Mustang suits an owner with time, patience and a fair amount of horse sense already banked. Animals taken straight off the range need careful, unhurried gentling before they will accept handling of any kind. Once settled, though, a Mustang makes a sound, low-maintenance partner for trail riding, farm work and long-distance riding. Newcomers to horse ownership are generally better off with a Mustang that has already been started under saddle.

The Mustang's story begins with horses the Spanish shipped to the Americas from the early 1500s onward. Some escaped, some were traded away, lost or captured, and free-roaming herds took shape across the southern plains and the Southwest.

Native peoples of the plains took up the horse through the 1600s and 1700s, and horse culture spread north and west from there. Herds swelled as escaped and released animals joined the wild population, later drawing in ranch horses and cavalry stock. By the 1800s, sizeable numbers of free-roaming horses covered the western United States.

Numbers dropped sharply from the late 1800s into the 1900s. Horses were rounded up for slaughter, for sale, and simply to clear grazing land for cattle and sheep. Public unease over these practices built through the middle of the twentieth century, not unlike the conservation debates South Africans will recognise from the country's own wildlife management history.

In 1971 the United States passed the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, placing free-roaming Mustangs on designated public land under federal protection and management. The Bureau of Land Management now oversees many of these herds, using gathers and an adoption scheme to keep herd numbers in balance with the range.

The Mustang is compact and well-muscled, built for endurance rather than sheer size. It carries a solid chest and hindquarters, a short back, and clean, strong legs. The hooves are typically hard and dense, an adaptation to rocky, dry ground, and many Mustangs are ridden barefoot without issue.

Because the population is not bred to a single closed standard, conformation differs from herd to herd. Horses from different ranges vary in head shape, height and colour, a reflection of the mixed Spanish and domestic stock behind them.

Coat and colours

Mustangs turn up in almost every horse colour going. Bay, dun, black and chestnut are common, and patterns such as pinto and roan crop up regularly. Dun and grullo coats, with a dark dorsal stripe and sometimes barring on the legs, point to the Spanish ancestry running through many herds. The coat stays short in warm months and thickens up for winter out on the open range.

Mustangs are independent and alert by nature. Generations spent on the range have sharpened their awareness of any change nearby, and left them wary of anything unfamiliar. A horse born free reads people much as it once read the land, so trust has to be earned over time rather than handed over on day one.

Once a Mustang accepts a handler, it tends to settle into a loyal, steady partner. Many adopters report a strong bond forming, and a horse that turns out calm and willing under saddle. Around other horses, Mustangs are sociable and slot into herd life without fuss, since living in a herd is simply their natural state.

With strangers, a Mustang usually stays watchful until it has sized the person up. A confident, consistent approach from the handler helps the horse relax. These are not animals that respond well to being rushed or handled roughly.

Grooming

• Brush regularly to clear dirt and check the skin and coat
• Pick out the hooves daily and watch for stones or cracks
• Book farrier checks every 6 to 8 weeks, even for a barefoot horse
• Keep the mane and tail free of tangles and burrs
• Step up grooming during the seasonal shed

Exercise

• Provide daily turnout in a paddock or camp
• Ride or work the horse several times a week to keep it fit
• Mix trail, arena and groundwork to vary the routine
• Give it room to move, since Mustangs are used to covering real ground

Environment

Mustangs cope with a wide range of weather and need less cosseting than many breeds. They still need clean water, a dry spot to stand, and shelter from wind, harsh sun and storms. A camp with a run-in shed suits them well. Fencing should be safe and secure, particularly for a recently gentled horse still inclined to test its boundaries.

Mustangs evolved on thin range forage and hold condition on less feed than most domestic breeds. The diet should be built around good grass and hay, fed in amounts matched to the horse's size, age and workload. Constant access to clean water and a salt or mineral source rounds out the basics.

Because Mustangs hold weight so easily, owners need to watch for over-feeding. Too much grain or rich pasture can lead to obesity and to laminitis, a painful hoof condition. Many Mustangs in light work need little or no concentrate at all.

Treats and supplements

Most Mustangs on decent forage need very little extra. A salt block and a balanced mineral supplement cover the common gaps where local grass or hay falls short on nutrients. Treats such as carrots or apples are fine in small amounts. Check with a vet before adding supplements, since over-supplementing can do more harm than good.

Mustangs are known for their hardiness. Natural selection on the range favoured sound, disease-resistant animals, and the result is a horse that tends to stay healthy on basic care alone. Many live 25 to 30 years, and their dense hooves and tough constitution help them sidestep problems that trouble more delicate breeds.

Good health still depends on routine care, though. The main risks for a Mustang are usually diet-related, such as weight gain and laminitis from rich feed, rather than inherited disease.

Preventive care

• Yearly veterinary exam and vaccinations
• Dental check at least once a year
• Regular farrier visits
• A worming programme based on faecal testing
• Steady, forage-based feeding to control weight

Mustangs learn fast and remember what they are taught, but they think for themselves and will not be bullied into work. Training comes down to trust. A horse fresh off the range has had little or no contact with people and needs gentling before any saddle work starts. Once that trust is built, many Mustangs turn into calm, willing, dependable mounts.

Consistency counts for more than force. A handler who stays clear, fair and unhurried gets the best out of a Mustang. Pushing too hard, or punishing fear, tends to set the training back.

Basics

1. Spend time near the horse so it grows used to your presence
2. Build acceptance of touch, the halter, and being led
3. Add groundwork such as yielding, leading and standing tied
4. Introduce tack and saddle pressure in small steps
5. Start under saddle once the horse is calm and responsive on the ground
6. Move on to trail, arena and task work as confidence builds

On the range, Mustangs breed naturally in herd bands, with a stallion running with a group of mares. Mares usually reach breeding maturity by two to three years of age, though many are not put in foal until they are older and fully grown. Breeding tends to follow the seasons, with most foals born in spring when grass is plentiful.

Gestation runs about 11 months and produces a single foal. Twins are rare, and risky, in horses. Range-born foals are up and moving within hours of birth, an adaptation that lets them keep pace with the herd and avoid predators.

Mares raise their foals within the band, and the young nurse for several months before weaning at around six months. Colts and fillies stay with the herd until they mature, after which young stallions often move off to form bachelor groups or to win mares of their own. Mustangs raised for adoption are usually gentled and weaned under managed conditions.