It can perform in a variety of rodeo and track events as well as being a surefooted trail horse, a strong workhorse or a family pleasure horse. The original mustangs were little barb horses that escaped from the Spanish herds and survived on the plains of America. But the ones that we have today are derived from quarter horses that got loose in this century. These mustangs are the products of the ranchers' practice of mingling their work horses and stock horses with the wild herds and what was left over from Indian bands. Today's Nevada mustangs are beautiful, but their breeding isn't as good as it used to be due to government intervention.
Conservationists mistook the modern herds for horses related to the Spanish barbs.
In the late '60s and '70s, the government got involved, the mustangs' numbers were controlled, and ranchers weren't allowed to introduce domestic stock or make use of the horses. To a horseman's eye, they aren't as beautiful as they used to be, but to you and me, there's no more spectacular sight than a herd of wild horses running free. It's true that other North American herd animals like bison and elk have been drastically reduced in number or pushed to higher ground. A horse has all the qualities and personality that people admire. It has beauty, power and speed.