HOW DID THE MUSTANGS GET THEIR NAME, ANYWAY?

Have you ever wondered what addle-headed cowpoke gave our wild horses the name mustangs? Well, I’m here to tell ya that the word “mustang” comes from the Spanish word, “mesteño”, which translates to mean “stray” or “feral”. We can blame the Spanish Conquistadors for this cockamamie word.

When those Spaniards came over here, sniffing around for more land and gold and the Fountain of Youth, they brought their horses with them. (I wish they would have found that Fountain of Youth cause I sure could use a mugful right about now!) After they got tired of botherin’ the Native Americans and spreadin’ disease, they went back to where they came from, but they left some of their horses behind.

Bein’ that horses are much smarter than humans, those abandoned horses settled in right nicely and started a family! Before long, we had herds of bangtails roamin’ all over this country. Since these horses came from strays, the name mesteño stuck, but as cowboys don’t care much about speaking Spanish, they put an Americanized twang on the word and changed it to “mustang”!

Tune in next time when I spin a yarn about how the Native Americans quickly learnt how to ride and breed those little Spanish horses!

Happy Trails,

"Pardner" (aka Debbie Stringfellow)