The following information was compiled and written by Randy & Kristi Billinger of Tornado Alley Kigers.
The story of the Kiger Mustang began hundreds of years ago. At that point in time, the ancestors to the horses that
make up the Kiger Mustangs were known as the majestic Spanish Horses. Today, these magnificent horses are
managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in two herds in Southeast Oregon and number less than 150
in the wild.
What is known today as North America has not always had horses roaming on it. Ancestors to the modern horse
roamed North America for hundreds of thousands of years, until about 10,000 years ago when the horse on this
continent became extinct. Before this happened, horses crossed land bridges between the continents and
flourished in other parts of our prehistoric world. Horses were not to roam North America again, until the Spanish
Conquistadors arrived on this continent in the 1500s. With the Conquistadors came their trusted form of
transportation, the proud and truly magnificent Spanish Horse.
As these horses were imported to the new world, they were traded, stolen, and some escaped into the wild lands of
the new world. The North American continent was once again blessed with the horse. These horses spread
across the land of North America and once again roamed most parts of the Central and Western United States. As
the U. S. Was settled, various horse breeds were brought west. Many of these horses cross-breed with the wild
and free roaming Mustangs of Spanish origin resulting in many of today's Mustang herds being of mixed breeding.
However, in some of the most remote and rugged areas of the Western U. S., several herds have survived that
possess many characteristics and resemble the original Spanish Horse. These herds escaped much of the
infusion of mixed breeding and to this day are believed to be some of the best representations of the original
Spanish Horses brought to this world by the Spanish Conquistadors.
Left to run free for several hundred years, the Mustang herds in the U.S. Flourished and multiplied. Many believed
the Mustang was just an old scruff horse and rounded them up for slaughter or used them for target practice.
Others saw them as a piece of American Heritage and knew the abilities these horses possessed. These
individuals gathered Mustangs and put them on their private ranches for protection. Public out cry, prompted by
"Wild Horse Annie", over the treatment of wild horses pressed Congress to enact the Wild Free Roaming Horse
and Burro Act of 1971, thus protecting wild Mustangs. Protection and management of the Mustangs was assigned
to the BLM to preserve the wild horses on BLM lands. At this point in time, surveys of the Mustang herds were
conducted to get an understanding of horse populations on BLM lands and how best to manage them. As the BLM
lands were scouted, horses in isolated herds were discovered and recognized as possessing primitive Spanish
Horse markings. Today, several herds of wild Mustangs in the U. S. Are DNA tested and are being managed for
their Spanish descent and markings. The Kiger Mustangs are one of those herds
After the BLM became responsible for the management of the wild horse herds, round-ups began to take place.
This offered the BLM the opportunity to count, brand, examine and study herd populations. Protected areas known
as Herd Management Areas (HMAs) were established, and viable herd numbers were determined for each HMA.
In 1974, Oregon BLM officials conducted their first roundup of wild Mustangs in Oregon. Willard "Bill" Phillips was
the Oregon BLM Area Manager, Chris Vosler was the BLM District Manager, and E. "Ron" Harding was the BLM Wild
Horse Specialist at the Burns, Oregon Office. Rumors circulated that there were still "Spanish type" Mustangs,
possessing primitive markings that ran free in remote mountainous areas of Southeast Oregon. Ron, a life-long
horse person, was interested in horses of Spanish descent and excited about the possibility of "Spanish type" free
roaming Mustangs. As round-ups occurred, a few dun factor horses with primitive markings began to come
through the Burns holding facility. Bill, Ron, and Chris began to notice that a few of these Mustangs were very
similar in type, color, and conformation; and they exhibited strong primitive Spanish markings. But the area
rumored to most likely hide the "Spanish type" horses was yet to be rounded-up and the search continued.
In 1977, during one of the scheduled roundups in the rugged and remote area of Oregon known as Beatty's Butte,
most of the Mustangs that were to become the Kigers were discovered. BLM Officials had been told that this area
was the most likely area for these outstanding "Spanish type" horses to exist. The area is extremely rough and
remote, so less outside influence had occurred from horse wranglers and other horse breeds prior to the 1971 act
protecting horses. After the herds had been rounded up, they were transported to the Burns office for inspection.
