©Bailey M., 1999
Main Page - Animal Reports
Have you ever wondered what was behind the eyes of a Mustang? Some people have guessed but here is the truth. Kiger Mustangs are 14-15 hands tall-pretty short. Kigers coloring is ''dun,'' some of which include ''zebra stripes'' on the knees and hocks, chest, rib and arm bands and cob webbing or ''face masks''. The Kigers like to do things themselves, and don't like doing what humans tell them to do. They are very independent. Kigers are descendants from the Spanish horses from the Conquistadors.
Kigers were not noticed for a long time, because they were hidden in the Isolated canyons in southeast Oregon. Some of them live in the Steens Mountains between Burns and Lakeview. Some live in Nevada and Wyoming. Sometimes you can find wild horses in Utah on the prairies.
Kigers may not eat a lot, but they weigh a whole bunch. Kigers can weigh 800 to 1000 pounds. Mostly what Kigers eat are prairie grass and any other grass they can find. Where they live there is a lot of grass, and that is mostly what they eat, too.
The mother Kiger usually has 1 baby. The Kiger can have babies once or twice a year. Kigers are very strict about how their babies behave. If the baby is misbehaving, the mother will kick them out of the group. Not forever, but for a day or for a few hours. When the mother looks at the baby and nods her head the baby comes back in. There can only be one adult male in a group. If a mother Kiger has a male baby, once he is big enough she kicks him out of the group.
Kigers' only fear is cougars since they are in herds. No other animal would want to take the time to mess with them. Probably the only time a animal would mess with a Kiger is if they saw a baby alone.
According to those who have handled them, both the adopted and ''line bred'' Kiger mustangs are bright, have gregarious '' horsonalities,'' are relatively easy to train and get along well with people . Just like anyone else, I would like one of these beautiful animals. But we all know that these beautiful animals are an endangered species so if we don't act FAST these animals will disappear from our land FOREVER. There are only two wild Kiger herds left!! One of them has 51 to 82 Kigers in it and the other herd has 33 to 56. Every four years they round up some of these mustangs for adoption.
©Bailey M., 1999