I bet you have all watched or at least listened about the movie “Hidalgo”.  It is one of the most amazing western movies ever made who shows the incredible story of cowboy Frank T.Hopkins and his loyal mustang Hidalgo. They are invited in 1890 by a wealthy sheik to compete in the “Ocean of Fire” – the most challenging race ever made in the Arabian desert. After Frank Hopkins accepts the invitation to participate in this unbelievable race there begins an epic battle between the American rider and all the Bedouin riders with their strong Arabian horses. Hidalgo is a Spanish Mustang, a magnificent horse breed who was imported from Spain during the early conquest of the Americas.

This kind of breed nowadays is extremely rare in Spain and they are listed within the larger grouping of the Colonial Spanish horse. Spanish Mustangs today are all domesticated horses but they are often confused with the wild American Mustang. The following animals are descended from both Spanish horses and other wild horses escaped from different origins; they run wild in protected Herd Management Areas (HMAs) of the western United States, who are actually managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and to a minor degree, in Canada.

The real Spanish Mustang as a modern breed changes from the “wild” American Mustang in features and heritage. The breed was preserved and saved from extinction by the preservation breeders and the conception of a registry to protect and maintain the original type. Even though they were excited to familiarize the public with this exceptional breed, the main purpose of the Spanish Mustang Registry is to ensure the preservation of the characteristics that provided this unique horse to survive over the centuries under unfavorable conditions. It is with a great pride that the breeders and owners of Spanish Mustangs can truly declare that the preservation of the Spanish Mustang has been achieved without discrediting the traditional value or uniqueness of the breed.

The Spanish Mustangs are now as they always have been and the main principle of the Spanish Mustang Registry is that there will be no attempts to crossbreed or to differently change these historical and peculiar animals. They were recognized as the most elegant horses in the known world at the time of the conquest of the New World and they made sure to leave a legacy in its strong, fine, brave descendants that continue to this day. Environmental conditions must absolutely have played a role in the evolution of these horses over many periods. The untamed Spanish Mustangs were formed according to their circumstances with nature separating those who were less adapted to the locale.