Mustang is an animal known to all. Wild horses in nature: photo, description. Mustang - wild horse

Back in the 16th century, the Spanish conquerors who arrived on the North American continent brought domestic horses with them. Some of them subsequently fled from their owners and were able to adapt to life in wild nature. This is how wild mustang horses appeared, which at one time were very numerous.

What is the difference between a mustang and a domestic horse

Beautiful and free as the wind, the mustang can be of various colors, but most often it is the piebald, bay and red color of the horse. The mustang weighs up to 500 kg, while its height (height at the withers) can reach up to 1.5 meters. This strong and very hardy animal lives in the western United States and leads a herd life, straying into a herd. It differs from the mustang in its unbridled disposition, endurance and size.

Lifestyle of wild mustang horses

Any herd of mustangs is headed by one male. But before that, he must reach the age of at least 6 years in order to have experience, so that the herd, obeying, follow him.

In his submission, as a rule, there are several females with their foals and young males. Each herd lives on its own territory, where it not only grazes, but also controls it, and protects it in case of danger. As for the latter, during its discovery, the guide mare takes everyone to safe place, and the leader of the herd remains and takes the fight from the enemy. In addition, protecting against a large number external enemies, herds can conclude an unspoken agreement on a temporary truce and act against predators together.

What do mustangs eat

The basis of the diet of mustangs is plant foods, because mustangs, so to speak, are exclusively vegetarians.

The lack of food is a problem for them, as well as the lack of water, without which mustangs can do for many days.

Leading a herd life, horses learned to communicate with each other using signals - snorting and neighing.

Mustang breeding

The mating season for mustangs lasts from April to July. At this time, young males are unusually fierce battles for the right to mate with one or another female.

Pregnancy lasts 11 months and when the time comes to give birth, the pregnant female separates from the general herd and goes to a safe place, where she gives birth to one foal. The birth of two foals is an exception and a rarity.

A newly born Mustang foal is very weak and helpless. Rising to his feet with difficulty, he reaches for his mother's milk. The color of the newborn reliably hides him in the tall grass, but the young mother cannot afford to fight off the herd and after a few days, together with the foal, she returns to the herd.

For 6 - 8 months, the female feeds the cub with her milk, and during this time he manages to noticeably grow up and get stronger.

After he reaches the 3rd age, the young stallion is expelled from the herd, so the dominant male does not need competition. And the female mother can either leave with her grown foal, or stay in the herd.

Breed: Mustang
View: domestic horse, wild horse
Genus: Horses
Family: Equine
Squad: Odd-toed ungulates
Class: mammals
Type of: Chordates
Kingdom: Animals
Domain: eukaryotes
Lifespan: under 18

Horses are recognized as the most elegant and graceful animals. And the palm, of course, is held by wild mustang horses - free, proud, rebellious. Can they be tamed? Or is it only possible for the same freedom-loving inhabitants of the prairies.

History of occurrence

We know that the mustang is a horse whose photo captivates the soul immediately and forever, from North America. But how did they get there, if America was discovered by Columbus, and the inhabitants of the mainland come from the Old World, that is, from Europe?

In the 16th century, the first settlers arrived in America, in particular, in Mexico and a number of other countries. In addition to families and all sorts of belongings, they brought horses with them to cultivate fields and simply move around the country. From Mexico, the settlers moved to modern Texas. The path was not close railways was not, so it was the horses that served as transport.

On the way, they met far from friendly natives - Indians. In skirmishes with tribes, horses often went over to the side of the winners, that is, the Indians. Those, out of ignorance, first ate horse meat. And then, having appreciated the charm of moving not on foot, but on horseback, they learned to court them and famously ride on horseback (any western is proof of this).

Some horses got tired, began to limp and refused to go further. They were released to return later and take them home. But some mustangs went very far. The instinct of self-preservation made them gather in herds and go far into the prairies. Gradually, the population of feral horses increased so much that at the beginning of the 19th century it numbered almost 2 million.

Indians, Texans learned to catch, go around them, and even acquired horse farms and breeding plants. And later the horses became unwitting participants in the Anglo-Boer War.

Today, the number of mustangs is much smaller. But those that remain are protected by law that protects wild horses.

Habitat

Tamed, that is, trained horses today are both in America and in Europe.

