Roundin' Up Mustangs

Original acrylic painting on sandstone. Approx. size: 12"h x 18"w, includes easel. #RU060616

$395 Sale $275

History of the Mustang

The tradition of rounding up wild mustangs is still alive in the West. Prized by many cowboys, the wild horses, when trained, become excellent cattle horses.

The mustang was introduced to what is now North America by the Spanish in the 1600s. The name in Spanish means ownerless, lost, or wild. Indians, particularly tribes of plains Indians, acquired them through trade, theft, or rounding up strays and those let loose in the wild by Spanish missionaries who had little use for them. These prized horses transformed many nomadic tribes into horse cultures. As white settlers ventured into the western frontier, many of their horses—of various breeds—found their way into Indian hands. Thus the mustang became a mixed breed. However, the Nez Perce of the North West bred a fairly pure strain of mustangs they called appaloosa, most of which are easily recognized by their brown and black spots and speckles. Wild herds of mustangs over-populated their grazing lands and became a costly nuisance to ranchers, who, out of economic necessity, had to thin their herds. Today, mustangs continue to roam parts of the west and are protected by federal laws. Some mustangs are periodically made available by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for adoption by individuals.