When the first two trailers arrived at Burns, there were many dun factor horses possessing the Spanish horse
characteristics. Ron Harding was waiting for the horses at the Burns corrals and when he gazed into the trailers,
he knew they had something special! To quote Ron, "I was pumped even before we unloaded them. After we got
them off the truck, it nearly blew my mind!" Ron headed to the BLM Office in town to inform Bill and Chris about what
was waiting in the corrals. Ron tells me that when they arrived back at the corrals, there was silence. All three
could not believe their eyes. These horses had many primitive Spanish horse characteristics and were very similar
in color, markings, and conformation. Could these be the rumored horses? Could it be possible that some of
these horses had been running free for so many years with little influence from outside breeds? Closer
examination indicated that this was indeed a possibility. They had found what they had been looking for and these
three individuals knew that the Oregon BLM lands had been hiding some very unique and magnificent wild horses.
To this point in time, nearly 4,000 wild Mustangs from the Southeast Oregon area had been inspected at the BLM
pens in Burns. Of those, only 40 exhibited strong Spanish markings and characteristics. That is 1% of the horses
brought in, and most of those were from the Oriana Rim of Beatty's Butte. The BLM Officials knew they had to
protect and preserve these horses before they were gone forever. Bill Phillips, Chris Vosler, and E. Ron Harding
worked to implement a plan to manage, protect, and preserve these horses.
The Kiger Mustangs are named after a deep gorge which borders the HMA. This gorge was carved by a glacier that
existed thousands of years ago. This gorge is named Kiger Gorge. From Kiger Gorge, the term "Kiger" was
adopted to refer to these unique and beautiful horses. Thus, the Kiger Mustang is a geographically named
Mustang herd, as are many of the Mustang herds throughout the United States.
Twenty-nine horses were selected to start the original Kiger herds. Most of these horses were chosen from the
Beatty's Butte herds, but two mares off the East Kiger HMA were selected. All of the horses exhibited the Spanish
horse characteristics that the BLM officials were striving to preserve. A total of twenty-three horses were originally
released onto the East Kiger HMA, two of those being the two mares that were originally captured there. Of these
twenty-three horses, two were stallions (Mesteno and another dun slightly larger than Mesteno) and twenty-one
mares. The Kiger Mustang was born. The remaining six selected horses were released onto the Riddle Mountain
HMA, four of those being dun stallions. The BLM officials were not able to clear this HMA of all the horses before
introducing the Kigers. However, at every chance, the "non-Spanish type" horses were removed from this HMA, and
additional "Spanish type" horses were introduced. Over the years, the BLM was able to cull the "non Spanish type"
horses from the HMA. Through the years, selected horses have been introduced into the two HMAs. Stallions and
mares have been moved from one HMA to the other to increase the gene pool and reduce the possibility of
inbreeding. Over the years, the horses multiplied. At scheduled roundups, the horses were reviewed and the
horses with the best conformation and markings were released back to the HMAs. The culled "non-Spanish type"
horses were released onto other HMAs. In 1986, the first Kigers were adopted out to the public. Today, the Kigers
are rounded up every three to four years. Some are selected for adoption, but the "cream of the crop" are released
back to continue the Kiger legacy.
Many of today's Kigers can be traced back to the legendary stallion named Mesteno, meaning "wild" or "unclaimed"
horse. Mesteno was one of the two original stallions released onto the East Kiger HMA and has become a
household name among Kiger owners. The life of this outstanding foundation stallion is captured in a Breyer
Horse Series called "Mesteno". Mesteno was last seen alive in 1996 at the approximate age of twenty-seven! At
that time, Mesteno did not possess his own mare band, he was no longer able to defend them. It is believed that
Mesteno died in the late 1990's having left his legacy running wild and free in the Steens Mountains for everyone to
see and enjoy.
The Kiger Mustang's Characteristics
The Kiger Mustangs are one of the most uniform Mustang herds existing today, due in part to management, but
mostly due to the strong dominance of their genes and smaller gene pool. They have escaped much of the cross
breeding that exists in many of today's Mustang herds. The Kigers may well be one of the closest related Mustang
herds of Iberian descent and one of the best representations of the original Spanish horse known in the U.S. Today.
Kiger Mustangs are striking to look at. They carry the dominant gene for dun coloration and primitive Spanish
(Iberian) markings. Kiger colors include various shades of dun, red dun, grulla, and claybank; and fewer bay, roan,
and black coloration. Dun factor markings in the Kiger herds include a dorsal stripe, leg barring (zebra stripes),
barring on the neck and shoulders, cob webbing on the face, neck, and shoulders, fishbone markings on the back
extending down from the dorsal stripe. Other features are black legs up to the knee, black outlined ears with fawn
colored interior hair. Typically the top one third of the ears backside is dark or black; the ears are pointed with a
hooked tip. Kigers exhibit an incredibly beautiful, bi-colored black/blonde mane and tail.