Interesting! "Mustang" in Spanish (mesteno) means "not owned by anyone" or "wild". Such a translation explains the freedom-loving disposition of this proud animal.

Characteristic

• Mustangs can still be found in the wild, where they live in herds.
• The male needs to constantly prove his superiority, because competitors grow up in the young.
• In case of danger, the leader is left face to face with the enemy, and the herd, led by the alpha female, is carried away.
• Mustangs are strong, fast, smart and hardy. Endurance they inherited from heavy trucks, intelligence from ponies, speed from riding horses, the first to appear in America.

Appearance

Judging by photographs and films, mustangs seem to us to be rather large horses. But it is not.

• The length of the horse is no more than 1.5 meters.
• Weight from 320 to 400 kg.
• Height at the withers - up to 1.5 m.

Due to mixing various kinds equids of all colors among the mustangs can be found in various colors: piebald (spotted) and bay, red, black, appaloosa (white color with dark spots).

Interesting! The back of the mustang and the neck are short, slightly pronounced withers. This combination of qualities allows mustangs to develop great speed.

Key Features

When the female leads the herd away from danger, all mustangs obey her. The dominance of the female is determined by fertility, while the mares never conflict. If the danger is near, the herd stops and regroups into a square figure: the males remain outside and turn their muzzle towards the center, with their croup outward. Inside are females and foals.

Interesting! Mustangs love to play and frolic in the wild. Horses (you will see the video at the end of the article) run with their heads thrown back, neigh and have fun. Now that's freedom!

Food

At stud farms they are transferred to feed. The daily requirement for food is 3 kg. This is fresh grass, mixed fodder, and hay.

The best treat for tamed mustangs, as well as for domestic horses, is carrots and sugar.

In summer, the mustang drinks up to 60 liters of water per day, in winter the need is reduced to 20 liters.

Important! If you decide to get a horse, you will need large plot. For food, jogging, walking one horse, you need at least 2 hectares of land with lush vegetation. Otherwise, the pasture will be depleted very soon.

Reproduction in the wild

The mating season falls on April - mid-June. During pregnancy, the mare finds a safe place and stays there until the birth.

Pregnancy mares lasts 11 months. Childbirth occurs in mid-spring. This allows the young to get stronger. After the due date, a weak foal, barely standing on thin legs, is born. After a couple of hours, the baby can already walk. And after a couple of days, he is strong enough to return to the herd with his mother.

Horses are mammals and feed their offspring with milk. Foals feed on milk until they reach 7 months of age. Then they switch to plant foods.

How to choose a mustang

If you dream of having this wild handsome man in your stable, you need to learn how to choose horses.

• If you buy an adult horse, he must be experienced. Optimal age– over 6 years old and under 10 years old.
• Choose a calm stallion so that less effort is spent on taming.
• Find out how long the horse has been in the rental. Such hard workers are already tired both mentally and physically, and there will be little use from them.
• Going to the stables, take with you a person who is at least a little familiar with horses.
• Come earlier and inspect the stall not only of the horse you have looked after, but also other stalls. If only your stall is clean, and only your horse looks well-groomed, then they were put in order specifically before your arrival, and earlier they, like the rest of the horses, were not given due attention.

• Is the stable dark even on a sunny day? It is possible that the horse's vision could be affected due to the darkness.
• Ask to lead the horse to the lunge. Is she drifting to the side, is she limping. Not a single detail should escape your attention.
• Check the documents: veterinary passport, certificate. These are official documents, they must be stamped.

Interesting!The mustang (horse) is so magnificent and graceful, the film was shot with his participation, and not a single one. The first is the beloved by many "The Headless Horseman" based on the novel by Mine Reed. The second is "Mustang Pacer", the story was written by E. Seton-Thompson. Even children are familiar with the mustang from the cartoon Spirit: Soul of the Prairie.

Enjoy the promised video.

When we hear the word MUSTANG, many probably imagine something like the one in the photo above, or at least various modifications of the Ford Mustang. or even a P-51 Mustang fighter. In general, in the usual sense, Mustangs are beautiful and graceful horses.

Let's find out how mustangs appeared in general and what they are.

Let's start from afar. A long time ago - I think 50 million years ago - horses lived in North America - more precisely, the ancestors of the horse. They were about the size of a cat and instead of hooves on their feet they had five fingers (such handsome ones). A lot of work and time was spent by paleontologists to prove to skeptics that this is the ancestor of the horse. The animal was named Eohippus.

