To find out more about this hardy breed, I went to Sacred Ground Registered Spanish Mustangs outside of New Berlin, to the home of Jerry and Peggy Brietzke.  The Brietzkes own a small herd of Spanish Mustangs; one stallion, four mares and four fillies, two of which were sold before they were born.

 The Brietzkes purchased their first Spanish Mustang in 1992.

 “We were looking for a breed of horse that was economical to keep,” said Peggy, “and their history fascinated us.”

 The Spanish Mustang is a direct descendant of the horses brought to the New World by the early Spaniards.  The Apaches in their trading with other tribes were the primary method of spreading the Spanish horses over the west.  Over the years horses escaped, were lost or stolen and many became feral, roaming all over the west.

 “The Indians could not be controlled as long as they rode the Spanish Mustang, when the Calvary realized this they started crossing the Spanish Mustang with their blooded horses just so they could catch the Indians,” said Peggy. “The Calvary either had to catch them the first day or not at all as the Spanish Mustang had the endurance to keep going when the other breeds didn’t.”

 In the mid-1950’s Robert E. Brislawn, Gilbert H. Jones and several other dedicated men met to form an organization for the purpose of preserving the old-type Spanish Mustang.  They chose their horses carefully, choosing horses that he believed to be the best examples of the breed.  In 1957 this group incorporated the Spanish Mustang Registry, Inc., the first and oldest Mustang registry in the country.  Soon after, the Southwest Spanish Mustang Association was formed, with Gilbert H. Jones as chairman. The Brietzke’s  have horses registered with both registries and estimate that there are approximately  2,500 in the United States with approximately 325 in Texas.

 The average size of the Spanish Mustang is 14.2 hands.  They possess the classic Spanish type head with a straight or concave forehead and a convex nose with fairly well crested necks.  Their feet and legs are extremely sound.  The hooves have thick walls that resist bruising due to the concave oul.  The canons are short and upper foreleg long. They possess one less vertebra than other breeds and have very strong backs, thus being able to carry heavier loads one would imagine they could.

 “The Spanish Mustang has survived not only the elements of nature,” said Peggy, “but mans best effort to destroy the breed entirely.”

 The Spanish Mustang is very intelligent with an innate sense of self-preservation and are not prone to put themselves into any situation which may be destructive or dangerous.  Compared to “domesticated” breeds, they retain a great many of the instincts that allowed them to survive in the feral state, which attests to the versatility and strength of the breed.

“Frank Hopkins, the renowned endurance rider in the latter part of the last century once rode a Spanish Mustang in a 3,000 mile endurance ride in the middle east against the native Arabian horses and won!” said Peggy.

Hopkins once said of the Spanish Mustang, “You can’t beat Mustang intelligence in the entire equine race. These animals have had to shift for themselves for generations. They had to work out their own destiny or be destroyed. Those that survived were animals of superior intelligence.”

The Spanish Mustang can compete in almost any event and are the type of horse people may want if they desire an all around horse that requires little maintenance.

“The Spanish Mustang can Playday on Saturday and trail ride on Sunday,” said Peggy.  “In most cases, a Spanish Mustang can out-do other horses in almost anything they do, given the proper training. Their versatility is one of the reasons we are trying to preserve this endangered breed, and to publicize and educate the public.”

The Spanish Mustang Registry’s main objective is to assure the retention of the qualities that allowed this unique horse to survive over the centuries under adverse conditions.  The principle rule of the Spanish Mustang Registry is that there be no attempt to crossbreed, or to otherwise change this historical and distinctive breed.

“The Spanish Mustang has many qualities desirable in other breeds,” said Peggy.  “Their natural herding instinct, endurance, and the fact that they have very sound feet and legs.  We want people to see them for what they really are…beautiful horses.  There have simply been too few of the Spanish Mustangs to make any kind of impact on the horse world so far, but we feel that as their numbers grow, more people will realize just how good they are.  They won’t win the Kentucky Derby, but that’s just about all they can’t do!”

Thanks to Jerry and Peggy Brietzke of Sacred Ground Spanish Mustangs.
Reference:  The Spanish Mustang Registry, Inc., and the Southwest Spanish Mustang Association.