Kiger Mustangs range from 13.2 to 15.2 hands, with an average height of 14.2 hands, so they are somewhat
smaller than many other breeds. But 500 years of being managed by nature has made this horse extremely smart
and strong. Kigers have tremendous stamina.
Kigers typically have a straight to slightly convex head. The head is fairly narrow, with a slightly wider forehead and
a refined muzzle. They have crested necks with mature stallions having a magnificently crested neck and a clean
throat latch. The chest is narrow and typically inverted "V" shaped, the body is narrow with a deep girth area, the
back is medium in length and well muscled. Kigers have low, but prominent withers, reaching far into the back.
The rump is compact and sloping to the back and sides. Kigers typically have long shoulders, short sloping hips,
and comparatively long strong legs. In profile Kigers have an "uphill” appearance, meaning the withers are slightly
higher than the hip. Hooves are compact, thick-walled, and extremely tough.
Kigers have big, round, beautiful, high-set, and pronounced eyes. Looking into these eyes, one can only imagine
the daily battles these horses faced to survive. But the most outstanding feature of the Kiger Mustang is the
incredibly gentle disposition they possess once gentled. Kigers are very proud, extremely smart, and spirited
horses, yet are some of the gentlest, eager to learn, and compassionate horses you will ever work with. The Kigers
intelligence and willingness to learn makes them very trainable. Kiger stallions are easy to keep and handle,
although they should be treated with the respect they deserve. Most stallions are perfect gentlemen and run well
with other horses.
The Kiger Mustang is a true example of the will to survive. Battling the extremes of Mother Nature, the westward
expanse of settlement and the influence of man on today's horse breeds has done very little to alter the Kigers. The
ancestors of these horses were delivered here by the Spanish Conquistadors. The Conquistadors, riding on the
back of the Spanish horse ignited the forge that would fire a new nation. The Kiger Mustang represents that forge
and remains a proud symbol of all wild Mustangs and a true ambassador of the Western American Heritage.
The story of the Kiger Mustang began hundreds of years ago. At that point in time, the ancestors to the horses that
make up the Kiger Mustangs were known as the majestic Spanish Horses. Today, these magnificent horses are
managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in two herds in Southeast Oregon and number less than 150
in the wild.
What is known today as North America has not always had horses roaming on it. Ancestors to the modern horse
roamed North America for hundreds of thousands of years, until about 10,000 years ago when the horse on this
continent became extinct. Before this happened, horses crossed land bridges between the continents and
flourished in other parts of our prehistoric world. Horses were not to roam North America again, until the Spanish
Conquistadors arrived on this continent in the 1500s. With the Conquistadors came their trusted form of
transportation, the proud and truly magnificent Spanish Horse.
As these horses were imported to the new world, they were traded, stolen, and some escaped into the wild lands of
the new world. The North American continent was once again blessed with the horse. These horses spread
across the land of North America and once again roamed most parts of the Central and Western United States. As
the U. S. Was settled, various horse breeds were brought west. Many of these horses cross-breed with the wild
and free roaming Mustangs of Spanish origin resulting in many of today's Mustang herds being of mixed breeding.
However, in some of the most remote and rugged areas of the Western U. S., several herds have survived that
possess many characteristics and resemble the original Spanish Horse. These herds escaped much of the
infusion of mixed breeding and to this day are believed to be some of the best representations of the original
Spanish Horses brought to this world by the Spanish Conquistadors.
Left to run free for several hundred years, the Mustang herds in the U.S. Flourished and multiplied. Many believed
the Mustang was just an old scruff horse and rounded them up for slaughter or used them for target practice.
Others saw them as a piece of American Heritage and knew the abilities these horses possessed. These
individuals gathered Mustangs and put them on their private ranches for protection. Public out cry, prompted by
"Wild Horse Annie", over the treatment of wild horses pressed Congress to enact the Wild Free Roaming Horse
and Burro Act of 1971, thus protecting wild Mustangs. Protection and management of the Mustangs was assigned
to the BLM to preserve the wild horses on BLM lands. At this point in time, surveys of the Mustang herds were
conducted to get an understanding of horse populations on BLM lands and how best to manage them. As the BLM
lands were scouted, horses in isolated herds were discovered and recognized as possessing primitive Spanish
Horse markings. Today, several herds of wild Mustangs in the U. S. Are DNA tested and are being managed for
their Spanish descent and markings. The Kiger Mustangs are one of those herds
After the BLM became responsible for the management of the wild horse herds, round-ups began to take place.
