Mustang Horse

By Noah Merkel

Classification

• Kingdom – Animalia

• Phylum – Chordata

• Class – Mammalia

• Order – Perissodactyla

• Family – Equidae

• Genus – Equus

• Species - caballus

Shape

• Oval shaped body with a long neck and a small head and long snout

http://animalspicturesgallery.blogspot.com/2010/02/horses-photos-gallery.html

Dimensions

• Height 14.2 to 15.2 hands• Weight 700-800 pounds

http://static.gotpetsonline.com/pictures-gallery/horse-pictures-breeders-foals/mustang-pictures-breeders-foals/pictures/mustang-0001.jpg

Horse Training

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw90WYgAQrU

Colors and Markings

• Reddish-brown

• Bay

• Sorrel

• Black

• Brown

Other

• Feral horse – wild

• Good Race Horses

• Warm-Blooded Horse

http://petcaregt.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/mustang-horse.jpg

Habitat

• Nevada, Montana, Wyoming

Diet

• Prairie Grasses

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/6261250/2/istockphoto_6261250-two-horses-eating-fresh-green-grass.jpg

Offspring

• 1 baby, sometimes twins

• Gestation – 11 months

• Born in May through July

Care of Offspring

• Foal should nurse 4 to 6 hours after birth

• Stays with herd 1 year or more

Shelter

• Trees, caves

• Barns if domesticated

http://cdn.wn.com/pd/20/2f/f179f48c0b1c758514aaee54450e_grande.jpg

Other Mating

• Mating season April to July

• Males can reproduce at 3 years

• Females can reproduce at 2 years

http://imagecache6.allposters.com/LRG/21/2143/MLQED00Z.jpg

Social Behavior

• Live and wander in small herds

• Stallions struggle for herd dominance (age 6) and gather breeding mares into herd

• Fight other stallions to keep mares---the winner gets to mate, the loser joins bachelor bands

Temperament

• Hardiness---they thrive on their own in nature

Behavior

• Intelligent

• Independent

• If trained ideal for horse racing and equine shows

Defenses

• Kicking

• Small herds are a defense against predators

Acquiring Food

• Used to harsh conditions can go without food and water several days

• Learned to break open frozen springs for water

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/maxfx/maxfx1101/maxfx110100158/8621653-wild-mustang-horse-in-grazing-in-desert.jpg

Life Span

• 25 to 30 years

History

• Evolved over past 45 to 55 million years

• Mustangs changed the lives of Native Americans on the Great Plains

• Names came from Spanish word Mesteno meaning stray horse

History of Cruelty

• Mid-1800s – Farmers were cruel to Mustangs. They did such things as:

• Poison their water

• Shot their eyes out

• Ran them to death

• Sewed their nostrils shut with rawhide

Present Status

• Protected by Bureau of Land Management

• There were once 2 million wild Mustangs; now there are only 27,000

Relationship to Humans

• 1897 – Nevada legislature allowed any citizen to shoot a wild horse on sight

• Many Mustangs were killed when the railroads were built

• 1928 – 40,000 Mustangs were slaughtered for pet food

Mustang Protectors

• Velma B. Johnston “Wild Horse Annie” and thousands of school children lobbied the government for 18 years to stop cruelty to Mustangs

• 1971 a federal law banned capturing, harming, or killing Mustangs on public land

• Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act

Sources• http://www.ansi.okstate.edu• http://www.horseshowcentral.com• http://www.wildheartshorsefund.org/facts/html• http://www.buzzle.com/articles/mustang_horse_facts-html• http://animal-world.com/horses/Light-Horse-Breeds/Mustang.php• http://www.ehow.com/facts_6731951.wild-mustangs-diet.html• http://www.horses-and-horse-information.com• http://wonderclub.com/wildlife/mammals/mustang.html• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/horse

Sources Continued• Additional Photos• http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://inkom_el.mvsd21.org/2400-1199~Mustang-Horses-Running-Wyoming-

Posters.jpg&imgrefurl=http://inkom_el.mvsd21.org/&usg=__1YTEtXaYDyO6fe5hd17rRKBtnjM=&h=265&w=400&sz=47&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=T_11dU8mxrKyHM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=180&ei=W6F_Tff9Oo_AsAOx1Zn1BQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmustang%2Bhorses%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26biw%3D1362%26bih%3D567%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=122&vpy=96&dur=3312&hovh=183&hovw=276&tx=187&ty=67&oei=KqF_TY7rOIW_gQe3-5X-Bw&page=1&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

• http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&biw=1362&bih=567&q=mustang+horses&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g9g-m1&aql=&oq=• http://www.elec-intro.com/EX/05-15-00/Horses_Mustang_herd_Utah_2005.jpg• http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/7/9/2/7/2/6/webimg/346143992_tp.jpg• http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cache2.allpostersimages.com/p/LRG/21/2144/5IBCD00Z/posters/stone-lynn-m-mustang-

wild-horse-foal-pryor-mountains-montana-usa.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.allposters.ca/-sp/Mustang-Wild-Horse-Foal-Pryor-Mountains-Montana-USA-posters_i3200172_.htm&usg=__bhIMeb-tSbE9aQ_XkgVqhQdu8Gs=&h=300&w=400&sz=52&hl=en&start=1&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=o1KM1tBzlINqdM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmustang%2Bhorses%2Bfoal%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=B9mETbv_EYPHgAemyKjNCA

• http://www.horseforum.com/attachments/50986d1294090652-find-me-picture-mustang-horse-rearing-jpg• http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.franzfoto.net/images/tour-wild-mustangs.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.franzfoto.com/

page1&usg=__n9xQdbdiyE8NmAH7g6CLbV-a__k=&h=300&w=450&sz=53&hl=en&start=7&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=O9tPcwXGj6r_xM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmustang%2Bhorses%2Bhabitat%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=U9qETbLFAtH3gAfc5-XGCA

• http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000KFaVWn_jGjM/s&imgrefurl=http://www.photoshelter.com/image/I0000KFaVWn_jGjM&usg=__F6IDHQ3wPVFykNYKZ50DLL7TNU0=&h=333&w=500&sz=107&hl=en&start=2&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=i1dEaHWpLDOXpM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmustang%2Bhorse%2Bkicking%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=sd6ETfbyHcnZgAfMuajTCA

• http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=active&gbv=2&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=velma+b+johnston&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=• http://www.google.com/images?q=mustang+horse+intelligence&hl=en&safe=active&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&ei=zuCETdnJNIGSgQfvleXGCA&sa=N&start=20&ndsp=20