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"The Spanish Horse, or Mustang of the West" By E.M. Dickey (aka Nevada Dick) The horse of the southwest, known as the Spanish Horse was not an original product of America. The first horseflesh was introduced by the Cavalier of Spain, which arrived in 1515 when Cortez landed near Vera Cruz with sixteen head from Cuba. The Spaniard in so doing made one of the most valuable contributions to the New World. The Spanish Horse came originally from the Arabian deserts in Africa. About the eighth century the Mohammedans made their invasions into Spain, thus was the desert horse first introduced into the southern peninsula of Europe, where he soon became acclimated, the environment, in many respects being similar to his original home. During the middle ages this Arabian Horse played a large part in the development of Knighthood and Chivalry. In the fifteenth century, when the Spanish Conquistadores came to the New World they brought their horses with them. These mounted Spaniards were so superior in every way to the native footmen, that it was not long before they had explored and conquered vast territories, reaching from Mexico to Peru. To these exploring Spaniards we are indebted for the transplanting of the horses which later dotted the western plains. Coranado, the Spanish General, on February 23, 1540, left the pueblo of Compostello, on the west coast of Mexico, and trekked northwest on an exploring expedition, taking with him a large number of live stock. Some 300 head of chargers for his soldiers, and around 1,000 horses and mules as pack animals, these composed of mares, stallions (or stone horses, as they were called) and geldings. The expeditionary force was constantly losing stock. Left to gaze upon the prairie some of these horses became merged with the buffalo herds, and were lost, others, worn out, were abandoned to their fate, by the Spaniards. Most however recuperated, and in time mated and begot offspring. The progeny of these "escapes" formed the nucleus for the vast herds found on the northern plains by Lewis and Clark in 1804 and by Capt. Zeblon Pike while crossing Kansas two years later, and which he recorded in his diary:
It was from these wild bands, descendants of those left by the Spanish Conquistatores under Coranado that the Indians first obtained their mounts, changing them from footmen to horsemen. The masterless horses found in Texas were the TRUE SPANISH MUSTANGS. Those later found in Colorado, Nevada and other states were of a different species, most likely descendants of those animals which escaped from wagon trains and army posts. One outstanding feature of the former was a dark stripe down the back, from withers to tail, which was rarely found in the other strain. Inbreeding at a later period reduced the size of the Spanish Horse, but he still retained the endurance of his ancestors, as well as the courage to rustle through the most severe winter and driest summers. When it became impossible to secure grass, due to deep snows, he lived by eating the bark of cottonwood trees and brush, surviving where a less courageous animal would have succumbed. Only the hardiest survived and perpetuated a breed of horses with unlimited fortitude and endurance. The bands of horses quickly adapted themselves to their new environment. They flourished and increased rapidly, and thus added another wild animal to the life of the plains. Soon the Indians imitated the Spaniards, caught up these horses and learned to ride them. This era heralded in a period of horse culture on the plains which completely changed their whole manner of living, and with new means of transportation and hunting provided, they ranged far and wide. Once mounted the Indian came to be an expert horseman. He lived under conditions which were hard and demanded unusual physical vigor and endurance. Thus both man and horse came to have an almost unlimited amount of physical endurance, calling for the best traits of both rider and horse. This resulted in a process of selection and classification of horses, so that every animal might render the best possible service. Each warrior had his "string" of ponies. His war pony, buffalo pony, his ordinary or distance pony, and his pack animals. The war pony was an essential part of his fighting equipment. The buffalo pony made it easier to procure his food supply. His distance pony he used in making forays upon settlements, where he plundered and murdered, then made his escape safely into the open country. Therefore it was only natural that his horse became the Indian1s most prized possession. He counted his wealth in the number of horses he owned. As a result of the increased demand some of the Plains Indians began raising their own horses. Others of the nomadic tribes resorted