# Difference between Mustangs and Brumbies?



## horseNpony (Sep 27, 2013)

Well, obviously one is found in Australia and the other in America, but besides that, they are both just types of feral horses. In this day and age, basically the same horse breeds are found in both countries, therefore the same horse breeds are able to get loose, breed, and create more feral horses. I assume both would be very similar to each other, but then again, I don't know much about feral horses. 

So what is different between the two? Does anyone on here own a Mustang or Brumby? When I gain a lot more experience, I wouldn't mind adopting a feral horse


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Mustangs are more decendents of escaped Spanish horses brought over with the conquistadors. Yes, they have some other breeds mixed in from stock getting loose, but the majority of their bloodlines comes from that original Spanish stock.

Brumbies, IIRC, are descended from a mish-mash of escaped stock, primarily TB stock.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## horseNpony (Sep 27, 2013)

Look wise, is there much difference? I know Brumbies tend to be on the smaller side, not sure about Mustangs tho.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Mustangs tend to be between 14-15hh. Some are taller, especially if TB or draft stock were introduced to the herd (some ranchers were not above "accidentally" turning loose a stallion or mares to run with a local herd to improve the stock to what they wanted or needed...drafts added more bone, TBs added speed, etc).

A lot of herds tend to retain a lot of the Spanish influence. There was a member on the forum who adopted a mustang a few years ago that she named Sam Elliott. He looked very much like a Spanish barb.
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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

mustangs can be anywhere from 17hh to 13hh. it depends on the herd and the range. the environment is different for the two horses. brumbies live in the bush, mustangs live in plains, snow, forests and mountains. i know of a heard that spends half their time in the water (look up salt river wild horses).

Mustangs descended from spanish stock. they were bred extensively by certain indian tribes to be prized war horses. An example is the Nez Perce horses, or nokota horses. Some the original mustang is mostly diluted with draft or stalk horse blood from people trying to ruin these prized horses bloodlines.

Brumbies were mostly lost horses from early english settlrs. they were mostly english bred riding horses, ponies and draft horses. More recently (well in the brumby timeline) where large amounts of arabian and tb blood. They Were used A LOT during the first world war because of their hardiness.


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

Btumbies: (some look more ponyish, others look more tb)




































Mustangs:

Pryer (cloud  )









Salt river









colorado (picasso)









Navada









Nokota (trivia Rain from spirit was a nokota)









Kiger (more trivia, spirit was a kiger)









(spirit himself)


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## horseNpony (Sep 27, 2013)

I never knew Nokota's were a type of Mustang. 
I actually asked this because I found the three part documentary on Cloud on youtube, which got me interested in feral horses. 

I did notice that some Brumbies tend to look more like ponies, it's actually very difficult to find one over 15hh. Whereas it seems like Mustangs are much larger and more horse like rather than pony like. 
Now im curious to know if there are Mustangs in Australia 

Looks like I learnt something new about feral horses today


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

kigers are an official breed now in sweden so who knows


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

my fiance has a mustang. long legs like tree trunks and he stands at over 15hh .


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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

I think the size of brumbies can depend a fair bit on where the brumbies are from. The only place I ever worked where we rode brumbies as station horses was on a big cattle station up in the Northern Territory when I was 18/19. We used to catch the brumby weaners and break them in once they were big enough, or if there were older ones that looked like they might be ok we would use them too. That was up in the tropics where the wet season was WET and the dry season really killed off most vegetation, and as a result the brumbies tended to be pretty stunted, and I don't think they were really much good in terms of breading, they were pretty small and rangey for the most part, and I can't remember them being particularly that great as cow horses, just cheap and in good supply. In parts of the country with better country for horses they would probably be better quality, and if they had better stock released into them to improve the herd they could probably be OK.

And then there are Walers, I know little to nothing about them, but it seems they are a specific breed of brumby that mainly comes from the south east of the country, as far as I know they were in high demand for the Light Horse in WW1 and are apparently pretty good.


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## horseNpony (Sep 27, 2013)

I went and further researched, I did check out Walers as well. I would love to do the Brumby challenge one day, and if I can, keep/buy the Brumby I train. 
I found in which parts of the area I live in are Brumbies found. From the pics ive seen, they look rather stocky, and range from 13-15hh. 
I'm just really keen on the idea of adopting a feral horse, not sure why, but Brumbies really appeal to me.

From what ive seen, Mustangs dont seem to be in Aus, either that or they are rare.


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## walkwavy (Mar 21, 2012)

Nokotas came from T Roosevelt National Park. Horses from TRNP has been followed and document from the start of the Park. These horses have been DNAed and they are a mix of many breeds. There is no facts nor evidence that they came from Native American.


