wild mustang performance task

Mustangs are free-roaming horses of the American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated horses, they are properly defined as feral horses.Long ago all horses were wild animals. They ran free in large herds, or bands across the vast grasslands all over the world. Early horse know as the dawn horse originated in North America.

They were a prairie animal along with the American Camel, Saber Tooth Tiger, and Woolly Mammoth. The American Horse is the only animal from that time period that is still alive today. The. .Early horse migrated over land bridges to other parts of the world such as Spain and Portugal and developed into the animal we know as Equine today. (This type of horse is known as the Iberian Horse)

 

Mustang characteristics

Mustangs are a medium-sized breed of horse. They measure around 14 to 15 hands. Hands are the common standard of measurement for horses. This equals 56 inches to 60 inches (140 to 150 centimeters). They weigh around 800 pounds (360 kg).Mustangs have a wide variety of colors. Usually, they are bay, which is a reddish brown, or sorrel, which is a chestnut color. They can also have a variety of colors, patches, spots and stripes according to the “American Mustang Handbook”

Offspring

Like other mammals, mustangs have live births. Their babies are called foals. Mares carry their foal for an 11-month gestation period. Mustangs typically give birth to their foals in April, May, or early June, according to the “American Mustang Handbook.” This gives the young horse time to grow before the cold months of the year.

Habitat

Mustangs live in the grassland areas of the western United States. The Bureau of Land Management manages the U.S. mustang population and allows the horses run free on 34 million acres of public land. About 271,000 mustangs have been removed from private land by the government since 1971, according to the “American Wild Horse Preservation Organization.” Most of the mustang populations are found in the Western states of Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Oregon, California, Arizona, North Dakota and New Mexico. Some also live on the Atlantic coast and on islands such as the Sable,

Assateague and Cumberland Islands.