Approximately 30 million years ago, some unknown catastrophe occurred in North America, due to which all eogippus died out there.

Fortunately, some of them managed to move to Eurasia, where life forced them to become ... (almost wrote: people) - horses.

It is hard to believe that the ancestors of all mustangs were only 70 horses that survived in 1539 after
unsuccessful expedition to the Mississippi by conquistador Hernando de Soto. The height of the mustangs ranges from 134 to 153 cm. Any color. Due to mixed ancestors, the structure of the body is very heterogeneous. The best representatives have a powerful physique with strong dry limbs and hooves. Many mustangs have a Spanish-type head with a convex profile, as a rule, a short neck, straight shoulders, slightly pronounced withers, and a short back.

The word "mustang" comes from Spanish words mesteno or monstenco meaning "wild" or "no man's". (another version claims that the word "mustang" comes from the Spanish "mesteth", which means "herd of horses") This term accurately describes the wild horses of the United States. The modern horse evolved three million years ago and disappeared from this hemisphere 10,000 years ago. The horses are back North America when the explorers Cortés and De Soto appeared riding magnificent Barbary and Andalusian horses. These were the horses that changed the lives of the American Indians who lived on or near the Great Plains. The Pueblo Indians learned to ride and passed this skill on to other tribes.

Spaniards in South America

In 1680 the Indians rebelled against Spanish rule and the Spaniards left thousands of horses in a hasty retreat. The Indians caught these horses, but some of them escaped. It turned out to be much easier to raid the Spanish settlers and steal their horses. Trying to stop the Indian raids, the Spanish government equipped New World reinforcement ship. It was hoped that the Indians would catch the "wild" horses and leave the Spaniards alone. Tens of thousands of Spanish horses, turned into free animals, grazed on the Rio Grande for about 200 years. These horses soon met with draft horses and cowboy ponies that had escaped from ranches and farms owned by settlers from the east. Others were driven off by wild stallions, who destroyed corral fences to add domestic mares to their herd. In addition, the Indians exchanged or captured horses from other tribes.

The Indians, of course, sought to adapt the mustangs to their goals, so they were engaged in improving the breed. Especially in horse breeding, the Comanche tribe distinguished itself. Other tribes, even if they did not specifically improve the mustangs, still sought to catch, steal or buy a better horse, so willy-nilly they took part in the selection.

After all the tribes of the Indians were destroyed, many horses were again left without owners.
Indian horses, as mustangs used to be called, having got to their historical homeland, apparently felt much better there than in harsh Eurasia, and successfully bred. A hundred years ago there were, according to various sources, two or three million.

Wild horse herds from the eastern United States were driven west by civilization, crossed the Mississippi River, and mingled with the western herds. French blood was represented by herds driven out of the territory in the Detroit area and fled from the French settlers from the South, from the New Orleans area. Another breed whose blood is probably present in Mustangs is the old type East Friesian.

The US government purchased about 150 stallions each year from the German government over a period of more than 10 years from the late 1880s to the early 1900s. East Friesian horses at that time were massive warm-blooded or draft animals and were sold for the needs of heavy artillery or for transporting large wagons. Thus, the horses that fled from the battlefields conducted by the American cavalry could pour their blood into the mustangs.

Numerous herds of wild horses did not pose much of a problem until the western states became densely populated. and cattle and other herbivores did not graze on the once desert plains. The badlands of the west could not support large populations of herbivores, and mustangs began to be shot on some ranches. The mustang population at the beginning of the twentieth century numbered two million. By 1926 this number had halved. Currently, the number of mustangs is about 30,000 heads. In 1970, less than 17,000 heads remained.

Gradually, pastoralists increasingly began to oust the mustangs from their pastures. When they did not leave voluntarily, they were killed. Then people decided that in general it would be useful to destroy wild horses, and then they began to round up them. After the Second World War, the real beating of the mustangs began.

Moreover, with the full connivance of the government, they exterminated them in the most barbaric and painful ways. With the help of cars and planes, they drove the herds to dead ends, then they stuffed wagons with horses, and so tightly that half of the animals came to the knacker in a crushed state. Of course, no one fed the horses either on the road or in the knackerel, so in the future they were distributed as follows: the dead were allowed for fertilizer, the still alive - for canned food for dogs.

