Spanish Mustang

The Spanish Mustang is a horse breed of historical importance. They descend from horses introduced from Spain during the early conquest of the Americas. They are a type that today is mostly or wholly now extinct in Spain. They are classified within the larger grouping of the Colonial Spanish horse.

Spanish Mustangs today are primarily domesticated horses but are sometimes confused with the feral American Mustang. The latter animals are descended from both Spanish horses and other feral horses escaped from various sources; they run wild in protected Herd Management Areas (HMAs) of the western United States, currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and to a lesser degree, in Canada. DNA studies indicate that Spanish breeding and type does still exist in some feral Mustang herds, including those on the Cerbat HMA (near Kingman, Arizona), Pryor Mountain HMA (Montana), Sulphur HMA (Utah), Kiger HMA and the Riddle Mountain HMA (Oregon). The true Spanish Mustang as a modern breed differs from the "wild" American Mustang in appearance and ancestry.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, many ranchers introduced Thoroughbreds, draft horses, Arabians, Morgans and other breeds into most feral herds, seeking to improve the type. However, the breed was saved from extinction by the efforts of preservation breeders and the creation of a registry to protect and preserve the original type.