Kiger Wild Horses

The Kiger Mustangs are thought to be one of the most pure herds of Spanish Mustangs existing in the wild today.When thinking about Kiger Mustangs, you should distinguish them from most other wild horses. Most wild horses are of mixed breeding while the Kiger Mustangs possess all of the characteristics of the Spanish Barb from which the Spanish Mustang came and by today's standards the Kiger Mustang appears to be a pure breed.

The Kiger Mustang is a unique and rare breed of horse due to its beauty and history. It is a descendant of horses brought to the New World by the Spanish Conquistadors.

The Kiger mustang survived in the rugged southeastern Oregon, in Beatty’s Butte with out human intervention until they were discovered in 1971 by Ron Harding a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Wild Horse Specialist who noticed that a homogenous group with in the herd had similar color, conformation and distinct markings known as the dun factor. It was decided to separate these special horses and have genetic testing performed at the University of Kentucky to determine there heritage. The DNA testing showed a high level of Spanish markers linking the Kigers to the Spanish explorers horses of the 1600’s. It was also noted that the primitive gene for the dun factor is present in the breed. The BLM decided to manage the herd and to preserve the breed divide and release twenty Kiger Mustangs in the Kiger HMA and Seven in the Riddle Mountain HMA. This allows the breed to multiply and avoid being wiped out by natural catastrophe.

In order to keep the herds at manageable levels, round-ups are held periodically. It was at one of these round-ups that Rick Littleton happened upon Steens Kiger. In 1978 a beautiful dun stallion and three fillies were brought home to kmranch in Bend, Oregon. Little did they know the impact this stallion would have on the horse world today.