In 1971, under public pressure, the US Wildlife Conservation Act was passed. Today, the BLM (Bureau of Land Manegement) organization monitors the mustang population. Under this protection, the number of wild horses began to grow rapidly, and in the 70s of the twentieth century, the question arose of controlling their population. The act ordered the destruction of all animals in excess of the established number of livestock "to restore the natural ecological balance of the region, and protect the region from damage associated with an increase in population."

The Adopt a Horse program began in 1973 in the Pryor Mountains of Montana, and was the sale of extra animals. Under this program, surplus animals were put up for auction at prices ranging from $125 per horse to $75 per wild donkey. Buyers must meet certain requirements for the proper transport and handling of animals. The horses remain the property of the government for one year after the sale. At the end of the year, the new owner must provide confirmation from the veterinarian and local authority certifying that the animal has been properly cared for. After approval, he is issued a certificate that he is the full owner of the animal.

Mustangs, in the hands of an experienced rider, usually become as obedient as horses born and raised on a farm. General Crook said: “Hardy Indian ponies can run 90 miles without needing food or water. They surpass in endurance all the cavalry horses we have on the frontier.” In addition to incredible endurance, Frank Hopkins noted the intelligence and economy of this horse breed. But there was another opinion. John Richard Young, a famous trainer, said of the mustangs: “Not only must we let the mustangs disappear, we must do everything possible to exterminate them, because we simply cannot breed better horses than thoroughbred mustangs. Now a good horse, after special training and grain feed, is able to show miracles of endurance, but any good mustang will easily surpass it.”

Largely the result of natural selection, most mustangs are lightweight or saddle stock horses. In some areas there are horses of a heavy draft type. Mustangs can be of any height, type, color and build. On average, the height at the withers is about 147 cm, but individuals below 135 cm or above 164 cm are not unusual. Bay and red colors are most common, but any is possible. Piebald, palomino, appaloosa, and buckwheat are also not uncommon. As a result of the influx of Spanish horse blood, many mustangs still show similarities with their Iberian ancestors. Recently, several small herds have been found in isolated areas, the horses of which, after blood testing, were found to be direct descendants of the Spanish horses. These are the Kiger Mustang and the Serat Mustang.

Domesticated mustangs are often very good riding horses. Due to their innate endurance, they are great for long rides. Currently, there are about 60 thousand mustangs. They live in only a few states, half of them are in Nevada.

So carefree guys (cowboys), prancing along the saloons on horses of elite breeds, are an invention of writers and directors. The Indians almost did not ride mustangs at all. They ate them.

And for sweet

Surely there will not be a single person who would not have heard of the insanely wild, incredibly fast and extremely strong mustang horse. Previously it was a common domestic breed horses brought by colonists from Europe straight to America. With the passage of time that was spent by the animal in the wild, the mustang horses managed to run wild, becoming true mustangs!

A long time ago, horses called mustangs were the usual working horses of the Spaniards. Many of them escaped into the wild, fought off people, ran away from pastures, some lost their master in battle and mixed with other breeds over the centuries. The appearance, character changed, and soon from obedient workers, not stubborn animals, they turned into wild, strong, free and unbridled horses. And they became called "feral domestic horses" from the Spanish word "mestengo".

wild mustangs

Mustang horses were massively found in South America, Argentina and Paraguay. Already by 1600, the Mustang horse breed massively multiplied on the territory of the Strait of Magellan. Life in freedom also affected the appearance: the head increased, the ears lengthened, the coat became longer and thicker. At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of livestock increased and reached about 2 million. Today, due to the rapid hunting of this species (they are hunted for their skin and meat, which are very much appreciated in that region), they are almost exterminated, their number is no more than 20 thousand heads.

Any person could hear about this strong and wild horse incredibly many times.

Mustang horse and foal

After all, the process of crossing is completely different breeds horses. It can be both domestic animals and wild ones. There is even the act of crossing with zebras. And such mustang horses can have not only short stature, but also medium stature. However, often, there are still low horses with long tails and manes. And all for the reason that no one will follow their manes and tails. They have rounded bodies and are bony, lean, and also posterior.

These free and beautiful animals can be of different colors: there is a bay, red, piebald color of mustang horses. The weight adult fluctuates around 500 kilograms, the height at the withers (height) is about one and a half meters. The Mustang horse breed is characterized by endurance, remarkable strength, unbridled law, the presence of intelligence, the instinct of self-preservation, and observance of the herd rules of life.