This offered the BLM the opportunity to count, brand, examine and study herd populations. Protected areas known
as Herd Management Areas (HMAs) were established, and viable herd numbers were determined for each HMA.
In 1974, Oregon BLM officials conducted their first roundup of wild Mustangs in Oregon. Willard "Bill" Phillips was
the Oregon BLM Area Manager, Chris Vosler was the BLM District Manager, and E. "Ron" Harding was the BLM Wild
Horse Specialist at the Burns, Oregon Office. Rumors circulated that there were still "Spanish type" Mustangs,
possessing primitive markings that ran free in remote mountainous areas of Southeast Oregon. Ron, a life-long
horse person, was interested in horses of Spanish descent and excited about the possibility of "Spanish type" free
roaming Mustangs. As round-ups occurred, a few dun factor horses with primitive markings began to come
through the Burns holding facility. Bill, Ron, and Chris began to notice that a few of these Mustangs were very
similar in type, color, and conformation; and they exhibited strong primitive Spanish markings. But the area
rumored to most likely hide the "Spanish type" horses was yet to be rounded-up and the search continued.
In 1977, during one of the scheduled roundups in the rugged and remote area of Oregon known as Beatty's Butte,
most of the Mustangs that were to become the Kigers were discovered. BLM Officials had been told that this area
was the most likely area for these outstanding "Spanish type" horses to exist. The area is extremely rough and
remote, so less outside influence had occurred from horse wranglers and other horse breeds prior to the 1971 act
protecting horses. After the herds had been rounded up, they were transported to the Burns office for inspection.
When the first two trailers arrived at Burns, there were many dun factor horses possessing the Spanish horse
characteristics. Ron Harding was waiting for the horses at the Burns corrals and when he gazed into the trailers,
he knew they had something special! To quote Ron, "I was pumped even before we unloaded them. After we got
them off the truck, it nearly blew my mind!" Ron headed to the BLM Office in town to inform Bill and Chris about what
was waiting in the corrals. Ron tells me that when they arrived back at the corrals, there was silence. All three
could not believe their eyes. These horses had many primitive Spanish horse characteristics and were very similar
in color, markings, and conformation. Could these be the rumored horses? Could it be possible that some of
these horses had been running free for so many years with little influence from outside breeds? Closer
examination indicated that this was indeed a possibility. They had found what they had been looking for and these
three individuals knew that the Oregon BLM lands had been hiding some very unique and magnificent wild horses.
To this point in time, nearly 4,000 wild Mustangs from the Southeast Oregon area had been inspected at the BLM
pens in Burns. Of those, only 40 exhibited strong Spanish markings and characteristics. That is 1% of the horses
brought in, and most of those were from the Oriana Rim of Beatty's Butte. The BLM Officials knew they had to
protect and preserve these horses before they were gone forever. Bill Phillips, Chris Vosler, and E. Ron Harding
worked to implement a plan to manage, protect, and preserve these horses.
The Kiger Mustangs are named after a deep gorge which borders the HMA. This gorge was carved by a glacier that
existed thousands of years ago. This gorge is named Kiger Gorge. From Kiger Gorge, the term "Kiger" was
adopted to refer to these unique and beautiful horses. Thus, the Kiger Mustang is a geographically named
Mustang herd, as are many of the Mustang herds throughout the United States.
Twenty-nine horses were selected to start the original Kiger herds. Most of these horses were chosen from the
Beatty's Butte herds, but two mares off the East Kiger HMA were selected. All of the horses exhibited the Spanish
horse characteristics that the BLM officials were striving to preserve. A total of twenty-three horses were originally
released onto the East Kiger HMA, two of those being the two mares that were originally captured there. Of these
twenty-three horses, two were stallions (Mesteno and another dun slightly larger than Mesteno) and twenty-one
mares. The Kiger Mustang was born. The remaining six selected horses were released onto the Riddle Mountain
HMA, four of those being dun stallions. The BLM officials were not able to clear this HMA of all the horses before
introducing the Kigers. However, at every chance, the "non-Spanish type" horses were removed from this HMA, and
additional "Spanish type" horses were introduced. Over the years, the BLM was able to cull the "non Spanish type"
horses from the HMA. Through the years, selected horses have been introduced into the two HMAs. Stallions and
mares have been moved from one HMA to the other to increase the gene pool and reduce the possibility of
inbreeding. Over the years, the horses multiplied. At scheduled roundups, the horses were reviewed and the
horses with the best conformation and markings were released back to the HMAs. The culled "non-Spanish type"
horses were released onto other HMAs. In 1986, the first Kigers were adopted out to the public. Today, the Kigers
are rounded up every three to four years. Some are selected for adoption, but the "cream of the crop" are released
back to continue the Kiger legacy.
