When you say the word horses, a few places come to mind, Montana, Wyoming, but none as much as Texas. Texas and its horses have quite a history. In this article, we’ll introduce you to a bit of Texas history and the horses involved.
First, we have to delve a little into the history of Mexico and Spain. Texas was, for a long time, under Spanish rule. Spain ruled Mexico and Mexico ruled Texas, you could say.
The introduction in Spain of war on horseback is well known. The horse helped the conquistadors conquer more and more territory throughout South America. Their territory once stretched from Peru and Argentina to Texas and Louisiana.
Most of the groups encountered by the warriors of Spain had no horses and were greatly disadvantaged in battle. The image that we always see of the Spanish Soldier is that of him in armor and on horseback.
Another image that is evoked when horses and Texas are mentioned is that of Indians on horseback. What many do not know is that the Indians of Texas did not have horses until they were brought during the Spanish rule of the area. Most of the hoses used by the Indians were stolen from the settlers and soldiers after seeing the advantage the soldiers had over them.
When the Mexicans began to settle in Texas, around where the friars built their missions to bring the religion to the Indians, most of them did not bring horses either. People walked hundreds of miles to get to where they would eventually settle and build their homes. Many had mules or donkeys, but few had horses.
It was the same for those who came from various places within the new United States. They came by boat to New Orleans many times, but then had to walk a long way to get to their new home in Texas, where the Mexican government was giving them land.
The settlers soon discovered that there were wild horses in Texas. What we now call Mustangs were plentiful and free if you could catch and train them. These horses weren’t as big as other horses, but they were very stocky and strong animals that became a big part of Texas history.
You have to see it as it was then. There wasn’t that much real cash anywhere in Texas. There was free land if you were willing to go there and claim it. There were free horses if you were willing to catch and train them. He even had a free win if you were willing to collect it, the Texas Longhorn.
Many settlers made the long journey to Texas, converted to Catholicism, which was required by the Mexican government if you wanted free land, then captured and trained free Mustangs, which they then used to herd free cattle.
Sounds great, huh? Just go find free land, free horses and free cattle and you’ll be on your way! Not quite. It was a very hard life. One that not many people today could even comprehend. There weren’t many people in Texas, some Indian tribes didn’t want settlers there and they showed it through violent attacks, and the work was hard.
To make money from the cattle or horses that were collected, they had to drive them to New Orleans to sell them. This unit took months to complete. The trips we take today ruin our ability to understand what it was like for these settlers.
Some of them spent more than a year traveling to find where they and their families would settle. They then spent at least another year building their house and gathering the horses and cattle that could form their ranch. Then figure at least a 6-month round trip to sell cattle or horses just to earn enough money to buy supplies that weren’t freely available in the Texas countryside.
The Mustang Horse proved to be one of the best horses for soldiers. It was tough enough to handle the rough terrain that larger horses couldn’t handle. They could go longer without water than other horses. They weren’t skittish when it came to shooting and fighting.
The Texas Rangers rode Mustangs as they roamed Texas looking for Banditos and Outlaws. Many men mounted on Mustangs fought in the Battle of San Jacinto. The Apache Indians used them a bit, but the fierce Comanche Indians had plenty of mustangs and were some of the best horsemen to ever live anywhere. But that is another story.
I hope this short article has given you at least some insight into the origin of horses in Texas and how they were used. Search your favorite search engine to learn more about Mustangs still running for free today and to learn more about Texas history and horses. You will find the topic interesting and entertaining.