Kiger-Mustang Colt Profile: Cherokee Kid

In 1971 the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed by congress to protect all wild horses and burros on public lands. The Bureau of Land Management was given the responsibility to protect, manage and control these wild populations. In order to keep the herds at manageable levels, roundups or gatherings are held periodically. At this time they are counted, branded and examined. Excess animals are offered for adoption to the public, and the rest are returned to the range.

In 1977, during one of these gatherings in the remote area of Beatty's Butte,Oregon, particular kind of horse was discovered. BLM Wild Horse Specialist, E. Ron Harding, while inspecting the herd, noticed that a number of these horses were strikingly similar in color and conformation. Upon closer observation, he ascertained that they carried the primitive markings of the Spanish mustangs. Mr. Harding arranged for these horses to be separated from the rest and held at the Burns district facility in Oregon.

When the BLM had completed all the gatherings for that year, a suitable area was chosen to release these animals. To prevent losing all the horses to a natural catastrophe, two Herd Management Areas (HMA) were selected in southeastern Oregon. Twenty of the primitively marked horses were released in the Kiger HMA, and seven in the Riddle Mountain HMA.

Kiger Mustangs appear to be a pure breed, unlike most wild horses which are of mixed breeding. They are thought to be descended from the horses brought to North America by the Spanish explorers in the early 1600s. The Kigers have been linked to the Spanish Mustang by the presence of the Spanish markers found in their blood during genetic testing by the University of Kentucky. Their conformation also suggests the ancestry of the Sorraia and oriental hotbloods from which the Spanish Mustang was bred. They carry the dominant genes which code for the primitive dun coloration and markings.