Photo of a bay mustang

They live in herds, which are led by one male, over 6 years old, the flock includes several more females with foals and young males. Each flock of mustangs has its own territory, but the leader must protect it and protect the members of his “family” flock. Approximately 15-20 individuals live in a herd.

Food

Mustang horses are completely vegetarian, respectively, eat plants, very a big problem for them, the lack of water and food, because of this, they often die. They have their own special language, which is understandable only to them, mustang breeds communicate with each other with the help of snorts and neighs.

mating season

On average, it takes place from April to August, young mustang males arrange fights among themselves for the right to mate with a female, these fights often end tragically for one of the participants. A horse's pregnancy lasts about 11 months. The female, who feels about the approach of childbirth, leaves the family for a safe place, where one or two foals are born, two cubs are very rare. Babies are born very weak interesting color, which makes it possible to hide from danger in the grass. At this age, they are not independent and completely dependent on their mother, after a few days they return to the pack.

The female feeds the baby with milk up to 8 months. This foal lives in a pack up to 3 years, if it is a male, then the leader of the pack will kick him out in order to avoid competition, the mother can go with him or stay. If this is a girl, then she remains to live in this herd forever. On average, the life expectancy of mustang horses is about 20 years.

The main enemies of these horses are, oddly enough, people. By their actions, they led to the fact that from the number of more than two million individuals, the number of mustang horses per this moment reduced to 30 thousand. In many regions, hunting for them is prohibited, but, as you know, the fight against poachers is not always effective. They kill them for eating and selling meat, skins. In Paraguay, the Mustang horse breed ceased to exist because of a fly that lays its eggs in the navel of foals that are not overgrown, which causes them to get sick and eventually die. Predators that prey on them also contribute to a decrease in the number of individuals of this breed.

You can also meet these wonderful, free horses in Eurasia; a reserve has been created for them in the Manych-Gudilo region. Many films have been made about this majestic breed, such as “Spirit. Soul of the Prairie", "The Headless Horseman", the story "Mustang Pacer" by Seton Thompson.

Mentions in culture

Wild Mustang horses can be of a wide variety of colors and at the same time crossbreeds various breeds. There are many films, documentary programs and cartoons with these horses, which happened to run wild. For example, Spirit. And this despite the fact that these animals at the withers can reach a maximum of 153 centimeters.

This Mustang horse managed to inspire a lot of artists who were both fascinated and shocked by these creatures, which turned into a true reason for a huge number of paintings. However, not only artists were ready to admire these beauties, but also directors, as well as real sculptors. In addition, one famous car is named after the mustangs. When these Mustang horses became wild, they turned into food for people and predators.

After all, the Indians could easily kill mustangs for skins and meat. However, they managed to tame some of them in order to further exercise on them, however, hunting processes could incredibly damage the entire mustang population. Thus, their number decreased to ten to twenty thousand from a figure of two million individuals. The shapes and colors, as well as the behavior of these animals, in principle, are diverse. There is nothing surprising!

Wild mustang horses are animals that have very powerful energy and a colossal craving for free life, it will become clear as soon as you see this beautiful animal. The mustang horse is a wild horse, but it was once domesticated. These animals are mammals, artiodactyls and belong to the horse family.

Characteristics of the breed

The Mustang has a very strong resemblance to a domestic horse, but in fact it is wildling. These animals appeared thanks to man and historical events.

In the second millennium, in the 16th century, when the settlement of the American continent began, people who moved brought with them a lot of things: clothes, food and other things for life, along with this, they had horses. At that time, these animals served as transport and helped to cultivate the land.

Over time, more and more people arrived on the continent, and they did it on horseback. It often happened that the settlers left the animals halfway, as they could not endure the load and the long road: the horses fell, began to limp, or, in general, refused to move on. People hoped that there would be an opportunity to pick them up, but the animals needed something to eat and through this the horses left. Then they united in herds and so survived. These horses were also joined by those that ran away from the farms and were not found by the owner.

Thus, horses began to appear on the continent, after some time, their amount reached two million. They began to call them "mustangs" because in Spanish it means "wild".

Wild mustang horses live in North and South America, they can still be found there now. And the animals that managed to be tamed live in Europe.

