Rider

I'm just wondering if there are Horses that originated from the US. What I know is that the Spanish brought the horses from Europe in conquering Central America and that is when the horses flourished in the Americas.

But there are stories that I know about mustangs which I think are wild horses of America. I just want to be cleared out of my understanding.

SaddleSore

No, there are no native horses. There were horses here in prehistoric times, but they became extinct then and were not seen here again till reintroduced by the Spanish.

Rider

So the wild horses originally came from Europe then and are not native of the American continent? How did they become wild then? I'm thinking because of the wars that some of these horses were freed and then they became wild. Just a wild imagination I have but I hope someone could shed some light on this one.

postit

Mustangs were horses that got away from the explorers or were left behind and formed bands to breed. They flourished until settlers started moving west and they started losing their grazing land to cattle. As time progressed rancher's horses also got lose and interbred with the Spanish descendant Mustang producing the spotted horses you often see today as Mustangs.

Clover

There are wild horses in Australia too, called Brumbies. They were brought over by settlers and let loose. Occasionally they were rounded-up and tamed, or the mares would be released again with some thoroughbred stallions to increase their size, developing into the breed we know today.

I think a similar thing would have happened in the US. People would have begun selectively breeding the introduced horses to create a breed that originated in the US, but had spanish ancestors.

Rider

That was very nice to learn. So are there anymore wild horses in the American soil? As mentioned above, I guess Australia have these wild horses roaming freely.

postit

There are still some wild horses on US soil, both in the midwest and on some islands such as Assateague as described in the book Misty of Chincoteague by Margarite Henry. Both are available yearly for adoption and many have gone on to become wonderful companions.

SaddleSore

Become companions-you mean they were broken, tamed? That's a shame really, I hate to see a wild animal taken in.

But then I guess it is debatable if they even are wild anymore. They are domesticated horses, freed, and then tamed again generations later.

Horse Fanatic

Oh, wild horses definitely still exist in the United States. While there aren't many around my area, I have still ran into a few so far.

Really, I guess it depends on where exactly you live in the country n' all.

alexis

I have never seen a true wild horse in any state I have lived in. I have seen some farm owners purchase them, and then not tame them thats about as close as I have seen myself.

postit

I don't use the word broken to describe domestication and the introduction to a saddle/rider. You shouldn't "break" a horse's spirit. And its better to re-domesticate them than see them hunted by ranchers, caught in barbed wire and bear traps or starving.