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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

well, most of the brumbies I ever got started (maybe only about three or four, maybe five) were pretty tough nuts to crack, having started and trained a few of them, and having started a reasonable number of well bred horses (in the vicinity of 70/80 up to 100) I would take the well bred horse over a brumby any day. That's just my opinion, but, someone who is better with a horse than me would be a better judge. 

All the ones I ever dealt with were short skinny little things, but like I said, that was probably as much about the country they came off as the breeding, on good country, and with some decent bloodlines released into them no doubt they would get bigger and stronger. 

ya know, as I think of it, the few I started and I used them as stock horses, though they had some fight in them, and they weren't by any means great in terms of confirmation, they were, however, pretty tough, they could do a solid day's work.

There could well be mustangs in Australia, but if there are I would say they are imports from the US, or bred from imports.


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## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

Mustangs are certainly are not a breed you would be likely to see in Australia.

I think Mustangs are used much more for riding horses than brumbies. While being similar heights at times, brumbies are small. Short backed, short neck, narrow chest, there are few adults who wouldn't look under horsed on one. They are sturdy enough, and some are pretty smart, but there just doesn't seem much of a place for them. With poor resale, few people are going to put the time and money into them.

The Walers however seem more popular, with their history combined with their more useful stature and appearance, could maybe be easier to compare with the mustang.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

My mustang is short. short legs, short back. stout.. hardy. Still going strong age 33.
he is retired now for gr neice/nephews. no heavy weights on him. 
The Kiger Mustangs are dna'd, and show the extra vertebra as found in the Spanish barbs.
The Kiger mustangs have a breed registry . The american mustang is from the spanish horses, the barb, Andalusian , and from horses stolen from settlers, and horses that excaped from settlers so they can have 1/4, appy,draft,arab, TB . The friend I got my mustang from also had a mustang mare that looked andalusian and was gaited. Her foal looked like a mess, but was a very nice and sweet horse but very ugly with many faults.


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## thesilverspear (Aug 20, 2009)

A mustang is a feral horse in North America.

A brumby is a feral horse in Australia.

There really isn't much more to it than that.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

A lot of the mustangs that have been brought to Georgia for adoption are very small.


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## horseNpony (Sep 27, 2013)

Both Mustangs and Brumbies seem to be to the smaller side, is there a reason as to why? Does it benefit them in some way that they wouldn't have if they were larger?


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## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

I've seen some mustangs that were really small. The one's at the river close to me are on the larger side (lots to eat there so I'm sure that makes a difference).
From what I see of brumbies on the internet, they seem to be a lighter boned horse than most mustangs.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

IMHO, it depends greatly which HMA (herd management area) mustangs are from that will decide how big they are. Some HMAs have smaller horses, others have bigger. I think a large part of it depends on how much draft they have in their lines. There used to be another member here with a mustang that came from, I think, Oregon or Washington state and he was 17hh and looked like Percheron.

My guy looks like a Percheron, but he's only 14.3. Because the herds can vary so much, there is no real breed standard for Mustangs. Some look a lot like TBs, others look a lot like Arabs, there are a lot that have a drafty look to them. Some move like warmbloods, others....don't. My boy has pony strides. Seriously, my walking stride is much longer than his is LOL.

If I'm going to be honest, my boy isn't really good at very much. He tries, but he doesn't have the agility to be a good cow horse. He doesn't have the speed to be a good competitive roping horse, he doesn't have the movement to be a show horse. He's just all around not very talented.

HOWEVER, I still love him because what he lacks in talent, he makes up for in personality and heart. He may not be the quickest or fastest horse to show up, but he'll be the one to happily work his butt off all day long and still be going strong when everyone else is dragging. You ask him to do something and he will either get it done or die trying. You put a rope on something and he'll either drag it or break something. He's broken several ropes and a couple of breast collars in the last 9 years.

I don't know if it's because he's a mustang or if it's just because that's his individual self but, while he isn't the most talented horse I've ever ridden, he is by far the best horse I've ever owned.

And just because I love my boy...


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Our mustang with my 5'2" wife riding. Cowboy is 13.0 hands. Thick back, thick legs, awesome feet. He doesn't know what 'quit' means. He's arguably the best horse I own, but I feel guilty about trying to ride him because of his size. Still, I've lost 20+ lbs so maybe at 155 I can think about it...darn good horse, but he's had at least 7 owners and he has a low opinion of humans overall. Judging from his treatment as a lesson horse prior to him being given to us for free, I cannot blame him. My 4 year old granddaughter says he belongs to her...so he might get some riding in a few years.








​ 
I know nothing about brumbies.


