Horses Pictures

Horses Pictures - History

Picture source: JungleWalk © 2002-2003 Netrikon Designs Inc, Junglewalk.com

The Indians have never seen horses and considered riders to be the godlike creatures, but soon horses became numerous in America; many of these were stolen or escapees from the ranchos. The natives learned to use these animals for their needs and called them Mustangs, which means "ownerless or stray horse." Horses changed the life of Indians completely, transforming them into warriors and nomadic hunters. They began hunting only the best game and developed horse medicine, an inner power of balance, wisdom, responsibility, and freedom.

When the United States Army tried to conquer Indians, it was very difficult because Indians had strong horses with stamina that were better than cavalry mounts. The only way to overpower the Indians was to take their horses away from them, so massacres of Indian horse herds were performed.

Nowadays there are a lot of mustangs in the USA living in the wild, but they are crossed to domestic horses and there are practically no purebred Spanish horses among them. Generally speaking, these horses have not lost their characteristics due to the whims of man. Mustang horses contributed to the formation of many American breeds, such as Quarter Horses, American Saddlebreds, Appaloosas, Buckskins, Morgan Horses, Tennessee Walkers and others.