Lifestyle of wild mustangs

This breed of horses can still be found in the wild. They live in herds. Among them there are leaders and alpha females, as well as other horses. There are only about eighteen individuals in the herd.

Home task the leader is the protection of the herd. If danger looms over the herd, then this fearless horse will resist the enemy alone, without the help of others. And at this time, the alpha female will lead the herd away from danger.

In some cases, herds rally to resist predators. To do this, the horses make a circle, in the middle of which there are foals and fight off the enemies with their hooves.

The way they communicate with each other is their neighing.

Difference from domestic horses

Mustangs are straight descendants domestic horses, so they are very similar to them. First of all, there are many similarities in appearance. But a lot of things have been changed by nature and improved.

These horses can be compared to many breeds, but they still have a number of differences. They will always remain large and strong, strong with the ability to develop high speed.

Wild horses have much stronger immunity than their domestic ancestors, although they are completely unpretentious in care and feeding. However, they are very difficult to train, so taming them is not an easy task. No wonder they say that the one who achieves the trust of the mustang and tames it is a special person.

Character and appearance

Temper of horses

Wild horses are big endurance, are very smart, run fast and have a lot of strength. They borrowed all this from other breeds, such as draft horses, riding horses and ponies.

They have a very capricious nature and are very devoted to the wild, as this is their habitat, but despite this they can be tamed and command respect. If you manage to do this, then you will have an incredibly loyal horse.

Appearance

The appearance of these horses can be varied because the blood of more than one breed flows in them. The most common colors:

• redhead;
• appaloosa;
• piebald;
• bay;
• brown;
• black.

Basically, these horses have a length of about 1.5 meters, and their weight reaches 400 kilograms. They have very strong legs, not very expressive withers, and their back, neck and torso are short. It is this configuration of the body that gives them the opportunity to develop greater speed.

Mane they are beautiful, long and shiny. Mustangs are very clean, so their coat is always very clean and shimmers in the sun.

Nutrition and reproduction

Like other horses, mustangs are herbivores. They feed on fresh grass, small shrubs and leaves from trees. To find food, animals can travel a very long distance.

Horses that have been tamed at home eat about three kilograms of feed per day. It can be mixed fodder, hay or fresh grass. These wild animals also love feast on carrots and sugar. When it is very hot outside, they need about sixty liters of water per day, but if the weather is not hot, then half as much - thirty liters.

reproduction

Mating games for horses begin in mid-spring and continue until the beginning of summer, which contributes to future reproduction. In order to extend own kind, stallions must conquer the female. This only works for strong individuals.

The female bears her offspring for eleven months, this period may fluctuate, the difference can be from seven to fourteen days. When a mare bears a little stallion, she looks for herself cozy place and remains there until birth.

After two hours after birth, a small stallion can confidently stand on his feet. For seven months food for the baby, is mother's milk. Then, a little later, he will start eating grass.

In the twenty-first century, wild horses living in the wild, there were about thirty thousand. People killed these animals to get the skin and meat, but at that time they did not think that the mustang breed could disappear. In the United States of America, in legislation, there are acts that protect this type of horse.

In 1971, a law was passed that banned the killing of these animals.

Wild horses on the farm

Many breeders want to see these nimble animals in their stables. Since these horses can handle huge loads and can be used in household. In addition, they take part in various sports races, because they have very high endurance and speed, they have no equal in this.

And the mustangs in the content are completely unpretentious and do not create any problems. If you decide to purchase such a horse, then choose it right:

1. Do not take a horse that is over ten years old.
2. Do not acquire young people who are under six.
3. You need to choose golden mean, but before that, take a good look at the horse.
4. After the purchase, it is necessary to establish contact with the animal, because if this does not happen, the purchase will be in vain.

The fate of offspring in the wild

When wild the stallion is three years old, the leader of the herd drives him out of the pack. The reason for this is that the male leader sees him as a competitor. There are cases when a six-year-old stallion became a leader and beat off a herd from the leader.

The mother of a stallion who has been expelled may leave with him or remain in the herd. This is her personal choice.

Mustangs in the US are often used as symbols. For example, Nevada has a coin in use, which depicts this horse. This breed is mentioned in many famous novels.

The well-known Mustang car is also named after this horse.

Once upon a time, the Indians were sure that a horse is sacred if it has spots on its chest and head. They worshiped this animal and believed that it brings good luck in war.