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## danicelia24 (Jul 16, 2013)

I cant say anything about brumbies but from the sound of it the stature may very well be due to their environment as if you look at At the wild assateague horse they are almost all on the pony size but they also live in a harsh area so they have evolved to be smaller to consume less food whereas the mustangs out west(depending on the HMA) have more plentiful food so have the ability to be bigger. I saw last month on the nonlinear adoption two young mustangs (less than 3) already at 16hh. My mare is 14.1hh and 18 but heck if she doesn't have more energy and heart than my 6 year old qh x paint. She also has the BEST feet to the point where she only needs trimmed every 12 weeks. She has more of a draft horse build to her and has nice strong bones to her and has never been lame in the two years ive had her or the 6 years her previous owner had. She is also fearless and the best **** trail horse I have ever rode. As to whether or not they are in Aus or not I don't know unless they were imported.


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## danicelia24 (Jul 16, 2013)

Here are some pics of my girl


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## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

I believe the US sent horses to Australia in 1900. The greatest supplier of those horses was Kittie Wilkins from Idaho.

I wonder if some of the horses Kitie sent could have been of mustang heritage.


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## horseNpony (Sep 27, 2013)

danicelia24, in that second photo, your horse looks like she has the softest coat 

I looked up where brumbies are found, and there's a place maybe, 2, 3 hours away that has a large brumby population. I wouldn't mind driving up just to see if I could spot some, but all that fuel, it would be pricey.


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

Danicela, Your mustang is similar in size and build to mine. She was BLM stock from Nevada. Same story, the trail horse and easy keeper you dream about. 





I'd like to see some photos of the brumbies.


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## danicelia24 (Jul 16, 2013)

My mare came from Wyoming, and at that time she did have a super soft coat. I would also love to see some Brumby pics


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

As they're just feral horses, depends on the domestic breeds that have gone into them in any given area. As someone mentioned, lots of Spanish blood in lots of the mustangs... but Australia & USA being such big places, lots of horses & lots of 'great unfenced', I'm betting there are a lot of variation in different areas in US as there are in Aus. 

Arab/draft x's on Fraser Island in Qld, were descended from shipwrecks. I have a little, chunky Hafflinger brumby... who hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusco's side. Few gens back, some Haffie stallions were released to improve the blood up there. The rest are apparently a touch of Timor pony, 3 parts thoroughbred at least... sorry, can't help myself! 

I've seen brumbs from somewhere in the Territory, who are big roany paints, having clydesdale blood in them. And the Walers(now a special breed, no longer 'feral') I think, were originally from big horses with lots of thoroughbred blood. You're right though, that more often than not, feral horses are on the smaller side, because 'evolution' & most natural environments didn't breed 'em that big, we did!


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

loosie said:


> As they're just feral horses, depends on the domestic breeds that have gone into them in any given area. As someone mentioned, lots of Spanish blood in lots of the mustangs... but Australia & USA being such big places, lots of horses & lots of 'great unfenced', I'm betting there are a lot of variation in different areas in US as there are in Aus....


Very true Loose. I know that back in the 1970's the BLM was releasing draft horses into the mustang population to counter the tendency for runts.


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## ellen hays (Mar 19, 2014)

KigerQueen said:


> Mustangs descended from spanish stock. they were bred extensively by certain indian tribes to be prized war horses.* An example is the Nez Perce horses, or nokota horses. *Some the original mustang is mostly diluted with draft or stalk horse blood from people trying to ruin these prized horses bloodlines.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Yes, appaloosas originated from Nez Perce ******. Wanted to name my appaloosa something appropriate... but the closest I could come up with that I liked was more Inuit name... Nanook.... any Frank Zappa fans out there??


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

Here is Chris Ledoux (can you guess my fiance's favorite singer? lol). He is from nevada. Idk which HMA But fiance has his BLM papers somewhere. The paint in the pic is 16.2hh. He says chris is about 15.3hh. idk i think he is in the 16 range.


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## hyperkalemic4 (Dec 8, 2014)

My grand parents both raised calverly horses for the army. Ranchers were given either TB or Morgan stallions to breed to the ranch mares for army horses, When they quit using horses a lot of the ranchers went out and shot the lead studs in local wild heards and put the army stallions out. Now days I think there is very little of the old Spanish blood in them. The size and conformation depend on what kind of stallions are put with the wild ones. Up near Rock Springs Wyo. The ranchers have been using draft stallions with them, because they could make more money on the meat of a horse than a cow on the same range. Some are big and thick in that area. Some rather well built ones. Just a thought on the picture of the dark horse with a very short back and long legs! A lot of horses built like that will over reach and walk on bulbs, or forge.


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