FERAL HORSE*
Equus caballus Linnaeus 1758

Order Perissodactyla : Family Equidae

*Introduced species

The mustang, or wild horse, was first brought to Texas in 1542 by early Spanish explorers. At one time they were very common in the state, but wild mustangs are rare today. In Big Bend National Park, herds from Mexico periodically will cross the river and graze in the riparian areas of the park, where they trample vegetation and foul the water. The problem there, however, is nothing like that seen on public lands in Arizona and Nevada, where these animals run wild in large numbers and have exceeded the carrying capacity of public lands.

 

From The Mammals of Texas, Seventh Edition by David J. Schmidly and Robert D. Bradley, copyright © 1994, 2004, 2016.  Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.