Americans have a
longstanding fascination with the
mystique of the wild mustang horse and wild burros that roamed freely.
Originally, the mustang horse was of the Spanish conquistadors and Iberian
horse breeds brought to the American continent. Then, lost, released or stolen
from competing conquistadors. Spanish conquistadors, Native American tribes
horse culture and the western horseman known as cowboys produced horse breeds
that became the legend representing courage, intelligence, strength, and
spirit. However, with the advent of the automobile, a cowboy did not need a four-legged
ride.
In the past, the wild
mustang horse and wild burros roamed freely. Spanish conquistadors and Native
Americans collected these wild horses into bands. Then the conquistadors and
the Native Americans would trade which helped to develop the mustang horse breed.
The thunder of the
pounding hooves was heard miles away. Natives and conquistadors would through
villages pillaging whatever was valuable to them But the farmers and ranchers
knew their crops would be trampled, hay supplies depleted, and the domestic
horses assimilated into the wild horse bands. The western horseman began to
gather the bands of horses and sort the scrubs which I believe became the bands
of mustang horses.
The ranchers feared the
wild mustang stallion. The mustang horse was known to infiltrate a domestic
herd to increase the wild mustang horse stallion’s harem. Ranchers believed
that domestic mare bred to a wild mustang horse ruined the mare and would not
deliver a pure breed horse ever after.
The stallions of the wild
mustang horse protected and pushed the wild horse herds in migration across the
deserts and plains searching for food and water.. The wild horse stallion also
had to fight to maintain his status as well as his band of mares. A powerful
mustang stallion with the greatest number of wild mares was the patriarch in
the hierarchy of his herd.
For many years ranchers
and western horseman who favored the American quarter horse breeds, and they
would put together a wild mustang horse and wild burro round up. They gathered
great herds of mustangs and wild burros, corralled them. Then, loaded the wild
horse and wild burro into railroad boxcars, headed to the slaughterhouses or
the ranchers just killed the mustangs and wild burros while confined with no
understanding of the conquistadors spirit inside. The wild horses and wild
burros of North America were slaughtered by
the hundreds and thousands.
Following World War II, the
plight of retired military horses, from proud draft horse breeds, became a
protection issue. The usual reward for the military horse was termination.
Their treatment of these American war heroes helped focus on the wild horse
issues. The issues, of the wild mustang horse and wild burro became a heated
topic. The farmers, ranchers and western horseman coming back from the war saw
mustang horse and wild burro herds overtaking pasture land and water holes.
In contrast, there are
those who recognized the need to protect the American history’s mustang horse
derived from a proud horse culture of the Spanish conquistadors. Wild horse
protection organizations began seeking protection for this long line of
American-spanish horse breeds. Terms of
protection were organized with the United States federal government in
particular, the Bureau of Land Management.
The American wild horse
organizations began by seeking protective laws for the wild horse. What developed
from the horse enthusiast’s activism was a mustang horse and wild burro
protection act allowing the wild horses and wild burros to return to freedom.
The federal government began
allocating tax dollars to guarantee the safe control of the wild mustang horse
and wild burro. Horse foundations formed to encourage wild mustang horse and
wild burro adoption programs that allowed wild mustang horses to return to freedom.
Another remedy for the
mustang horse was the creation of a safety zone, called a sanctuary. Allowing
the free roaming of the wild mustang horse on public lands did not satisfy
ranchers because their cattle and domestic horses also ran free with open land
policies. then came the formation of sanctuary such as wild horse island state
park sanctuary, mustang island, wild horses ranch sanctuary, island state park,
However, even with horse
organizations for the protection of the North American mustangs are a problem
for the western horseman ranches, and their wild burro and mustang horse round
up in conjunction with BLM. The United
States government allows the thinning of the
wild horses to protect public lands from overgrazing. The BLM then collects the
mustang horses and puts them up for adoption. These new practices help
eliminate the cruel slaughter of the mustang horse by hunting. Ranchers are no
longer able to corral and shoot them in confined places. Instead of massacring
the mustang horse, they now must provide sanctuary.
The Spanish conquistadors
came to America
in search of the Fountain of Youth. What the conquistadors left behind was the making
of a horse breeds legend equal to the wild horses spirit ofAmerica.
Exploring the Small Things 