Rural Gardening: Horse breed question, 1 by allgr8dogs

allgr8dogs wrote:
Mustangs from different HMA (herd management areas) are different. In some areas calvary remount horses were turned loose to breed with the mustangs and so some herds are larger, longer backed and more like thoroughbreds. In other areas there is draft horse influence, etc...

Here's a website with some info on the 'types' of mustangs that can be found on different HMAs in Oregon:

http://www.mustangs4us.com/oregon.htm

Sassy is a Sulphur mustang out of Utah, and considered very Spanish. Many of the mustangs, especially the Spanish mustangs, are really competing well in endurance (really giving the Arabs a run for the money), reining, cutting, dressage, hunter jumpers - pretty much anything the domestic horse breeds can do, you can find a mustang to do it too. Mustangs have great feet and legs, and there have been mustangs competing in the Tevis Cup (100 miles in one day) without shoes - just boots if they needed them.

They're easy keepers, after all they were out there taking care of themselves for hundreds of year with no one to float their teeth, trim their hooves or put shoes on them...

This is a picture of Sassy being ponied (first week of training). Sassy is 3 years old, and 14.3 - she's rather tall for a Sulphur. Most Spanish type mustangs can carry up to 60% of their own weight. I'm told this is because of their shorter backs, and shoulder construction...