“There are no wild horses on Mt. Taylor” says the local Cibola National Forest Service.  Yet many local residents tell their stories of how their fathers and grandfathers used to gather these wild mustangs and use them to work cattle, till the soil and teach their children to ride.

 These treasures of local history are being harassed and shot because they pose a threat to grazing opportunities for cattle that are being run on public land. These tributes to the Spanish settlements that still exist today are being pushed out of their rightful home to make room for cattle that are grazing lands that are desperately depleted by years of over use and severe drought.

The Spanish Mustangs of Mt. Taylor are being quietly slaughtered by those who want no one to know of their existence. The Cibola National Forest Service has concluded that there were no wild horses on Mt. Taylor when the “Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971” was put in place by Congress. So these bastions of history, these truly wild horses of days long gone are not protected by those who are intended to be their rightful guardians... Instead the Forest Service has said that they do not encourage nor do they discourage the shooting of these horses. When the NM Livestock board was contacted about this travesty, the answer was that the horses belong to whomever’s land they live on. Clearly, since these wild horses live on the Cibola National Forest it would appear that they own the horses and should be protected by federal law.  

 Members of the Elkins’ family ranch on Mt. Taylor tell of days long gone, generations past when these horses were herded off of Forest Service land onto the surrounding private ranches to make room for permitees to graze hundreds of head of cattle. The horses have been unrightfully fenced out of their historical territory and when they make their way back to their homeland they are fair game for cattle ranchers and hunters who do not respect their right to live and instead are cruelly shot to death at the hands of those who feel it is fitting to exterminate this rare breed. The horses are at the mercy of those who wish to silence their voices of hundreds of years of survival, of perseverance and the will to live. 

The wild Spanish Mustangs of the “Turquoise Mountain” have made the mountain their home since the 1500’s.  The story of the mustangs follows Onate’s search for the “Cities of Cibola” through this area. It is a well-known fact that Spanish explorers are responsible for bringing the horse back to North America. Many of the horses used in these expeditions and later in Spanish settlements that surround the mountain, probably escaped from captivity and these descendants are currently fighting to survive on Mt. Taylor today.  Colonial Spanish horses are a rare and diminishing breed and many people today work diligently to preserve this important piece of history. Breed associations and experts have determined there are few true Colonial Spanish horses left in the world. Dr. Phil Sponnenberg is a highly respected Colonial Spanish horse expert and has recently viewed some of the horses that make their home on Mt. Taylor.

 Veterinarian Dr. Sponnenberg recalls viewing these colonial Spanish horses on Mt. Taylor as well as viewing several skeletons of horses that had been shot to death on Forest Service land and reacts to learning about their demise, Sponnenberg writes,” I was dismayed to learn that you are losing horses up on the mountain. As you well know, this herd is an important one for conservation. This herd is one of the few herds remaining of free-roaming Colonial Spanish horses in the USA. …I realize that this crisis is threatening the continuation of a resource that goes back some 400 yrs. If I can further help to assure the survival of your herd, please let me know. This herd is pivotally important in the overall conservation of this all-too-rare type of horse.”

Residents from, San Mateo, Seboyeta, Cubero, Laguna and communities surrounding the mountain recall days gone past when they would ride up to the mountain and “catch a wild mustang”. These hearty wild mustangs would be broke to ride to help the rancher gather cattle off the mountain. They made excellent mountain horses as well as all around ranch mounts.

The residents didn’t concern themselves about the ownership of these mustangs as everyone knew “they had always been on the mountain.” “No one really owns the mustangs; they roam the mountain continuing their breed, uncontaminated by the influence of impure blood. But to remain genetically viable these horses must be allowed to roam the mountain unharmed and unrestrained by boundaries that threaten their existence. 

Please contact James Duran, Range Specialist @ The Cibola National Forest Service office of Mt. Taylor to voice your concerns, phone number: 505.287.8833. 

Questions to: mustangstar@hotmail.com