The mustang
The mustang is an extremely well-known horse which is revered by many as a living symbol of the historic and pioneer spirit of the Wild west.
Although Mustangs are usually called 'wild' horses, the more appropriate term is 'feral' horses as most so-called 'wild' horses living in The u.s. are related to horses that were first domesticated horses shipped over to America by the early settlers.
In most cases, these imported horses were of Andalusian or Arabian stock, although they also had amongst them a wide variety of colors and many americans breeds and types.
A few of these brave horses escaped or were bought by the indigenous inhabitants, and soon spread through the whole country
The Appaloosa horse
Appaloosas typically have a mottled coat, white sclera (the part of the eye next to the cornea) and striped hooves.
The background of this unusual horse is not fully understood. There is some evidence that spotted horses were being bred in many nation-states in Asia, and archeologists have found cave paintings which have been dated back to 18000BC illustrating spotted horses that may be forefathers of the appaloosa we know today. It is possible that the spotted skin was in the first instance a form of camouflage, much as the stripes on a zebra.
The modern-day Appaloosa is descended from horses shipped over to America by early settlers. These were passed to the Indigenous people known as the 'nez perce', who proficiently turned them into the amazing horses that we know and love today.
The horse was originally called the "Palouse horse", although slowly its name transformed into the modern-day variation, "Appaloosa".
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