American explorer Zebulon Pike coined the term mustang in 1807 during his travels from Mexico to Texas as he encountered herds of free-roaming horses.

The term mustang is a combination of Spanish words mesteno and mostrenco, meaning “masterless” or “wild”, and cimmaron meaning “runaway slave” (Dalke, 2010: 99). Though the mustang fits into the domestic classification, it stands apart from the tame domestic horse who has never known a life apart from humans, and some theorize that if a tame mustang living in captivity “were returned to the mountains tomorrow... the veneer of domestication would fade away quickly, and once again they would go wild” (Stillman, 2009: 16).

A mustang possesses no particular bloodlines of certain breeds, but evolved from horses reintroduced to North America by Spanish conquistadores in the 1500’s and adapted to live in various terrains across the Western landscape after being set loose intentionally or escaping domesticity (Stillman, 2009; Philipps, 2017). A mustang may be any combination of the following:

• a free-roaming horse on federal, state or tribal lands

• a diverse combination of any number of breeds born in the wild

• a rounded-up ward of the federal government

• a tame companion to a human

• a herd member at a sanctuary who receives no training

A mustang is not a breed which can be registered by humans, however select populations have been influenced significantly by humans introducing horses who possess desirable traits to diversify a herd’s gene pool or to phase out genetic imbalances from inbreeding (Symanski, 1985; Bowling 1994). A mustang may be a wild horse who continually resists close interaction with humans, however their survival may be heavily dependent on human input on- and off-range. Moreover, a mustang may benefit and even enjoy being in partnership with humans as a companion, sport, or working horse. However, their human guardians may always wonder, would they be better off in the wild?

Mustangs are not biologically wild horses as wild species are classified as those not domesticated or cultivated by humans, therefore given the ancestors of today's wild horses were at one time domesticated, the true status of the mustang is feral (Ransom and Kaczensky, 2016). Moreover, not all mustangs are classified as wild horses (United States Code: Title 16, Section 1331).

Under the legal definition according to the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the phrase ‘wild horse’ takes on a whole new meaning, making for an important distinction as it intersects the biological and cultural definition. “Wild free-roaming horses and burros” as outlined in the 1971 Act, “means all unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros on public lands of the United States” (United States Code: Title 16, Section 1331). Therefore, legally, a wild horse is one found roaming on federally managed lands, distinguishing those outside federal geographical boundaries as feral or stray horses, who may be found for instance on state and tribal lands throughout the United States.

The in-between status of the mustang casts them as both misfits and heroes in the narrative of the Western rangelands. They are a success story, on the one hand, as their wild populations have steadily risen over the last fifty years (absent management herd sizes can double every four to five years, while other wild animals have become endangered (Bureau of Land Management, 2021b). On the other hand, they are a cautionary tale of brutal mismanagement as humans have historically sought to cap their populations through any means necessary, and they have been subjected to inhumane treatment in holding facilities and private homes which increased their death toll (Philipps, 2017; Bureau of Land Management, 2021a). Donaldson and Kymlicka (2011: p. 210, 211) warn that from an animal rights (AR) perspective, while liminal animals may have established niches and formed successful partnerships in the human-dominated world, they are “subject to a wide range of abuses and injustices, and a persistent failure to recognize our distinctive relational obligations to them.” This is no less true for the mustang.

Existing In Limbo

While biologically wild mustangs are feral horses, outside of scientific literature they are frequently only referred to as wild by advocates, and as feral by those who are opposed to their special, prioritized status (Ransom and Kaczensky, 2016; Philipps, 2017; The MeatEater Podcast, 2018). Feral has historically been a dirty word in many wild horse advocate circles, as it provides ammo to anti-wild horse interests which ascribe no utilitarian value to the mustang and prioritize the place of domestic animals who provide food or labor or native wild animals who fill a niche within the ecosystem on public lands (Stillman, 2009; Philipps, 2017).

To combat anti-wild horse perspectives, several advocates have tackled the native argument to promote greater acceptance of wild mustangs on public lands, as wild horse advocate and author Craig C. Downer (2011: p. 3), summarizes “the rapid reoccupation of vacant niches in North America may be viewed as corroborating the equids’ return to ancestral grounds.” However, regardless of whether we take a long view of the evolution of the wild horse in North America and agree to classify them as native or non-native is not enough to move them out of liminal territory. Philipps (2017: xxxiv) explains the cultural tug of war that mustangs are enshrouded in:

They are stuck in a world between wild animals and livestock. They are considered “wild” but not “wildlife.” They are “fast-disappearing” but don’t count as an endangered species. They are American but not “native.” And not all wild-born horses are protected under the law.

Existing in conceptual limbo within the American psyche, at once representing freedom and the nation’s heritage and an invasive threat to western rangelands, is not only an issue for free-roaming populations, but off-range populations as well (Dalke, 2010: 99). Insofar as the image of the mustang is constructed by the 1971 Act, Dalke warns that its status as a historical icon or heritage species “limits the mustang’s full incorporation into American culture” (2005: 103).

Arguing that the BLM may be fated to repeat vicious cycles of unsuccessful management strategies so long as the status of the mustang stands in liminal territory, Dalke (2005) details how BLM agents are forced to alternate between pursuing an adoption strategy or an adaptation strategy. So long as the BLM cannot manage wild horses on the range as “wildlife” (by issuing hunting licenses when populations are over capacity) and on the other hand meet pressure from advocates when they move forward to round up and adopt overpopulated herd members into private homes, the mustang may be fated to be treated unfairly and viewed unrealistically by both their opponents and supporters.

Biologically and socially, mustangs and domestic horses may be overwhelmingly similar in their physiology and behavior, besides the characteristic of wildness as it is expressed by each individual, whether in domestic or wilderness settings.

However, what ultimately informs us of who a mustang is, are human perceptions which at this time are more rooted in anecdote than evidence, and vary all across the spectrum depending on who you are talking to. While we are still lacking research in this area, the truth of who a mustang is may be best gleaned from spending time with them yourself. They are, after all, the real experts.

Enjoy this article?

Show your support of this content by sharing, or send me a tip for good karma! Tips are much appreciated and accepted through PayPal or Venmo.

Resources

Bowling, A.T., 1994. Population genetics of Great Basin feral horses. Animal Genetics, 25(S1), pp.67-74.

Dalke, K.K., 2005. The real and the imagined: An ethnographic analysis of the wild horse in the American landscape. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.Dalke, 2010, 2005:

Dalke, K., 2010. Mustang: The paradox of imagery. Humanimalia, 1(2), pp.97-117.

Donaldson, S. and Kymlicka, W., 2011. Zoopolis: A political theory of animal rights. Oxford University Press.

Downer, C.C., 2011. The wild horse conspiracy. Craig C. Downer.

Philipps, D., 2017. Wild Horse Country: The History, Myth, and Future of the Mustang, America's Horse. WW Norton & Company.

Ransom, J.I. and Kaczensky, P. eds., 2016. Wild equids: Ecology, management, and conservation. JHU Press.

Stillman, D., 2009. Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Symanski, R., 1985. Wild horses and sacred cows. Northland Press.

Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act 1971. Available at:

https://www.blm.gov/or/regulations/files/whbact_1971.pdf (Accessed: 3 July 2020).