to theft to replenish their supply. A successful horse thief was looked upon as a warrior of the highest standard. Thus mounted the Indian was master of the Plains for the next three centuries. First he kept back the Spaniard and later prevented the invading and occupying of the plains by the Anglo-Americans. In Mexico the Spanish Horse had long been used in herding the Spanish cattle, which arrived about the same period as the Spanish Horse, and was pushing towards the Great Plains of Texas. The Anglo-American began colonizing Texas while it was yet a part of Mexico. Texas thus formed a connecting link between the American and the Spaniard in the New World. The Spanish Horse and the Spanish longhorn met the Texas cowboy on the borderland of the southwest, and this started the Texas cattle industry, which later spread over the entire Plains region. As these animals became acclimated to the Plains, they came to acquire many of the same characteristics; such as wilderness, hardihood, self-reliance and endurance. Two hundred years of acclimation had developed in the Spanish Horse peculiar traits, which fitted him for particular uses in this early period of American history. His whole heritage, as well as his environment, developed him into a type of horse with habits and characteristics that were different than those of any other horse known to history. He was an open range horse who lived altogether on the grasses of the Plains. Like the Longhorn cow, he had an unusual amount of strength and endurance. When necessary he could travel long distances without water, and while working grow fat on the Plains grasses. He was a natural cow horse, and capable of standing more punishment than any other type of horse. The Longhorn of the Plains was also a tough self-reliant animal, therefore these two animals were very important factors in the transition from the horse period to the machine age. The Spanish Horse when compared with the American Horse was very small, averaging 14 hands in height, slight in build, but having powerful forequarters, good legs, short strong back and full barrel. He showed not the slightest appearance of blood, though his sharp ears and snappy vicious eyes indicated unusual intelligence and temper. The distance he could cover in a specified time put him on a level with the Arabian or any other animal of creation. The Spanish Horse was far from beautiful, in fact the majority were the commonest looking horses to be found. They had flat bones in the legs, and were flat to the hocks, stockily built with short barrel-like bodies, and running in weight between 700 and 900 pounds. In color brays, browns, duns, roans, greys, sorrels and blacks were the most common. Contrary to the general belief, the paint or calico pony was the scarcest in color, and therefore the most sought by the Indian, most pictures show on Indian chiefs mounted upon these black and white splashed ponies is no doubt the cause of this misunderstanding. These horses were not fast, but had unusual "bottom," and could last as long as a rider. They were unusually strong and capable of carrying a rider and his equipment, which often ran from 175 to 200 pounds, for long distances, with little difficulty. They were endowed with a natural instinct for sensing direction or detecting danger, day or night. This coupled with his sure-footedness, and ability to travel at full speed regardless of conditions made him an ideal horse for the rough terrain of the west. It was the Texas cowboy, his Spanish Horse and the Longhorn cattle that formed the opening wedge in settling the American frontier. It was a land of men, horses and cattle, where men rode much and worked hard at unremitting toil in building up a gigantic industry. The Spanish Horse here played an important part, thousands of these hardy ponies followed the herds up "The Trail" to Kansas markets, while other thousands carried their riders through the brush in rounding up other stock for the drovers. Wherever cattle went horse and rider followed. Like the Indian the cowboy classified his "string" of horses, his "cutting" horses, night horses and distant or round up horses. The cutting horse was picked for his unusual intelligence. He knew how to watch a cow, and follow it, at the same time watch for dog or gopher holes quick and alert to move of the particular cow he was following he would dodge more quickly and double back after the animal, without a signal from his rider. The only horse known that would double back of its own accord was the Spanish Horse of the Plains. It is a peculiar fact that the most intelligent of "cutting" horses ran in sorrel or dun color, and until quite recent times such ranches as the great King Ranch of Texas bred these colored horses for use in this particular work of the cow pony.
