Mustang Horse
By Kelly Torres
Description
Mustangs come in all sizes, shapes, and colors, with the average height being around 14.2 hands. The most common colors are bay and sorrel, but they come in buckskin, appaloosa, zebra striped dun, grulla (slate gray), roan, palomino, and paint.
Feeding
Mustangs had to survive on small amounts of grass and brush so they tend to be easy keepers and maintain weight on fairly low amounts of feed.
The Mustang is a fairly low maintenance breed that does well in most settings. The breed does equally well in pasture or in a barn or box stall.
History
Some of the Spanish horses brought by the Conquistadors in the 16th Century escaped and began to form large herds that spread from Central America up into the plains of the present-day United States. It is estimated that at the beginning of the 20th Century over one million wild horses roamed the mountains and plains of the United States. By 1970, due to hunting for meat, the number of native American horses fell dramatically so that fewer than 17,000 mustangs remained.
Diseases
Mustangs are known to be very sound and have good, strong hooves. Hardy and robust, the well cared for Mustang should not be prone to any special health risks.