Kiger mustang

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Kiger mustang
Mesteño, a Kiger mustang stallion
Country of originUnited States
Traits
Distinguishing featuresSome horses are gaited, every equine color, although dun is most common. Athletic, strong.
Breed standards

The Kiger mustang is a strain of

mustang horse located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. The name applies only to wild-captured individuals and does not apply to their bred-in-captivity progeny, which are known as Kiger horses. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers two herd management areas for Kiger mustangs in the Burns District—Kiger and Riddle Mountain, in the Steens Mountain area. DNA testing has shown that Kiger mustangs are descended largely from Spanish horses brought to North America in the 17th century, a bloodline thought to have largely disappeared from mustang herds before the Kiger horse populations were discovered in 1977.[1]

Kiger mustangs are most often

breed associations
, the largest and oldest being the Kiger Mesteño Association, established in 1988.

Characteristics

A Kiger mustang

Kiger mustangs are most commonly

flaxen. Grulla covers horses with blueish, mousy or slate-colored bodies and black points, and these horses may also be called lobo duns, olive grullas, silver grullas or smutty grullas. Claybank, another variation of red dun, describes Kiger horses who have golden body coats with red or orange tints and darker red points.[2] Dun horses may have primitive markings, which include any of the following: a dorsal stripe, lightened outer guard hairs on the manes and/or tails, zebra-like stripes on the upper legs, transverse striping over the upper shoulders, dark color around the muzzle, and ears with dark outlines and lighter interiors.[3]

Kiger mustangs generally stand 13.2 to 15.2 hands (54 to 62 inches, 137 to 157 cm) high. They are compact, well-muscled horses with deep chests and short backs. In general, they are agile and intelligent, with the stamina and sure-footedness seen in many feral horse breeds. They are generally bold but gentle and calm. They are used for pleasure riding as well as endurance riding, assorted performance competition under saddle, driving, and many other situations where an athletic horse is desired.[3][4]

History

Horses have been present in the

crossbreeding, the original Spanish stock had been eliminated from feral herds.[4] In 1971, the Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed, giving the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) the authority to manage the feral horse populations in the American West.[3]

Discovery of the Kiger mustang was the result of a BLM mustang roundup in the Beatys Butte area[5] in Harney County in 1977. During the roundup, it was noticed that among the horses collected from the area, there was a group with similar color and markings. DNA testing by the University of Kentucky showed close relation to the Iberian horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish in the 17th century. These distinct horses were separated from the other horses and the BLM placed two groups in separate areas of Steens Mountain to preserve the breed. Seven horses were placed in the Riddle Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA) and twenty in the Kiger HMA.[1]

In 2001, the Kiger mustang was proposed as the

Breyer Horses, showing the horse at several ages from foal to old age. It was the first time the company had made a series of models showing the same horse.[3] The artist's model for the title horse of the animated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron was a Kiger Mustang named Donner, who now lives at the Return to Freedom American Wild Horse Sanctuary.[8]

BLM management and private ownership

The

breeding stock.[9] The herds are rounded up every three to four years, and excess horses are auctioned to the public. At two of the more recent auctions, in 2007 and 2011, over 100 horses were auctioned at each event.[10][11] The 2007 event resulted in 106 horses being adopted to homes in 14 states for a total of $100,206. The two horses with the highest bids went for $7,800 and $7,400. This is much higher than the adoption fees paid for other mustangs; horses removed from other herds in Oregon can be adopted for a walk-up fee of $125.[12]

US Forest Service. A census taken in April 2010 found 60 Kiger mustangs in the Riddle Mountain HMA and 81 in the Kiger HMA; estimates made in February 2013 list 40 horses in Riddle Mountain and 61 in Kiger.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b "History of the Kiger Mustang". Kiger Mesteño Association. Archived from the original on March 8, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  2. ^ "KMA Official Rule and Regulation Book" (PDF). Kiger Mesteño Association. July 2010. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-03. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Kiger Mustang". The International Museum of the Horse. Archived from the original on July 24, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  4. ^
    ISBN 1580176135
    .
  5. ^ "Beatys Butte". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. November 28, 1980. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  6. ^ Steves, David (January 23, 2001). "Senator trots out horse nominee". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon: Guard Publishing. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  7. ^ "Oregon State Symbols". The Oregon Encyclopedia. Portland State University. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  8. ^ "Spirit". Return to Freedom American Wild Horse Sanctuary. Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  9. ^ "Kiger and Riddle Mountain Herd Management Areas" (PDF). Bureau of Land Management. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  10. ^ "Kiger Mustangs Up For Adoption in Burns, Oregon" (PDF). Bureau of Land Management. October 23, 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  11. ^ "Wild Horse Adoption: Kiger Kraze 2011" (PDF). Bureau of Land Management. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  12. ^ "Burns District Planning Update: Fiscal Year 2008" (PDF). Bureau of Land Management. p. 45. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  13. ^ "Home". Kiger Mesteño Association. Archived from the original on September 17, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  14. ^ "Home". Steens Mountain Kiger Registry. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  15. ^ "Home". Kiger Horse Association and Registry. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  16. ^ "Wild Horses in Oregon". The Oregon Encyclopedia. Portland State University. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  17. ^ "Oregon BLM Wild Horse and Burro Population Data" (PDF). Bureau of Land Management. February 27, 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.

External links

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