Spanish Mustang

When Red Hawk first arrived at the Sanctuary, our founder Dayton O. Hyde commented, "He is the kind of horse I'd like to ride. "A few days after Dayton passed, I was traveling by the Spanish herd where Red Hawk lives. Just as I passed the water trough, Hawk looked up and our eyes made contact. With water dripping from his muzzle, he followed me down the fence line bucking and kicking. It was almost like Dayton was on his back, encouraging him to go faster for the ride of a lifetime."-Susan Watt

Maricruz came to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary from a private donor, Caballos de Destino, in Hot Springs, SD. She is a lovely grulla Spanish mustang mare born in 2003. The color grulla, in the dun family of colors, is the Spanish name for the blue-gray color of the sandhill crane. Her primitive colors include a dorsal strip, leg barring, and stripes on her withers. The broken stripe on her face has a cross right at the top which gave the inspiration for her name.

Josefina is a lovely dark bay mare with just a few white hairs under her long black forelock. Josefina was a yearling when she came to the sanctuary in 2005 with her mother, Martita, from the BLM Herd Management Area in Oregon. Friendly and outgoing, she is just the opposite of her mother as she has never had to experience the trauma of a wild horse round-up. She is always the first one to greet the tourists as they come to take her photo; she truly is a blessing!

Hannah is a zebra dun Sulphur mustang mare from the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana. She has a lovely star adorning her forehead and a stripe down her back with three white socks. Her primitive markings include a bi-colored mane and tail, dark ear rims, a dorsal stripe, wither stripes, and zebra stripes on her legs. She and her daughter Nina arrived at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary late in 2009 to join the rest of the Spanish herd.

Gabriela’s lovely black-brown color reminds one of dark chocolate melting in the prairie sun. Gabriela and her mother Houlihan, a Sulphur mustang mare from the BLM Sulphur Springs Herd Management Area in Utah, were donated to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in 2006. Gabriela was just a weanling when she arrived and always hid behind her mother. Now as an adult, she has her own friends and lives bravely in a band of younger Spanish Mustang Spirit horses.

Nina is a young zebra dun Sulphur mustang mare from the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, daughter of Hannah de Montana. Born in 2009, she has a crescent moon star on her face with two white socks on her back legs. Her primitive markings include bi-colored mane and tail, dark rimmed ears, a dorsal stripe, and zebra marking on her legs. Her dorsal stripe is unique in that it has a funny zigzag right before her tail.

Don Juan is a spectacular dark zebra dun with primitive markings that include dark ear rims, a wide dorsal stripe, stripes on his withers, and leg striping. He was born in May of 2000 from wild Sulphur mustang parents from the BLM Sulphur Springs Herd Management Area in Utah. He is registered with the Sulphur Horse Registry and he has Foundation Certification in the Sorraia Mustang Studbook. Don Juan and his first band of mares arrived at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in 2003.