Mustang (horse)

(Jrt)

Mustang (horse)
The mustang horse is a little stocky and North-West American, resulting from domestic horses returned to the wild (a phenomenon of marronnage).

Because of their strength, their speed and their independence, the Mustang name is often used in the USA for products of high performance and sports mascots. The mustang is considered a hard domptable horse with a strong character.

The Mustang comes word of English; himself comes from the Spanish-Mexican word mestengo and the latter comes from the Spanish word mesteño which means "vagabond".

In 1518, Cortés conquistadors brought with them eleven horses and six mares, two of whom had a dress pie and five others spotted a dress. Legend has it that some of them have escaped or have been captured by American Indians. They are the first ancestors of mustangs, these horses returned to the wild.

Moreover, many owners of ranches libèreraient their horses to avoid having to feed them in winter and then resumed (or other) in the spring when redeviendraient necessary.

Before 1900, an estimated one million population of mustangs in North America. The Mustangs were a resource as they could be captured or sold (particularly for military use) or be slaughtered for food, particularly as food for pets. They are also seen as a nuisance because they compete with livestock for forage. After 1900, the population of mustangs has been drastically reduced. Today, scores of the population of wild mustangs agree to say that there are still 40 000 to 100 000 mustangs with half of them in Nevada. A hundred wild mustangs survive in Alberta and BC.

Today, the mustangs are protected on land belonging to the USA. The slaughter or poison is illegal; fines for this are high. However, unscrupulous landowners continue to kill.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management controls the population of mustangs on a programme of capture, according to its objectives, avoid competition with cattle herds. Most horses that are captured are available for adoption. In December 2004, however, Congress amended the program to allow the sale for slaughter of horses captured who are aged over 10 years "or who have been" offered unsuccessfully for adoption at least 3 times " .

Read also Horse

wikipedia