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http://jalopnik.com/391202/is-the-mu...still-relevant
Note: I was just doing some history reading about the origin of the term "mustang" and found the following comment in an article about the "horse" known as mustang.
Quote: "There are also some horse enthusiasts who consider the mustang herds of the west to be inbred and of inferior quality. Supporters of the Mustang argue that the animals are merely small due to their harsh living conditions but that survival of the fittest has eliminated any traits that lead to weakness or inferiority. Some Mustang supporters also maintain that some "inbreeding" actually concentrates the traits of hardiness and durability, making the Mustang a valuable genetic resource.
No matter which side is correct, the Mustang of the modern west has several different breeding populations today which are genetically isolated from one another and thus have distinct traits tracable to particular herds.
There is also some debate as to what degree Mustangs and cattle compete for forage. Most current Mustang herds are in arid areas which cattle may have difficulty fully utilizing due to the lack of water sources. Horses are able to go longer without water than cattle, which allows them to graze areas too remote from water to be grazed by cattle. On the other hand, horses have a less efficient digestive system than ruminants such as cattle, so a horse consumes more forage than an equivalent sized cow.
In either case, since 1900 the mustang population has been reduced drastically. Today, free-roaming horses have disappeared from 6 states and, according to the Bureau of Land Management, their remaining population is fewer than 25,000, with more than half of them in Nevada, with another significant population in Montana. [7] A few hundred free-roaming horses survive in Alberta and British Columbia.
(the above is just an excerpt from a long read, and not intended to be complete information. Read the article here.)
Note: I was just doing some history reading about the origin of the term "mustang" and found the following comment in an article about the "horse" known as mustang.
Quote: "There are also some horse enthusiasts who consider the mustang herds of the west to be inbred and of inferior quality. Supporters of the Mustang argue that the animals are merely small due to their harsh living conditions but that survival of the fittest has eliminated any traits that lead to weakness or inferiority. Some Mustang supporters also maintain that some "inbreeding" actually concentrates the traits of hardiness and durability, making the Mustang a valuable genetic resource.
No matter which side is correct, the Mustang of the modern west has several different breeding populations today which are genetically isolated from one another and thus have distinct traits tracable to particular herds.
There is also some debate as to what degree Mustangs and cattle compete for forage. Most current Mustang herds are in arid areas which cattle may have difficulty fully utilizing due to the lack of water sources. Horses are able to go longer without water than cattle, which allows them to graze areas too remote from water to be grazed by cattle. On the other hand, horses have a less efficient digestive system than ruminants such as cattle, so a horse consumes more forage than an equivalent sized cow.
In either case, since 1900 the mustang population has been reduced drastically. Today, free-roaming horses have disappeared from 6 states and, according to the Bureau of Land Management, their remaining population is fewer than 25,000, with more than half of them in Nevada, with another significant population in Montana. [7] A few hundred free-roaming horses survive in Alberta and British Columbia.
(the above is just an excerpt from a long read, and not intended to be complete information. Read the article here.)
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