Many of today's Kigers can be traced back to the legendary stallion named Mesteno, meaning "wild" or "unclaimed"
horse. Mesteno was one of the two original stallions released onto the East Kiger HMA and has become a
household name among Kiger owners. The life of this outstanding foundation stallion is captured in a Breyer
Horse Series called "Mesteno". Mesteno was last seen alive in 1996 at the approximate age of twenty-seven! At
that time, Mesteno did not possess his own mare band, he was no longer able to defend them. It is believed that
Mesteno died in the late 1990's having left his legacy running wild and free in the Steens Mountains for everyone to
see and enjoy.
The Kiger Mustang's Characteristics
The Kiger Mustangs are one of the most uniform Mustang herds existing today, due in part to management, but
mostly due to the strong dominance of their genes and smaller gene pool. They have escaped much of the cross
breeding that exists in many of today's Mustang herds. The Kigers may well be one of the closest related Mustang
herds of Iberian descent and one of the best representations of the original Spanish horse known in the U.S. Today.
Kiger Mustangs are striking to look at. They carry the dominant gene for dun coloration and primitive Spanish
(Iberian) markings. Kiger colors include various shades of dun, red dun, grulla, and claybank; and fewer bay, roan,
and black coloration. Dun factor markings in the Kiger herds include a dorsal stripe, leg barring (zebra stripes),
barring on the neck and shoulders, cob webbing on the face, neck, and shoulders, fishbone markings on the back
extending down from the dorsal stripe. Other features are black legs up to the knee, black outlined ears with fawn
colored interior hair. Typically the top one third of the ears backside is dark or black; the ears are pointed with a
hooked tip. Kigers exhibit an incredibly beautiful, bi-colored black/blonde mane and tail.
Kiger Mustangs range from 13.2 to 15.2 hands, with an average height of 14.2 hands, so they are somewhat
smaller than many other breeds. But 500 years of being managed by nature has made this horse extremely smart
and strong. Kigers have tremendous stamina.
Kigers typically have a straight to slightly convex head. The head is fairly narrow, with a slightly wider forehead and
a refined muzzle. They have crested necks with mature stallions having a magnificently crested neck and a clean
throat latch. The chest is narrow and typically inverted "V" shaped, the body is narrow with a deep girth area, the
back is medium in length and well muscled. Kigers have low, but prominent withers, reaching far into the back.
The rump is compact and sloping to the back and sides. Kigers typically have long shoulders, short sloping hips,
and comparatively long strong legs. In profile Kigers have an "uphill” appearance, meaning the withers are slightly
higher than the hip. Hooves are compact, thick-walled, and extremely tough.
Kigers have big, round, beautiful, high-set, and pronounced eyes. Looking into these eyes, one can only imagine
the daily battles these horses faced to survive. But the most outstanding feature of the Kiger Mustang is the
incredibly gentle disposition they possess once gentled. Kigers are very proud, extremely smart, and spirited
horses, yet are some of the gentlest, eager to learn, and compassionate horses you will ever work with. The Kigers
intelligence and willingness to learn makes them very trainable. Kiger stallions are easy to keep and handle,
although they should be treated with the respect they deserve. Most stallions are perfect gentlemen and run well
with other horses.
The Kiger Mustang is a true example of the will to survive. Battling the extremes of Mother Nature, the westward
expanse of settlement and the influence of man on today's horse breeds has done very little to alter the Kigers. The
ancestors of these horses were delivered here by the Spanish Conquistadors. The Conquistadors, riding on the
back of the Spanish horse ignited the forge that would fire a new nation. The Kiger Mustang represents that forge
and remains a proud symbol of all wild Mustangs and a true ambassador of the Western American Heritage.
KINGDOM KIGERS
Kiger Mustang History
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