On round-up, the Spanish Horse proved his stamina. As a rule a horse was ridden half a day at a time, most of the time at a "long lope." Sometimes these horses were ridden all day, chasing, roping and holding cattle for branding, demonstrating over and over the remarkable endurance these Spanish ponies possessed. A distance of sixty to seventy-five miles was not unusual for a day's travel, and it hurt them not in the least. A few hours' rest and a pony was ready to continue the journey. He could go a long way without water, and even if a cowboy "rode him down," by the next morning he was fresh and ready again. No horse ever foaled showed such quick recuperative powers as this breed of Plains' pony. Time and again the small Spanish Horse demonstrated his ability to run the best American Horse off his feet. One of the main reasons why the Cavalry troops, sent to subdue the Indian, failed, was their inability to keep up the pace set by the Indian raiders, mounted on their Spanish bred ponies. The Dragoons, riding even Kentucky Thoroughbreds were no match for them, unless the Indians were taken by surprise, which was of rare occurrence. Given a few hours start the Indian would lead and evade capture. Sighting the warriors the Cavalry would put on a burst of speed, and with accoutrements rattling like a brass band they went dashing over the Plains. The wily redmen, kept their mounts at a mile-eating lope and after a dozen miles of pursuit the Cavalry were forced to abandon the chase, their mounts blown and ready to drop from fatigue, meantime the Indians drew further away, rested a few hours, and again resumed their flight. By the time the Cavalry was in shape to continue the chase the band had split up into small parties, which scattered, again to meet at a pre-arranged rendezvous and resume hostilities. Many army scouts and dispatch riders, such as Frank T. Hopkins and others, placed their faith in the Indian pony of Spanish origin, and refused to ride the blooded stock provided by the government for their troops, knowing full well that these animals were no match in endurance to the small Spanish horse. Many old timers criticized the government officials for their lack of understanding, and it is indeed strange that after the many failures of the army to capture the redmen, due to the superior stamina of their horses over those provided the troopers, they failed to mount the soldiers on the Spanish pony, instead of speaking disparagingly of them. Some of the records hung up by these horses have never been surpassed. Many old time cowboys know of some of these remarkable performances: R.E. Baird, of the T-Anchor Ranch, in the Texas Panhandle once covered 50 miles in SIX HOURS to procure the services of a physician; Fred Scott, one of the riders on the J.A. RANCH of Charles Goodnight, rode one of these ponies 140 miles in EIGHT HOURS, and after a rest of 48 hours the pony was as good as ever; The ride of Jeff Boone, of the Matador Ranch to Childress, a distance of 65 miles in FOUR AND ONE-HALF HOURS was another remarkable feat; Colonel Dodge, relates the remarkable performances of a professional express rider in Arizona, who repeatedly rode through the Apache country, covering a distance of 300 miles, in three consecutive nights, making this journey weekly for over a period of six months, and the pony had lost none of its fire, or flesh during that period. When on April 3, 1860, the Pony express was started by Russell, Majors and Waddell, all of the ponies used by the intrepid Pony express Riders, were those of Spanish blood, and were purchased in Old Mexico, at an average price of $200 each, and were the best obtainable. This pioneer freighting company, knowing full well the quality and performances of this breed, would purchase no other strain and its judgment proved well founded. Take the case of "Pony Bob" Haslam, who rode the route from Virginia City to Reed1s Station, on Carson River in Nevada. Bob left Virginia City, for the next station which was fifteen miles down the river, which ended his run of seventy-five miles. Due to Indians on the warpath the relief ride there refused to go on. The superintendent, W. C. Marlow, offered Bob the sum of $50 to make the ride, and he accepted, riding thirty-five miles further, without a change of horse, and arrived at the Sink of the Carson, then pushed on to Sand Springs. Here he changed horses and rode to Cold Springs, thirty-seven miles, where securing a fresh horse he rode thirty miles to Smith1s Creek, a total of 185 miles. Quite exhausted, Bob retired and rested for nine hours, then started on his return trip. Leaving Smith's Creek, he arrived at Cold Springs - only to find the station in ruins, the keepers slain and all the relief horses stolen by the Indians. It was dark when he again set out for Sand Springs, which he finally reached. Here he reported the burning of Cold Springs station, and prevailed upon the keeper to accompany him. (The station at Cold Springs was burned at dawn.) Reaching the end of his regular run at Virginia City, he reported to Superintendent Marlow of the tragedies on the trail. Marlow again prevailed upon Bob to continue his ride, offering him the sum of $100 for the trip, Young Haslam, after a short rest again left the station, crossing the Sierra Nevadas to Friday1s