The Mustang Horse
The mustang is a very wellknown horse and due to its unique place in history, is seen by many as a symbolic representation of the influential and adventurous excitement of the American wild west.
But Mustangs are often referred to as 'wild' horses, the more appropriate phrase is 'feral' horses as almost all so-called 'wild' horses established in The usa are descended from horses that were originally domestic animals shipped to America by the spanish conquistadors.
Most of these early horses were of Andalusian or Arabian stock, but also had amongst them a wide range of colours and many people breed types.
Clearly, some of these great horses went wild or were taken by the indigenous inhabitants, and rapidly spread all through the whole of america.
The Appaloosa horse
Appaloosas commonly have a mottled skin, white sclera (the part of the eye around the cornea) and vertically striped hooves.
The story of this well-loved horse is not totally understood. There is some proof that spotted horses were living in very many geographical regions in Asia and europe, and archeologists have found cave drawings which have been dated back to 18000BC illustrating mottled horses that could well be be related to the horse we know today. It is possible that the mottled pattern was originally a type of camouflage, similar to the striped pattern on a zebra.
The modern-day Appaloosa is descended from horses shipped to The usa by settlers. These were somehow acquired by the Nez perce people, who expertly bred them into the fantastic horses that we admire at the present time.
This fine horse was first known as the "Palouse horse", but slowly the name has changed into the contemporary version, "Appaloosa".
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