Where did the mustang come from?

Answer 1

Mustangs originated from MANY breeds, not just one. They are derived from a variety of breeds of horses that escaped from farms or ranches and took off with a wild herd, or with other horses that formed a band themselves in the wild.

Answer 2

In the United States, a "mustang" is a wild horse from the federal lands in the western part of the country. These are crossbreed horses that are a combination of Spanish Barbs lost by the conquistadors in the 15th and 16th centuries and ranch horses of a variety of breeds that were either deliberately turned out or accidentally lost over the last four centuries. The mustang tends to be small (15 to 17 hands), compact with strong hindquarters, of any coat color, and is generally feral.

Answer 3

Mustangs are horses that reverted to their wild ways after escaping from their humans. The first mustangs were actually purebred Iberian horses that escaped into the North American wilderness when brought to the new world.

Answer 4

Mustangs didn't really 'evolve' in the truest since of evolution. They did however come about through 'natural selection'. Only the strongest, fastest, and most adaptable horses made it into the gene pool. The mustang is made up of many other breeds which escaped or were set free over time, thus allowing new genetics into the population.

Answer 5

When Hernando Cortez came to Mexico in 1519, he brought some horses with his army, and the horses that got loose became the mustangs.

Answer 6

The mustang is a wild horse from the North American West but that first descended from horses brought to America by the Spanish.

Answer 7

Yes