station, through desert Plains and mountains, Bob rode and delivered the mail only four hours behind regular schedule. During this historical ride Pony Bob Haslam used ONLY THREE HORSES, and covered the distance of 385 miles, each horse covering over 100 miles of the journey. During the Trial Driving Days, these horses were scattered form the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. Reaching the end of the trail, the ponies used on the drive were disposed of at $25 to $30 a head. Many traders went into Old Mexico, purchased horses at $5 to $7 per head and drove them north, where in the 801s they brought as high as $75 each. The 1980s saw the first discontinuance of breeding pure Spanish blooded stock, when such large outfits as the J.A. (Goodnight and Adair), the L.X., the Matador and the X.I.T. (Capital Syndicate) ranches began the practice of cross-breeding the Spanish Stallion to Steeldust, Morgan and Hambletonian mares. Others used Spanish mares and French-Canadian stallions. By 1890 few of the real Spanish blooded horses remained upon the Texas ranches. As a result of this experiment in cross-breeding a new type of horse was produced, but only a small percent ever made good cow horses. These blooded horses ran with their heads in the air, and were too high strung, and neither watched the cow they were after, or the holes of the gopher, often proving disastrous to both rider and horse. They could not be trained to handle cattle nor were they adapted to the range. They proved faster than the little Spanish Horse, but lacked the stamina and endurance of their predecessor. As a "button" I learned to respect this breed of pony, and its remarkable Stamina, in spite of appearances. A Mr. Palmer purchased a nondescript little roan Indian pony. It was the poorest piece of horse flesh I had ever beheld. Standing at the hitch-rail it looked as if any minute would be its last. Ewe-necked and eyes closed it seemed that a good puff of wind would carry it off. Frank McKeon, for whom I worked, seeing the decrepit animal, advised Palmer to shoot it. Instead Palmer replied it could outrun anything McKeon owned. Right then and there a match was arranged, Mckeon to run a fine dapple-grey gelding, of Hambletonian cross, against Palmer's mustang, the distance of fifteen miles, Palmer's son to ride the mustang while I rode McKeon's horse. From the start I took the lead, and at the turning point I led by two miles, which distance I maintained until the finish. Although my horse arrived dripping wet and coated with dust, Palmer's little "nag" looked almost as at the start of the race, and led to the hitch-rail again assumed his sleepy, half-dead attitude. Jubilant over the performance of his horse, McKeon "hoorawed" Palmer unmercifully, but the latter only smiled and replied, "The distance was too short, and I'll lay you a wager my pony is the better of the two at double the distance." "Done," answered McKeon, and another trial was staged for one week later over a thirty mile course. The day arrived and as before Palmer's son and I again set out to test the merits of our respective steeds. The dapple-grey had a long even trot, and at that gait I let him out, soon leaving Palmer in the rear, his little mustang loping along like an automatic pump, seemingly without effort, its feet barely clearing the ground as it swung along. Eight miles from the start a long steep grade lay ahead, and reaching it I allowed my horse to walk. Looking back I beheld Palmer's pony steadily overhauling me, as it took the grade at the same old lope. Fearing to "stove up" my mount by running down the other side of the hill, I let him pick his own way, Palmer descended, still at a lope and at the foot of the grade had almost overtaken me. My horse now warmed up, I let him out at a run and let Palmer "eat my dust," gaining a lead of about a mile, then again jogging along at an even pace. Twenty miles and my horse began to show signs of fatigue, and I pulled him down to a walk. Palmer still swinging along at the steady lope began again to overhaul me, and within less than a mile from the finish was even, and despite all my urging, my horse refused to go faster than a slow trot, which failed to equal the mile-eating pace of the little roan, and a quarter of a mile separated us as we ended the race, much to the chagrin of McKeon and his backers. Thus early in life I learned that regardless of its looks there were few equals to this type of pony. Like the buffalo, the Longhorn cattle and those intrepid cowboys, the Spanish Horse filled its niche in that colorful epoch when horsemanship was at it's height, and which today is an almost lost cause. It is with sadness that we record the passing of so noble an animal as the little Spanish Horse, that in an era of hardship and strife proved his mettle time and again, against almost insurmountable odds, never failing to give all he had regardless of the hardships he might be subjected to. Never again will such a horse be foaled. The mould which formed him has been broken, he is no more. |
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this site sponsored by The Horse of the Americas Registry, & IRAM - the Institute of Range and the American Mustang email:info@frankhopkins.com |
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